The Struggle Between Two Lines at the Moscow World Congress of Women (Foreign Languages Press, Peking, 1963)

=== [PDF page 1] === TIIE STRUGGTE BETWEEN TWO TINES AT THE MOSCOW WORTD CONGRESS OF WOMEN === [PDF page 2] === THE STRUGGLE BDTWEEN TWO LINES AT THE MOSCOW VORLD COI{GRESS OF \IOMEN FOREIGN LANGUAGES PEKING 1963 === [PDF page 3] === CONTENTS SPEECH AT THE MOSCOW,WORLD CONGRESS OF WOMEN by Yang Yun-ru, Leader of the Chinese Women's Delegation CHINESE WOMEN'S DELEGATION STATEMENT OF THE ON THE DRAFT..PROGRAMME OF THE W.I'D.F',, 10 STATEMENT OF THE CHINESE WOMEN'S DELEGATION ON THE SINO-INDIAN BOUNDARY QUESTION STATEMENT OF THE CHINESE WOMEN,S DELEGATION ON..THE APPEAL TO THE WOMEN OF THE WORLD,, l7 REPORT ON THE MOSCOI,V WORLD CONGRESS OF WOMEN by Yang Yun-yu, Leader of the Chinese Women's Delegation R,ESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR ACTIONS OF CHINF^SE WOMEN'S DELEGATION AT THE MOSCOW WORLD CONGRESS OF WOMEN Printed in the People's Republic ol China 59 === [PDF page 4] === SPEECH AT THE MOSCOW WORLD CONGRESS OF WOMEN BY YANG YUN-YU Leader of the Ckinese Women's Delegation Dear Friends, ,ffi On behalf of the women of China, the Chinese Women,s Delegation greets you all and requ,ests you to convey the Chinese women's sincere friendship to the women of your countries. Since the Fourth Congress of the Women,s International Democratic Federation (W.I.D.F''.), the people of ail lands have scored great successes in their struggles against imperialism, in defence of world peace, for winning and safeguarding national independence and for democratic freedoms and social progress. The masses of women have played an important role in these struggles. Temper,ed in struggle and with growing political consciousness, women of different countries are becoming increasingly aware that imp,erialism is the enemy of world peace, that imperialism is the enemy of oppressed nations and that imperialism is also the main source of the oppression, enslavement and menaces to which the women and other people of various countries are subjected. === [PDF page 5] === In its vain attempt to dominate and enslave the ple of the world, the K s,urely receive even heavier blows from the Cuban people with their mighty moral weapons and enjoying the suppeoport of the people of the whole world. The peoples of the world will always shout, "Cuba si, Yankees no" and will never permit U.S. imperialism to commit aggression and interference against Cub,a. Owing to the aggression and plunder by the U.S. imperialists and other colonialists, millions of women and children in many Asian, African and Latin American countries are suffering frorn poverty, hunger and disease and are dying in great numbers. In south Viet Nam, numerous women and children have been killed by the chemical weapons used by U.S. imperialism. In those African countries that have not yet achieved independence, the sufferings of the broad masses of wornen and children are even more unbearable. In Latin America, as the Second "Havana Declaration" has exposed, for each thousand dollars wrested from the people there by U.S. imperialism, a dead body is left behind. In some countries in Latin America, infant mortality reaches as high as 300 per thousand. The prisons of the imperialists and reactionaries of various countries are filled with Iighters who have taker-r an active part in the national democratic movements, many of whom are women. In the oppressed nations, the very existence of the masses of women is not guaranteed, Iet alone their rights. In capitaiist countries, the burdens of arms race and war preparations weigh heavily on the masses of working people. Confronted with soaring prices and exorbitant taxes and the menace of unemployment, wives and mothers worry day and night about the livelihood of their families" Their democratic rights are irot guaran- United States. is furthel i its "strategY of Peace'" Whil ble and just Peace, it is in f vigour its P'olicies of aggressro China and the makes pois,oning the rlelations between camp a major -"ttut"iy the socialist Viet Soviet Union and splitting Nam' the Irr south cornponent of this "special warfare'" United States is engagea i" butbuto's war' It is In I-aos, it has."xi"Ii"a the flames of civil hanging on in south territorY of Taiwan' Japan-south Korea ta marines into JaPanes ferocious features, it uses for Peace" and Corps," "Alliance t* e'og"ss"' "Food and cultural in,,aid,, to faciiitate its political, ecorlomlc out ":ofiltration into many countries for carrying upon the indecol.onialist u*purrion' It even encroaches own a11ies' trn pendence and sovereignty of some.its is bleeding the capital the united States ii""if,,rrorr"poly our Negro slaughtering crullly people white, and brothers and sisters' has never stopped its aggression and t Cuba. SPokesmen of the U'S' peatedly maie it clear that the United for not invading Cuba' States had given "L u""""ce Western Hemisphere stressing that communism in the schemes' it has failed was unnegotiable' Wh"t""u' its Cuban people who to subjugate the united and dauntless aredefendingtr'esovereigntyanddignityof_their own strength' It r'vill motherland Uy,"tyi"g o" tf'tit teed. === [PDF page 6] === In the face of aggression and threats of war by imperialism, to strive for general disarmament is an important task of the world peace movement and also a Afler prolonged struggles, the peopl3 of the socialist revolusocialist countries have won the-lreat victory of for the emanprospects tion. This has op'ened up broad' Howchildren' life cipation of women and tfre happy socialist our ihreatening tft" imperialists are still on subversion and "lr'"t, countries with war. They are cauylng in the infiltration and attempting to restore capitalismtrn order evolution'" socialist countries through;peaceful to protect the fruits of the socialist hr.iu wo., at the cost of blood and life of our women and children' we task of fighting against imperialism' througtr their The broad masses of women of the world in order to that' own experi"r"" hav" clearly perceived oppressed the defend world p"^"*, to *rr' f-iberation progsocial and nations, to secure democ childr'en' and ress and to defend the ainst irlperialism they must wage a tit-for-tat This is' not just and its policies o{ aggressi or continent but the the task of the *"*Ei of one region the world' cornmon task oI women throughout and antianti-fascist its alive keep The W.I.D'F. should the urgent i*p"riuli.t tradition and give full expression toThose who all continents' demands of the **""-ot the task for the 'poiitical claim that anti-inrperialism parties and not for the women's org pt asire that the central tasks now movement are general and comPlet peaceful coexistence, fail to see' -n imperialist oppresexcruciating miseries of women under to understand wish nor sion. They fail to understand' fighting without survive that opprers"d *omtn ca rnot against imPerialism' task of the international women's movement' But this de{initely must not and- should not be made the sole task' The struggle for general disarmament definiteLy cannot replace o,r abolish various struggles against imperialism' Nor can it be used to replace or aboliSh the struggle of the oppressed nations and oppressed peoples' While mothers and children in south Viet Nam are being massacred by the U.S. imperialists, can the people there be told to accept general and complete disarmament instead of taking up arms to fight against imperialism? Arnong the peoples of those African countries which have not yet attained inclependence, some are being subj'ected to armed suppression by imperialism and old and new colonialism at this very moment. How is it possible for them to sit and wait for the realization of disarmament instead of rising to fight for national liberation? To strive for general di.r...ru*"nt at a time when the imperialists are on general arms race, it is imperative to direct "arrying our struggle against imperialism and to expose and oppose -the imperialist policies of arms race and war preparations' To do otherwise is deliberately to'1u11 and dupe the peoples of the world and to divert their attention from the real target of struggle. Nuclear weapons are unprecedentedly destructive' IJ'S' imperialism is actively preparing for a nuclear war and is pursuing the policy of nuclear blackmail in an attempt to achieve world domination. The Chinese people have always opposed the U.S. imp'erialist policy of nuclear blackmail and stood for a total ban on nuclear weapons' that is to say, total prohibition of the testing, manuflr === [PDF page 7] === into a compromise or "co-operation" with the imperialists is tantamount to sacrificing the fundamental interests of these countries and peoples and serving the interests of imperialism. Dear friends, the serious tasks of struggle require women from all continents to unite still more closely on the common ground of opposing imperialism and old and nerv colonialism and defending world peace' We should rely on the working rnen and women of all countries and unite with al1 those who can be united to form the broadest possible united front against imperialism and reactionaries of various countries. We are confident that by relying on the combined struggle of the forces of the of the national-liberation movement, of socialist the working-class movement and all other peace-loving forces, it is possible to frustrate the imperialist policies of aggression and war. The Chinese W'omen's Delegation has come to this congress with a desire to strengthen unity and with a serious sense of responsibility towards world peace, human progress and the defence of the rights of women and children. We will always strengthen our unity with - sisters of various countries in our common struggle against imperialism and in defence of world peace, supporting and encouraging each other. We have a1l along been upholding and defending unity, but unity must be based on principles. Only by basing itself on principl,es can unity be really solid and unbreakable and stand all tests. Finally, the Chinese'Women's Delegation would like to pu1 before the congress the following proposals: 1. Affirm that the struggles against imperialism and new and old colonialism, in defence of world peace, for === [PDF page 8] === winning and safeguarding national,. iidependence, for democratic freedoms and for social progress, and in defence of the rights of women and children are the common tasks of the women of all countries toda5r' 2. Explicit-ty point out that U.S. imperialism is the most dangerous enemy of world peace, the enemy of the national-liberation movement and the source of oppression, exploitation and discrimination to which women and children of many countries are subjected; call upon women of aII countries to maintain the sharpest vigilance against all machinations of U.S. imperialism. 3. Resolutely oppose the policies o{ war and aggresheaded bY the United States; and war PreParations carried a complete ban on and total dismantling of foreign weapons' nuclear destruction stationed on fortroops withdrawal and bases military general disarmament. for and strive eign soil 4. Resolutely support the oppressed nations' struggle for national independence, and the new-ly independent countries' struggle for safeguarding their sovereignty and winning complete political and economic independence; demand total elimination of the colonial system; oppose aggression, enslavement and interference by imperialism and old and new colonialism. 5. CalI on women of all countries to take an active part in struggle, to link their destiny closely with the current struggle of the people of the world, to defend the rights of women and children and to raise the status of women in political and economic fields and in both socie{y and family 6. Appeal to the women of the whole world, irrespective of their races, political views, religious beliefs and professions, to strengthen Lheir solidarity, support each other and, together with the other people of al1 countries, form the broadest possible united front directed against imperialism and the reactionariis of various countries and to wage a concerted struggle for the realization of the above-mentioned goals. === [PDF page 9] === STATEMENT OF THE CIIINESE WONTEN'S DELEGATION ON THE DR,AFT ..PROGEAMME OF THE W.I.D.F." in essence it nevertheless makes general and complete disarmament and peaceful coexistence the most urgent tasks of the women of the world. It does not oppose irnperialism but speaks hollowly about women's rights and about broader unity in an attempt to lead the world women's movement onto an erroneous and dangerous path. Such a draft programme is not conducive to mobilizing the broadest masses of women of the world to struggle against imperialism and in defence of world peace. Some people who obs'tinately try to impose on others the programme with its erroneous line are deliberately creating a split and undermining the unity of the women's movement. These people should be held responsible for all the grave consequences arising therefrom. In the course of discussion on the draft programme the National Women's Federation of the People's Republic of China has given it a serious and careful study and has offered its own proposals to the W.I.D.F. We had sincerely hoped to reach unanimity through consultation. But some W.I.D.F. Ieaders persisted in their erroneous views and our proposals were completely rejected. In order to defend the fundamental interes,ts of the women of the world and to uphold their unity, we cannot but make clear the sol,emn attitude of the National Women's Federation of the People'.s Republic of China, and resolutely oppose the draft programme. === [PDF page 10] === After an Indian delegate had raised the Sino-Indian boundary question at the plenary session we requested the floor from the chairman to make a statement- To our astonishment, however, the organiz'ers of the congress arbitrarily deprived the Chinese delegation of its right to speak, in contravention of elementary democratic principles. We cannot but express our deepest regret on this' The Sino-Indian boundary question is a question left over by history. The Chinese Government has consistently stood for a fair and reasonable settlement of this question through negotiation on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. It is in this spirit that our Government has settled through friendly negotiations the boundary questions left over by history with Burma, Nepal and Pakistan respectively and is now carrying on boundary negotiations with Afghanistan. Similarly, the Sino-Indian boundary question can only be settled through peaceful negotiatiou. The Chinese Government has more than once proposed negotiationto the Indian Governrnent and has expressed appreciation for the efforts of friendly countries to promote direct negotiation between China and India. -The Indian Government, however, has taken a different attitude. It invariably blocks the road towards negotiation by raising all kinds of preconditions. Likewise, its present insistence that China must accept the Colombo proposals without reservation is nothing btrt a trick, designed to impose its preconditions on China in the name of the Colombo proposals. The countries participating in the Colombo conference were well intentioned in making mediation, and their proposals were meant as a recommendation to China and India for their consideration. But the Indian Government is now bent on plac- STATEMENT OF THE CHINESE WOMEN'S DELEGATION ON THE SINO-INDIAN BOUNDARY QUESTION Dear Friends, We of the Chinese Women's Delegation have come to the World Women's Congress with a desire to strengthen unity. We have cotne to join delegates from other countries in the deliberations on the common tasks cf women of the world. We are therefore categorically against bringing up a border dispute between two Asian countries at the congress. However, even before the opening of the congress the Indian delegates had repeat'ed1y raised thj.s matter at the bureau meeting slandering China for alleged aggression against India. We have repeatedly made clear our solemn stand on this question. But they have now brought it up again at the congress. In doing so, they were serving the expansionist and anti-China policies of the Indian Government, diverting the attention of women of the world from the struggle against imperialism and colonialism and in defence of world peace, and. unclermining unity and creating confusion and split' That the boundary dispute between two Asian countries should have been injected into ttre World Women's Congress held in Moscow is a carefully designed manoeuvre to whip up an anti-China camPaign. 13 === [PDF page 11] === ing the conference participants in the position of an arbiter by turning their proposals into an unquestionable arbitration. Such a move of the Indian Government with its ulterior motive runs.counter to the desire of the participants of the Colombo conference. Now, what is the truth about the Sino-Indian boundary question? After a1l, who has committed aggression against whom? Who was it that provoked the armed conflict? Who is it that has been unwilling to conduct peaceful negotiations? The facts are there for all to see' The Indian Government has long occupied more than 90,000 square kilometres of Chiirese territory on the eastern and middle sectors of the Sino-Indian border. Since 1961, and particularly in 1962, the Indian Government has continuousJ.y nibb ed away C?rinese territory on the western sector of the border and set up strongpoints for further aggression. The Chinese side repeatedly showed forbearance and appealed for negotiation and the Indian Government mistook this for an indication that China was weak and cciuld be butUed' Finally, in October last year, the Indian Prime Minister personally gave the order to clear Chinese frontier guards from Chinese territory, thereby precipitating the subsequent large-sca1e armed confU.ct. China struck back in self-defence only when she had been pressed beyond the limits of forbearance and left with no roo,m to retreat. Following this, the Chinese Government took the initiative in bringing about the ceasefire, withdrawing its own troops, releasing a1l captured Indian military personnel and sending back large quantities of captured military materiel' Thanks 'to these measures the situation on the Sino-Indian border has been eased. 14 These measures taken by the Chinese Government on its own initiative have not only represented a positive response to the Colombo proposals, but have shown that it has put into effect or even exceeded the requirements made by these proposals on the Chinese side' The people of all countries who love peace and uphold justice have expressed their appreciation of these peaceful efforts of the Chinese Government. Flowever, instead of responding positively to these initiatives of the Chinese side, the Indian Government has ir'tensified its efforts to lan up war hysteria and worsen Sino-Indian relations. The Indian Government and some Indian politicians constantly call on their people to get ready for a long-term war against China. As everybody knows, the Indian Government has got the active support of U.S" irnperialism and the reactionaries of various countries. It has accepted huge military aid from the United States, thus throwing off its cloak of non-alignment. It has continued to violate Chinese territory and air space and make military provocations. It should be especially mentioned that the Inciian Government has been persecuting innocent Chinese residents in India in disregard of the code of international conduct. A11 this shows that the Indian Government has no sincere wish to hold negotiations with China. It all depends on the Indian Government whether negotiation can take place and whether a settlement of the SinoIndian boundary question fair and reasonal:le to both side's can be found through peaceful i-regotiation. We Chinese people have always had at heart the fundamental interests of the Chinese and Indian peoples and the common caus,e of opposing imperia)ism. We hope to solve the Sino-Indian boundarv question by means of 15 === [PDF page 12] === peaceful negotiation. We Chinese people cherish a profouud traditional friendship for the diligent and intelligent Indian people. We are convinced that no matter how many obstacles may be placed in the way by the Indian Government, the common aspirations of the Chinese and Indian peoples to live for ever in friendship wiil eventually help bring about a satisfactory solution to the SinoIndian boundary question. STATEMENT OF THE CHINESE WOMEN'S DELEGATION ON "TIIE APPEAL TO THE WOMEN OF THE WORLD'' We are of the opinion that the struggle of the y9*"1 of the world to win their rights and safeguard children's headed by the United States. Whil'e paying lip-service to the right of all nations to freedom and independence and to the need of eliminating the shame of colonialism, it === [PDF page 13] === to the cause of world peace and the defence of women's and children's rights. This document does not point to the path of genuiire peace, nor to the path of happin€ss for women and children. On the question of defending peace and cf disarmament, this document also overlooks the significance of joint struggle by various peace forces. Instead of directing the spearhead of struggle against imperialism, its armament drive and war preparation and its preparation to unieash nuclear war, the document merely indulges in empty talk about disarmament and spreads unrealistic illusions. We hold that the adoption of such a document is not conducive to uniting and mobilizing the broadest possible masses of people and women of the world to wage a struggle against imperialism and in defence of world peace. Nor does it help the caus'e of women's emancipation. Those who attempt to impose this erroneous line on others are deliberately creating a split and disrupting the unity of the women of the world. At this Yy'orld Women's Congress held in Moscow, some people have been brandishing their baton, trying thei.r utmost to enforce in the world women's movement their own line of not opposing imperialism and forbidding others to oppose it. These people have also taken advantage of the congress to carry out anti-China manoeuvres. They violate the democratic principles of international conferences, pltt the congress under their control and manipulation, and restrict and deprive Chinese delegates of the right to speak. They have been assailing the Chinese Women's Delegation by name or by insinuation and maliciously spreading all kinds of slanderous stories about the Chinese delegation and the Chinese people and distorting their views. Their purpose is to hit at the steadfas,t anti-imperialist stand of the Chinese people and women in a premeditated attempt to disrupt and split unity in the world women's movement. This exposes once again the ugly features of those serving imperi6lism. We of the Chinese Women's D'elegation have come to this congress with a solemn sense of duty towarCs defending world peace ancl upholding the lundamental interests of the people and women of the world. We are firmly against adopting this document which does not conform to the fundamental interests of the people and women of the world. We are convinced that despite any counter-current the stormy sweep of anti-imperialist revolutions of the peoples of the world cannot be checked by any force and that the unity of the women of 'the world cannot be des,troyed. The Chinese women will, together with women of the whole world, continue to carry to the very end the strugg}e against imperialism and in defence of world peace and to maintain the corlect line of the world women's movement. === [PDF page 14] === REPORT ON THE MOSCOW WORLD CONGRESS OF WOMEN DELIVEEED BY YANG YUN-YU, LEADER OF TIIE OHINESE IVOMEN'S DELEGATION, ON JI]LY I'8, 1963 AT A PEKING MASS RALLY WELCOMING HOME THE CHINESE ities of the W.LD.F. wene set up to draft the relevant - proposals. An "Appeal to the documents and submit Women of the World" devoid of revolutionary content was imposed on the congress; an opportunist Programme for the Activities of the W.I.D.F. was forced through at a meeting of national organizations of the W.I.D.F. held during the congress and a new Executive Bureau of the W.I.D.F. was elected by the most undemocratic methods. Prior to the congress, the W.I.D.F. held Executive Bureau World Congress of Women held in Moscow with a full sense of the heavy responsibility of defending world peace and upholding the fundamental inter'ests of wornen and the people and with the sincere desire of strengthening the unity of the women of all countries' As a result of manipulation by N.V. Popova, leader of the Soviet Wornen's Delegation and Vice-President of the 'Women's International Dernocratic F ederation, and by some other lead.ers of the W.I.D.F., the congress made a very bad showing. The congress lasted six days from June 24 to 29' It was announced that 1,289 delegates and 136 obser:vers frorn 113 countries participated in the congress; there were also 116 guests. Apart from the five congress reports and the speeches nade during its sessions, six comto d.eal with the general document, peace and missions disarmament, national independence, the rights of wompn, children's questions and the Programme for the Aetivand Council meetings. The congress was convened on the eve of the talks between the Chinese and Soviet Parties and at a time when the Kennedy Administration, under the smokescreen of "peace," is actively engaged in an arms drive and war preparations and is stepping up the big conspiracy of its "'strategy of peace." Women throughout the world exp,ected that the congr,ess would carry forward the revolutionary traditions of anti-imperialism and democracy of the W.I.D.F., that it would make,positive contributions to the unity of all the women of the wor1d, and to the strengthening of the struggle against imperialism and colonialism and for world peace, and to the cause of - winning and safeguarding th,e rights of women and childr,en. But most disappointingly the congress ran cornpletely counter to the aspirations and fundamental interests of the wornen and people of the world. The two documents forced through the congress are extremely harmful to the world women's movernent; they destroyed the essence of the anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist tasks of the movernent and tarnpered with its revolutionary.and progressive line. The organizers of the congress, bowing to the will of the impeiialists and particularly Kennedy, the eonomoR enerny of the people of 20 DELEGATION Comrades: On behalf of Chinese women throughout the country, w,e, the Chinese'Women's Delegation, participated in the === [PDF page 15] === the world, and flouting the aspirations of the masses ot wGmen in Asia, Africa and Latin America, imposed their forced that wrong political line on line by means, of a w pursued a pro-U.S., and iionaries and anti-social liue' TheY udlan reacy carefully planned an anti-China chorus. They engaged in a series.t sectarian and splitting activities, rutiely trampled underfoot the democratic principles of the W'I'D'F' and undermined the unity of the world wornen's rnovement' It rvas the most disgraceful and rnost tlndemocratic congress in the history of the W.I.D.F. It gave a profound i"rr", -o-y negative example to the women and people of the world. It was not an accident that this distressing situation should have arisen at the congress. We have to point out that this resulted lrom the fact that certain leaders of the W.I"D.F. have for a long tirne separated themselves frorn the basic demands of women in variotls countries, and particularly from the fact that the leader of the Soviet women's moverrent waved batons in the W'I'D'F' to enforce their erroneous line. Certain Sovibt comlades have reduced the general line of the foreign policy of socialist countries to the single aspect of peaceful coexistence and peaceful cornpetition, and oppose the revolutionary-struggles of the peoples of various countries to the struggle for world peace. Moreover, disregatding the demands of the masses represented by the W'I'D'F' to cppose imperialism and colonialism and to strive for and safeguard national independence, they imposed thei'r own will on the W.I.D.F., thus turning this organization into an instrument serving one country's foreign policy' In these circurnstances, serious differences of principle arose on the question of the line of the Iil.I'D'F' To sum up: tFrese differences relate to whether imperialism is to be opposed oi not; whether or not disarmament and peaceful coexistence are to be taken as the overriding central task; whether the national-independence movement is to be supported or not; whether or not it should one-sidedly serve the needs of the foreign policy of the Soviet Union; for the sake and whether p The efforts . of broad unity rough their made by the erroneous line in the W.I.D.F. have on many occasions met with resistance. They have used all kiuds of despicable means to attain their purposes and this was developed, to a new height at the congress. In face of this situation, the Chinese Women's Delegation could not but come forward. In accordance with the policy of "persevering in principle, strengthening unity, eliminating differences and lvaging a common struggle against the enemy," the Chinese delegation, together with the delegations lrorn Albania, Korea, trndonesia, Viet Nam, Japan and many other Asian, African and Latin American countries, held high the revoltltionary banner of - opposing imperialism and colonialisrn, old and new, of winning and safeguarding national independence and defending world peace, and waged a resolute struggle against the handful of people who insisted on an erroneous line; this it did in order to safeguard the fundamental interests of the broad masses of women and children, to uphold the correct line of the wotld women's movement and the revolutionary traditious and democratic principles of the W.I.D.F. Aithough the leader of the Soviet Women's Delegation and certain other leaders of the W.I.D.F. were outrageously rude to the Chinese delega- === [PDF page 16] === tion and took a seri,es of hostile actions against it, we, on our part, still treasured unity, and the, fundamental interests of the people and wom'en of the world, exercised the utmost patience and r'estraint, expounded our own correct'position and proposals, criticized and exposed their mistakes, and cond'emned their schemes to oppose and isolate China, and strengthened unity with the delegates of the various countries. This upright, fair and reasonable attitude of the Chines'e delegation had won wide sympathy and support among thb delegates of the various countries. This struggle is absolutely necessary. It is not only a struggle to uphold the basic int'erests of women and children; it is also a struggle connected with the cause of strengthening.the unity of the world's people, opposing imperialism and def,ending world peace. Let me nolv te1l you something about the cours'e of this grave struggle. The struggie betwe,en two lines ran through the congr,ess from first to last. This was shown most clearly in regard to the following questions. 1. Concerning the problem as to whether irnperialism, and first of all, U.S. imperialism, isl to be opposed or not. Struggte against imperialism is not only the common demand of the Asian, African and Latin American peoples but also the demand of the peoples in the capitalist countries in Europe and North America. It is only natural that the W.I.D.F', reflecting the demand of th,e progressive wornen of the whole world, should call upon and lead the mass,es of women in waging struggles against imperialism. Ilowever, the most astonishing thing is that differences occurred even on this question which is a matter of common s,ense. The leader of the Soviet and which is conveyed in the speech President Kennedy Eas jusrt made at the grailuation ceremony of the Washing-"University? [Should be American University ion In that speech he recognized the necessity for peaceful coexistence." She added: "Isn't it encotlraging that the two the W.I.D.F. and President of the Spanish Cornrnunist Party, went so far as to pin her hopes on Mrs' Kennedy' She said ingratiatingly: 'oYes. We intend to come to an understanding even with Mrs. Kennedy with regard to the question of the struggle for peace, if Mrs' Kennedy' who is also a mother, should express readiness to cooperate with the women of the whole world in the cause of defending the lives of their children frorn the Inenace of war and death." It is truly astonishing that I'eaders of the W'I'D'F' shouldhavemad'esuchspeechesinwhichtherevolutiont out from these docum'ents words about opposition to im25 === [PDF page 17] === perialism. 'Ihey are as scared of referenc,es to opposition to imperialism as a child is of irronsters. The or:iginal draft of the report on peace and disarmament made by the Japanese delegate for submission to the congress devoted a great deal of space to exposure of the criminal acts of U.S. imperialism. The whole reporb was perm,eated with the central idea of the need to oppose irnperialist policies of war and aggression; it was originally a good report reflecting the basic demands of women throughout th,e world. But N' V. Popova, Chairman of the Soviet Women's Committ,ee, and certain leaders of the W.I.D.F. were from first to last hostile to this report and determined to reject it. They racked their brains to tamper with it. At the meeting of the Executi',,e Bureau of the W.I.D.F. held prior to th'e opening of the congress, they repeatedly exerted pressure and forced fhs Japanese delegate to mak'e revisions' They said that too many references to "imperialism" were too irritating. They could not even tolerate the statement that U.S. imperialism was the 'enemy of p'eace and 'on striking it out of the documents. Yvonne insisted Dumont, the General Seeretary of the Union of French 'Women, even made the fallacious statement that it imperialism was said to be the enemy of peace, women would be alienated and the forces of peace weakened, which would be favourable to imperialism: They used every despicable rnethod to force the Japanese delegate to yield ground; they even accus'ed her of imposing the line of the minority on the congress. Similar things happened in regard to the report drafted by the Cuban delegat,e for submission to the congress on the question of health, upbringing and education of children and youth. In this report the Cuban delegate censured imp,erialism head'ed bv the United State's and colonialism, old and new, for the sufferings they brought to children and young people, and pointed out that for: their happiness imperialism must b'e opposed. N. V' Popova, Chairman of the Soviet Women's Committee, and certain leaders of the W.I.D.F. showed extreme alarm and worry over the report and one of them went so far as to. say that the report "id an atomic bomb," and must be drastically revised. The original report contained more than 30 pages, but it was forcibly cut by more'than revealing the U'S. imten pages, and plunder were d6leted' perialist crime m. In discussing the However, this nevised version, Vaillant-Couturier, Vice-President of the W.I.D.F. and Member of the Central Committee of the French Csmmunist Party, suddenly held it up, saying that there were typing errors and th'e version must be furth,er revised. The fact was that. what they wanted was not to correct the technical errors of typing but to cut out that part exposing the colonialist and imperialist powers' use of Africans as slaves, abottt Algeria waging seven years of bloody struggle and the workers and peasants in the capitalist countries being the cheapest of comrnodities for the imperialists. This is the way they protect and serve the imperialists! Popova and certain other leaders of the W.I.D.F. not only misused the powers entrusted to them by the worr'I'erl of the countries represented at the congress and emasculated the anti-imperialist content of these documents, but also manufactured extremely mistak'en documents according to their own ideas, which ran counter to the interests of the masses of women. Two such products are the "Programme for the Aetivities of the W.I.D.F.'fi 27 === [PDF page 18] === wleose adoption was forced through at the meeting of the national organizations of the W.I.D.F. and the "Appeal to the Women of the World" adopted at the congress. These, two documents fail to point out that irmperialism headed by the United States is the enemy of peace and tt-re so!.rrce of war. They fail to point out that an important cause of the sufferings of wornen and children lies in imperialism. These two documents sirnply contain rneaningXess cries about the rights of wornen and children, friendship and unity. Unhealthy sentirnents were spread among the masses of women, as well as all kinds of illusions and the horrors of war and nuclear weapons. These documents certainly do not bring any good to the world women's movement; they mereJ.y benefit imperialism. They are bound to be rej,ected by the broad masses of women of all lands. In complete contrast to the leader of the Soviet Women's Delegation and certain other leaders of the W.I.D.F., many delegates from the Asian, African and Latin American countries and from the capitalist countries in Europe and North Arnerica expressed the view that it is essential to oppose imperialism resolutely in order to safeguard the interests of the women ared children of the world. The Japanese and Cuban delegates were subjected to great pressur,e in the course of revising the reports they drafted. But the Japanes,e delegate, in her speech at the congress, nevertheless condemned the U.S. imp,erialist crimes in forcing ahead the arms drive and war preparations and in s,etting up military bases, and the Cuban delegate continued to hold aloft the banner of the Second Havana Declaration. Delegates from the African countries just freed from imperialist and colonialist rule and fighting a life-and-death struggle against imperialism and colonialism, also strongly expressed the same views. The delegate frorn 'Comoro said that after rnore than 100 years of imperialist rule, the people of her country lived in the utmost misery and that they could not continue to live unless imperialism were thrown out. The Chinese delegation, together with the delegations from Albania, Korea, Viet Nam, south Viet Nam, Indonesia, Laas, Zanzibar, Southwest Africa, Mozambique, Angola and Venezuela, in the speeches at the general and group meetings and in their written statements, repeatedly and clearly expounded the principled stand and attitude that struggles must be waged against imperialisrn. The leader of the Soviet Women's Delegation and certain other leaders of the W.I.D.F. could do nothing to refute the just stand and attitude against imperialism taken by large numbers of delegates. But they were det,ermined to go their own way and acted truculently in order to put into effect their erroneous line of s'eeking a comp omise with imperialism. The diehard and extrem,ely wrong attitude they took is bound to b,e condemned by history and life. 2. On the question of how to realize the dernand of the broad sections of wornen to check imperialist wars of aggression and deferid workl peace. Differences of principle also arose on this question. In the opinion of the leader of the Soviet W'omen's Delegation and certain other leaders of the W.I.D.F., in order to check imperialist wars of aggr,ession and defend world peace, there is no need to expos,e the en,emy of peace and to rely on the struggles of the peoples in various countries and the national-liberation movement. In their view, war can be avoided and world peace,ensured only if the leaders of a few big powers can reach a certain understanding on === [PDF page 19] === international issues, only if the charity of Kennedy and his like is aroused. and only if the oppressed nations and oppressed peoples coexist with imperialism in.complete obedience and make no trouble. Starting from this point, they did their best to play up the role of the heads of the big powers. In her report Madame Cotton said: "Our congress opens in auspicious circumstances since the problem closest to women's hearts, that of peace, has become the chief concern of the heads of government of the greatest nuclear powers"' An ltalian delegate even said: "Some great men such as the Pope, the Soviet Premier and President Kennedy have issuetl statements of peace and showed a great sense of responsibilitY." They triecl their utmost to clothe the wolf in a sheep skin, and paint Kennedy, chieftain of imperialism, as an angel of peace. We frequentiy heard nauseating praises afraid of,," aird added, "we gather here with fear and hope," "it is a question of either peace or.death'" belegates of many countries adopted a stand which of Kennedy. They tried to scare people by making alarming and sensational statements about war and nuclear weapons in an att,empt to blunt the vigour of the people's struggl'e and tie their hands. Madame Cotton said, ". - and now there are trombs rnillions of tirnes moie powetful than those of Hiroshima... which can make whole continents disappear." N.V. Popova of the Soviet Union said in her opening speech: "In our time, the peoples are menaced by the threat of a destructive atornic wa!:, which will not leave untouched any should it break out -region of the world. -.." Madame Vermeersch, VicePresident of the Union of French Women and the wife of.Thorez, General Secretary of the French Comrnunist Party, declared, "It's indeed war that we woruten are 30 yas completely opposed to that of the 1'eader of the Soviet Women's Delegation and certain other leaders of the W.LD.F. on the question of how to check imperialist wars and defend world peace. The Chinese delegat'es and those of many other countries unequivocally exprgssed their ardent love for peace and at the same time pointed out that in order to prevent imperiaiist wars of aggression and defend world peace it was necessary to expose widely and profoundly the enemy of peace - imperialism, particularly U.S. imperialism, to rely on the struggles of the broad masses of the people, to support the liberation movemenls of all oppressed nations and oppressed peoples and to combat resolutely those forces which, with iheir ulterior motives, try to benumb the fighting spirit of the people and to obstruct their struggle' The delegates of many countties, eEpecially those frorn Asia, Africa and Latin Arnerica, sharply repudiated the erroneous argu' ments in this respect advanced by the leader of the Soviet Delegation and certain other leaders of the - Womear's However hard the organizers of the congress W.I.D.B-. tried to repr€ss them, rnany delegates boldly and indignantly tore off th'e peace camouflage of U'S' imperialism and expr,essed their just stand of defending peace thlough struggle. The Zanzihar delegate said: "We must unite and wage a resolute struggle against imperialisrn and its lackeys. Of course, some wiil have to sacrifice theirlivesinthestruggle,hutthiscannotintirnidateus. We woutrd rather die while standing than live fawning like a dog." The Venezuelan delegate said: "No matter 31 === [PDF page 20] === how much blood we shall have to shed, we shall fight on until victory is won." widesprea{ and comPlete disare the overriding tasks of the women's movement. This was the most hotly debated point. The leader of the Soviet lVonnen's Delegation and certain other leaders of the W'I'D'F' had worked deliberately to make disarmarnent and peaceful coexistence the central and overriding tasks of the international wometr!'s movement. Thcy practically described disarmament and peaceful coexistence as a sovereign remedy to save the world. The Soviet delegate said: "General and complete disarrnament is an extremely irn- 3. The armament bY saYing that once also attemPted disarmament is happiness of wo Cotton declared independence and the are assured' Madame nt would serve as a 32 throughout the world by mankind in the course of thousands of years." Someone even alleged that general and cornplete disarmament was "the only way otlt." The Yugoslav delegate claimed that "positive coexistence" was the "overriding question" now facing the wornen's rnovement and that "the only alternative to war is to strive for positive coexistence." Some others alleged: "Only in conditions of peace and only when the peaceful co,existence of countries having different social systems becomes a reality, can the struggle for women's rights in the capitalist countries and the women's struggle for emancipation in the colonies and in countri'es newly freed from colonial oppression proce'ed smoothly." The congress "Appea1 to the Women of the World" and the "Programme for the Activities of the W.I.I).F.," concocted solely by the leader of th'e Soviet del'egation and certain other leaders of the W.I'D.F., are permeated by the idea that general and complete disarmament and peaceful coexistence are the overriding tasks. This absuld. viewpoint evoked strong opposition from the detegations of China, Albania, Korea, Viet Nam, south Viet Nam, Indonesia, Japan and many other Asian, African and Latin American countries. The Korean delegate solernnly pointed out: "It will only harm the struggle for national liheration to preach that disarmarnent is the task of primary irnportance for the oppressed peoples who aro now waging struggles and at the same time to insist that if we ensure peaceful coexistence and realize disarmament this will naturally hring national independence with it. We must never beg imperialisrn for independence, freedom and peace; we must win them through struggle." The Indonesian delegate said: "We believe that the dernand for disarmament cannot be easily realized === [PDF page 21] === because it meets with strong opposition froxn imperialisrn. We maintain therefore that there isr a pressing need"' to launch an unrelenting struggle against the aggressive f,orces of irnperialism, a struggle in which wornen rnust take an active part." The Japanese delegate said: "Imwhile paying lip-service to peace and disarrnaperialisrn, -ment, is actually pursuing a dual policy; it is carrying on aggressive wars and an arms race' Therefore' the *onr"r, of the whole rvorld rnust have enough vigilance not to be fascinated by fine words"' The Zanzibat delegate declarecl: "We should not allorv ourselves to toolea by the imperialist 'policy of peace'' Irrperialism Yo hope that impewill never disarrn voluartarily rialism will disarm is like expecting a rnan-eating tiget to go to a dentist to have its fangs removed'" Delegates from many countries strongly refuted the preposterous arguments of the lead'er of the Sovi'et Womi.r'" Oul"gution and certain other leaders of the W'I'D'F' who arbitrarily extended the concept of p'eaceful cc'existence to include relations between oppressed and oppressor nations, between oppressed countries and oppressor countries and between oppressed classes and oppressor classes. The detegat'e from Southwest Africa said: "Don't endlessly and enthusiastically pr,each so-crlled peaceful coexistence with imperialism. at the expense of us' the suffering peoples of various countries'" Some oth'er delegat"s said: "Many of our friends at home are either in coutld we 'coexist iail or have been sacrificed' How peacefully' with imperialism? Is it not a betrayal of the motherland if we agree with their line of disarmam'ent and peaceful coexistence?" 4. On the question of how to treat the nationalliberation movement of the oppressed nations' At the congress, certain persons erroneously opposed the national-liberation movernent.to the struggle for the defence of world peace, and divorced it from the movernent for' the emancipation of wornen. They paid lavish lip-serviee to support of the nationalindependeuce movernerrt, hut their dezds proved just the opposite. While the congress was in session, the tleiegations from Laos, south Viet Nam, Korea, Venezuela, Southwest Africa and other countries, which are struggling heroieally against imperialism, repeatedly appealed io the congress to adopt separate resolutions in support of their peoples' struggles for liberation. Those who ran the congress turned a deaf ear to these appeals and thus cornpletely exposed themselves as hypocrites whose actions do not tally with their words. Their erroneous views were severely and justly refuted by the delegates from China and other countries' The Albanian delegate point'ed out: "The national-liberation wars waged by the enslaved people are anti-imperialist wars which deal imperialism powerful blows, undermining its foundations and weakening its strength. Such wars are favourable to p'eace." She added: "Any action - to oppose the national-liberation wars to the struggle in defence of peace, any action to hinder these wars under various pretexts, not only do not conform with the vital interests of the p'eoples who are struggling to rid th'emselves of imperialism, but will also bring great damage to the cause of safeguarding peace and international security." The Korean delegate pointed out the correct path for the struggl'e for national independerice' She said: "Only by launching attacks against the imperialists from various sides and by iying their hands with all kinds of methods of struggles, can we win nationai === [PDF page 22] === independence and liberation, the rights of women and the happy future of the young,er generations, and the victory of the great cause of lasting world peace." The delegat,e from Laos said: Our historical experience has taught us that to defend national independence we must wage a resolute struggle against U.S. imperialism. We ar,e deeply awar,e that only after the attainm'ent of national independenoe can the rights of women and the happiness of children be thoroughly realiz'ed' Women's emancipation must be linked with the struggle for national liberation. Many delegates complain'ed during the recess: It seems that they have forgotten their past struggles against imperialism. Now that they have b'ecome rich, they don't care about the surfferings and sacrifices others are experiencing under imperialist oppression" The activities of the leader of the Soviet delegation and some other leaders of the W.I.D.F' in doing their utmost to negate the national-independence movement have not only alienated them from the progressive women of the world, and particularly from the broad masses of Asian, African and Latin American women who are in the storm of th,e national-liberation struggle, but have also Ied to the weakness which is being shown in the women's emancipation movem'ent under the influence of the W.I.D.F. 5. The question of whether or not the wornen's movement can be separated from the current, com{non stttlggle of the broad mas.ses. Certain persons did all they could to vulgarize the lofty feelings and sentiments of women and rnothers. Dolores Ibarruri talked glibly at the congress about charrning womanhood and women's rnor:al beauty. Some persons talked much about women who "grieve in fear of war." In its proposal to the 36 W.I.D.F., the Union of French Women said: "Mother love is the basis of women's unity." Some persons confin'ed women's function to mo'therhood, giving birth to and looking after children. On the surface, thes'e views seemed to take no notice of politics, but they actually involved a very big political question. Their aim was to exclude women from political life' If these views were accept,ed, women would never win complete emancipation. The bt'oad mass,es of wom'en must on no account allow themselves to be pushed around at will by others' No one can cut them off from the current struggle of 'the broad masses of the people. The erroneous views expressed were refuted by an African delegate in her speech. She said: "It is impossihle to oppose imperialisrn without the participation of women. Many African women are waging a revolutionary struggle against imperialism and colonialism and for national ind'epeudence"' From what has been said above, it is clear to us that the struggle betw,een two lines was extremely sharp and acu'te at the Wor1d Congress of Wom'en. Our Party and country have persevered in the correct line of antiimperialism and revolution in the international struggle; the Chines,e'Women's Delegation at the congress energetically defended the correct line of the international women's movement. As a result, we incurred the bitter hatred of those who persisted in the erron'eous line' Marshalling all elernents hostile to China, they staged nne anti-China farce after another. They deliberately blockaded and attacked the Chinese delegation; they spread rumours and slanders inside and outside the congress hall, vilitying the People's Republic of China and the Chinese people. What warrants special mention is that the Indian delegate at the instigation of the organiz- === [PDF page 23] === against ers of the congress launched unbridled attacks conthe Cfrio, on the rnorning of June 26 by raising atsomething g**rs tt Sino-trndian botrndary question'" nothing to do with the theme of the congress' ifriofo had As early as March this year, at the Berlin meeting ciele-' Soviet the W'I'D'F'' ine of the Executive Bureau gur"--eopora openly supported the Indian delegate's the Sinoi"*ur,d tt"t tn" Bu'ea"-pass a resolution onbecause failed this But Indian boundary question' her our resolute opposition' Before this congress' th'e InW'I'D'F'' the letter to the Executive Bureau the truth about the distorted dian delegate once again China as Sino-Indian boundary question' slandered submitted and India against fruvirrg commitied aggression -hn" crrirrese delegate at that time a draft r,esolution. ,"iuted this and' resolutely expressed her disess a boundary "tt"rUt ugre.Llrrt to raising at t The Chinese qlestion between two General Italy' i"tugutu also informed delegate ndian s""J"tury of the W.I.D.F', the Chiwere aliowed to attack China at'the congress' reply' her reply' nese delegate should have the right longer that Carmen Zanti w'ent so far as to say line of the persistecl in our views on the question of the also be might women's 6svsp'ent, th'en c onsideration on the resolution iirrun to refraining from passi"g:lI dem.and Sino-Indian boundary question' This meant principles' that the Chinese aercgaie should barter away Howshamefulthiswas!ofcourse,wehadnoalternastrongly and tiv,e but to reject this demand categorically that the Inrefut,e it. It was under these circumstances the Wor1d rostrum the aiun a"f"gute's scheme to use Congress of Wom"n to attack China 38 was eventually i"ealized with the support of the organizers of the conand support it gave to Inclia at what she ca1led the "most critical moment," and declared that this had enthe W.I.D.F., the Indran delegate's attacks against China could never have erupted at the World Congress of Wom,en held in Moscow" It is not difficult for clearsighted people to see what inglorious a role the leader of the Soviet delegation and certain other leaders of the W.I.D.F. playeil in the anti-China chorus' As th,e Indian delegate was using the rostrum of the World Congress of Won'len for an open attack on China, the Chinese delegation, according to the procedure, im- mediately asked the executive chairman for the floor' When the trndian delegate concluded her speech, Kuo Chien, deputy leader of the Chinese delegation, went to the rostrum, preparing to speak. But the executive chairman ruclely stopped her, rang the bell and declared the session adjourned. At this moment, the loudspeakers were disconnected'and then the lights were switched off' Many delegates were indignant at this farce in which the dernocratic principles and normal practice obsqrved in such international conferences were violateil by allowing the Indian delegate to attack China but forbidding the 39 === [PDF page 24] === Chinese delegate to reply. Despite the chairman's announcerarent of adjourntnent, crowds sta5z6fl at the conference hall for a long time. The leader and deputy leader. of the Japanese delegation mounted the rostrurn to protest against forbidding the Chinese delegate to speak. Afterwards, the delegates from Albania, Korea and Indonesia respectively sent written protests to ttrre congress. Delegates from 18 Asian and African countries, including Korea, Viet Nam, sotlth Viet Nam, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Mozambique and Kenya, signed a jolnt demand that the Indian delegate withdraw that part of her speech concerning the Sino-Indian boundary question and that the congress respect the right of the Chinese delegate to reply. On June 29, the last day of the congress, th,e executive chairman suddenly announced before the adjournm,ent in the morning that the Chinese delegate was given three minutes to speak. In her reply to the Indian delegate's speech, th,e Chinese delegate pointed out its deceitful nature, expressed the Chinese people's desir,e to live in friendship with the Indian people for geirerations to come and at th,e same time solemnly denounced certain persons for using the rostrum of the World Congress of Women to engage in anti-China activities. But the Chinese delegate's speech was again arbitrarily interrupted by the executive chairman and immediate arrangements were made at the congress for the Indian delegate to make another speech against China. The Chinese delegation and the women and other people of China cannot but feel distressed and regretful that such flagrant anti-China activities should have taken pla,ce at the World Congress of Women held in Moscow. The leader of the Soviet Wornen's Delegation and certain o,ther leaders of the W.I.D.F. cannot harm us in the least by striking up an anti-China chorus in Moscow. On the contrary, it has exposed them before the people of the world. No matter what pains they.have taken to isolate China, sympathy is with the Chinese delegation. Seeing with their own eyes the two anti-China farces on June 26 and 29, many delegations voiced their indignation. The Korean delegation in its statement said: "It expressed its surprise at the use of the congress as a rostrum for an anti-China campaign. Some members of the executive body of the congress not only gave the Indian delegate permission to raise provocatively the Sino-Indian boundary question which should not be discussed by the World Congress of Women, and to deliver a speech to slander and damage the People's Republic of China, but also even came openly to their defence. But the Chinese women's delegate who asked for the floor to answer the slanders of the Indian delegate was subjected to attacks and forbidden to speak." Madaure Umi Sardjono, leader of the Indonesian delegation, said in her statement: "I must express our great regret that such an event should have taken place at the World Congress of Women held in Moscow. We hope that there will be no repetition of such events." Several African delegates told the Chinese delegation that the effort to harm the Chinese delegates was tantamount to harming them too. A U.S. delegate also told us that she had felt sick at heart the day the chairman rang the bell and forbade the Chinese delegate to speak. She had never imagined that women could be so rude to women. Precisely because sympathy was on the side of Qhina, the directors of the anti-China chorus, although they could instigate th-e Indian delegate to attack China, dared not === [PDF page 25] === after all put before the congress their previously prefavoured India against pared -Chir,r. draft resolution which This showed that they themselves knew that ouch things could not bear the light of day. An acute and bitter struggle took place at the World Congress of Women not only on the question of its political line but also on the question of its organizational line. The leader of the Soviet lVomen's Delegation and somo other leaders of the W.I.D.F., in order to carry out their erroneous political line, must inevitably pursue a completely wrong organizational line, one of sectarianism, splittism and great-powet chauvireism' I wiII now deal with specific problems in regard to this. 1. The leader of the Soviet Women's Delegation and some other leaders of the W.I.D.F. cornpletely ignored the broad (nasses of women of the world' They do not want to orient the activities of the IV.I.D'F towards the broad masses of the women of the world. They are only foo eager to fall in with the wishes of a small group of women of the upper social strata in the European and Norttrr American capitalist countries and noake complomises with them, confinin"g the activities of the W'I'D'F' within this srnall circle of women of the upper social strata, and turning the W"I.D.F. into their "club"' The various continents were represented at the Republic, West Germany and West Ber1in, while less than 100 came from 34 African countries and less than 42 250 from 23 Asian countries' The total number of delegates from Asia, Africa and Latin America was less than that from the European countries' In her opening speech, N.V. Popova, Chairman of the Soviet Women's Committee, boasted that the congress is "the most representative assembly in the history of the international co-. operation of women." But, what kind of "representative" was it, pray? Such a situation, it must be pointed out, was brought about deliberately by the leader of the Soviet Women's Committee which was host to the congress. Early in April this year, they had already formed the "Soviet Committee to Assist the Preparation and Convening ol the World Congress of Women." To ensure that their erroneous line would get majority support from participating delegates, the leader of the Soviet Wornen's Committee ignored some member organizations of the W.I.D.F. and arbitrarily invited people whom they deemed "suitable" and gave them plane tickets. They placed various obstacles in the way of a number of women delegates of the oppressed nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America so that these countries were unable to send bigger delegations to the congress' - This way of doing things caused many delegates to be dissatisfied; one British woman delegate had this to say: Most of those invited by the congress are women of the middle and upper social strata while working women do not have the chance to attend. They just do not have the money to come as tourists at their own expense. Our Soviet friends talk all day long about what they call the well-known figures; people are tired of hearing that. In view of the unfairness of the fact that most delegates to the congress came from the European and North American countries while there were relatively fewer 43 === [PDF page 26] === delegates from Asian, Afriean and Latin American counfrom many trie{ the Chinese delegation and delegates that in accordother countries put for*ard the proposal big and sma1l ance with the principle of equalily among or a limited vote' one o"" country nations, the system of the documents the number of votes, be foIlowed when voting the objected congress w'ere voted on' They m"tiod proposed by the W'I'D'F' that the system of one or",rotu be followed in adopting the programme "orr,try while the system of on'e d'elegate one vote be fo lowed for the adoption of congress docurnents' A heated argumentaboutthisoccurredatthemeetingoftheheadsof delegations. The manipulators of the congress asserted thatlhe meeting of the heads of delegations was not enthe titled to make any decision and shifted the question presid.ium for further discussion' However' no meeting the tt tft" presidium was ever called' As a result' when vote' the put was "Appeal to the Women of the World" it was still a mystery as to how the votes were counted' Soviet 2. Throughout the cougress, the leader of theleaders' 'Women's Delegation and certain other W'tr'D'F' in order to push through their erroneous political line' their adopted the most undemocratic practices in imposing and congress views on others. They manipulated the wantonly suppressed those hotding a correct view violating the most elementary democratic principies tobeobservedinaninternationaldemocraticorganization, by trampling under foot the most el'ementary demcountries and ocratic- rights.t 1ne delegates of various by resorting to all kinds of the crudest means' Their way oi Aoirrg this has set the worst possible precedents for international democratic organizations' 44 Madame Cotton's report was made on behalf of the W.I.D.F., it involved the line and orientation of the W.I.D.F. An important report like this should have been' fully discussed at meetings of the Executive Bureau and the Councit of the W.I.D.F. and approved by them before being submitted to the congrcss. But disregarding the democratic principles of international mass organizations, the leader of- the Soviet W'omen's Delegation and some o'ther leaders of the W.I.D.E. actually refused to allow the Executive Bureau and Council of the W.I.D.F. to discuss the report. When the delegations of ihitt and other countries asked for a discussion on it, some person even declared that daughters could not discuss their mamma's report. It was sqid that discussion meant distrust of her and lack of respect for her. Sorne persons even fooled the delegates by saying that the report was not a general report but one on ordinary activities. So, they claimed, there was no need for discussion. As a resuIt, Madame Cotton's report was delivered to the congress without being discussed by the W.I.D.F. Executive Bureau and Council. Madame Cotton moreover announced that this report represented the line of the W.I.D.F. -And this was how this so-ca11ed line of the W.I'D.F. was imposed on the women of variouscountries without being dis,cussed in any way. Ernploying their artificial majority, the leader of the Soviet delegation and certain other W.I.D.F. leaders time and again put their voting rnachine into operation. What was even rnore outrageous was that they accepted the voting when it turned out to be favourable to them, but when the voting was unfavourable to them, they found tault with everything and had the matter put to vote again so that they could get what they wanted. T'he Ex- === [PDF page 27] === ecutive Bureau rneeting held before the congress discussed four other reports to be submitted to the congress; they were: the report on peace and disarmament to be given by a Japanese delegate, the report on national iniep"nd'"rr"" by a Mali detregate, the report on childr'en by a Cuban delegate and the report on women's rights by an Italian delegate. The original draft of the first thre'e reports was good; they exposed the criminal deeds of imperialism and raised the question of fighting against imperialism and new and old colonialism' This was apparehtly not to the liking of the leader of the Soviet the W'I'D'F' fuomen-'s Delegation and some other leaders of the antiout take who tried a thousand and one ways it with replaced and imperialist contents of these reports the disarmament a content making complete and gen'eral the revise task transoending all others. But they failed Mali the given r,eport on national independence to be delegate. In regard to the reports to be made by the earlier' Japa"nese and Cuban delegates, as I have told you bear they hung on like grim death bringing pressure on the Japanese and Cuban d'elegates and insisting that they revise their reports; they also insisted on f orming g"orp to revise these two reports arbitrarily' And "when the Japanese and Cuban.delegates'refused to listen to this tall order they threatened to all'<lw these two repo,rts to be given only in the name of individuals' Then when the Executive Bureau approved the proposal that of ii-rdithes,e two reports should b'e made in the name more to was this that vid.uals, the manipulators, thinking at the voting the their disadvantage, then declared that started again once Executive Bureau was null and void and Japoperating their voting machine demanding that the way the Cuban delegates revise the reports ".rur" ".rA they wanted'and that the revised reports would then be submitted to the congress in the name of the Executive Bureau. The session of the Council should have lasted a day, according to the published timetable. But in fact the session came hastily to an end after a little over an hour. The Council members were 4ot permitted to discuss major problems of the congress, thus depriving the Council of its functions and powers. The congress set up a presidium, but it did not meet once. The executive chairmen of the congress and the chairmen of the commissions were appointed by the so-called secretariat of the congress. Except for the leader of the Soviet Wom= en's Delegation and some other leaders of the W.I.D.F.' nobody knew how the secretariat was formed, who were its members and what powers it had. On the question of documents of the congress it happened that, without discussion by the presidium. of the congress, a lew people, using the name of the Executive Bureau, announced that the congress would produce only one general document. AII the documents and resolutions adopted at commissions were regarded by them as proposals, not official documents of the congress. The draft programme submitted by the W.I.D.F. for discussion by its national organizations is a document which does not oppose i,rnperialism and which follows an erroneous line. The National Women's Federation of the People's Republic of China seriously and carefully studied that draft programme and put forward its proposals. Delegates from Albania, Korea, Indonesia., Viet Nam, Japan and other countries also put forward their proposals. But Carmen Zanti of Italy, self-appointed chairman of the programme commission, simply paid === [PDF page 28] === no attention to these proposals of principle at all. At the meeting of the delegates of W.I.D'F.'s national organizations the voting machine was put into actlon and the result was that four delegations, namely, China, Albania, Korea and Indonesia, voted against and four delegations, namely, Viet Nam, south Viet Nam, Laos and Japan abstained those who voted against and those who abstained constituted one-sixth of all national organizations taking part in the voting. The mernbership of these eight countries makes up more than 70 per cent of the total membership of the W.I.D.F. which is 200 million. The "Appeal to the Women of the World" is the only document issued in the name of the congress. It should have been fully discussed by ail participating delegates. But the fact was that the draft of this docum,ent was discussed only once in the commission for drafting the general document, and the final version was not only never discussed in the commission, but was not even seen by delegates of many countries before it was put to the vote in the congress. At the ciosing ceremony of the congress, its manipulators resorted to the tactics of a blitzkrieg: Madame Cotton read out the "appeal," then delegates from the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic took the lead in standing up, then a team to give the cheers in the "visitors' galleries" hip, hip, hip hurrahed and clapped their hands for about,as Iong as 20 minutes. None of the members of the Chinese 'Women's Delegation either stood up or applauded, but kept to their seats with great presence of mind. When they arbitrarily put the document to the vote, the Chinese, Albanian and Korean delegations voted against, and the Vietnamese delegation abstained. The delegates of south Viet Nam and a numb,er of other delegates did not take part in the voting at all. At the congress sessions and commissions, the leader of the Soviet Women's Delegation and certain other Ieaders of ther W.I.D.F. applied the regulations of the congress as they saw fit, treating different people differently. Those who were to their liking were not restricted in their speeches. It was stipulated at the congress that every nation should have only one d.elegate speaking at the plenary session and no spe,ech must exceed ten minutes. But there was a delegate who spoke for thirty minutes without being stopped by the chairman while some people were free to take the floor again and again without going through any forinalities. The Soviet Union spoke on five occasions in various ways at the plenary session and four of her speeches were lengthy ones. Dolores Ibarruri of Spain spoke on two occasions. The speeches of those not to their liking were interrupted, obstructed and restricted in a hundred and one ways. As I just told you a moment ago, th,e Indian delegate who attacked China. at the congress was subjected to no restrictions of any kind, but when t-Ire Chinese delegation asked for the floor to answer the Indian delegate's attacks, the executive chair:rnan of the congress used every rneans to prevent us from speaking. After the "Appeal to the Women of the World" was {orced through the congress, the Chinese delegate read to the congress a staternent of the Chinese delegation concerning this "appeaI." At this moment, Madame Maddalena Rossi of Italy, the executive'chairmari of the congress, rudely interfered with the speech of the Chinese delegation and finally u'ent so far as to break it up, Immediately following this, Dclores Ibar49 === [PDF page 29] === ruri, ignoring all procedure, hurried up to the platform to make a speech attacking China. Not only was her speech not restricted at al1 but it was backed by the cheering squad organized by the manipulators of the congress. The Albanian and Korean delegates asked to present their views at the congress on the "Appeal to the Women of the Wor1d," but the executive chairman of the congress illegally deprived them of their right to speak, on the pretext that Ibarruri had already wound up diSci-tssion on this matter. When the Executive Bur,eau of the W.I.D.F. was being re-elected, the leader of the Soviet Women's Delegation and certain other leaders of the W.I.D.F. adopted the most disgraceful means to manipulate and control the election so as to prevent those who dis,agr,eed with their line from being elected to the Bureau. They unilaterally announsed that the former Bureau m,embers would r,emain unchanged and only several new members would be added. Korea nominated Viet Nam and China nominated Korea as new Bureau members and the nominations were seconded by quite a few countries. But these properly made and seconded motions w,ere completely ignored by the executive chairman who refused to put them to the vote. This evoked the dissatisfacticn of many delegates; even some delegates from Denmark and Belgium thought it unfair that things were done in this most undemocratic way and expressed their indignation. N. V. Popova, Chairman of the Soviet Women,s Committee, bragged at the Moscow meeting of women activists on JuIy 8 that at the Moscow Congress of Women "freedom to exchange opinions was fully assured,,, "everyone.spoke out freely, stated their position, their thoughts, hopes and aspirations." This'was a monstrous lie deceiving herself as well as others. Moreover, the leader of the Soviet TVomen's Delegation and certain other leaders of the W.I'D.F., in order to control the congress and the delegations of all countries, besides trarnpling on the principles of democracy, also adopted other vile methods. We will take this opportunity to tell you about it. The host of the congress made careful arrangements for the accommodation of the various delegations. The delegations of most countries were accommodated in one hotel, the Albanian delegation was placed in another, and the d,elegations of Korea and Vi'et Nam in a third' The Chinese delegation, greatly honoured by the special concern given by the host, was accommodated in the most luxurious Soviet Hotel; this arrangement was mad'e on purpose. Apart from the members of the Executive Bureau of the W.I.D.F', there was only the Chinese delegation in this hotel. So the Chines'e delegation was walled in and found it very hard to have any contact with other delegations. It was also arranged that we should have our meals all alone in a separate ha1l' Once -three members of the Chinese delegation went to the hotel where most of the delegations lived, but the management of the hotel dining-room simply did not iet them eat there on the grounds that the Chinese delegation was not staying in that hotel. It appeared that our host did not like the Chinese delegation to come to that hotel. The host of the congress also made careful arrangements at the conference ha1l,"where, in addition to the delegates, a great number of Soviet "Iisteners" in the "visitors' galleries" were present'; but they did more than Iisten. Some of them were in fact a cheering squad of === [PDF page 30] === the manipulators of the congress. Their job was twofold: to applaud and back up those who put forward the erroneous line and to boo and catcall those who insisted on the correct line. N.V. Popova, Chairman of the Soviet Women's Committee, said explicitly at a Moscow meeting of women activists he d on July B that the "soviet Women's Delegation, fulfilling the instructions given them, took all measures to secuie the fruitful work of the congress." Now we know more clearly that the series of disgraceful acts described above were, in fact, all designed to fulfil the task give,n to them from above and to force the erroneous line upon the congress. This erroneous organizational line carried out by the leader of the Soviet Vlomen's Delegation and certain other leaders of the W.I.D.F., and especially their violation of the principles of democracy, roused widespread indignation and censure among the delegates taking part in the congress. The Albanian'Women's Delegation's statement on this congress says: "Practices violating the principle of democracy were adopted at the plenary sessions and com,m.ission meetings of the congress and this hampered the normal proceedings of the work of the congress. This situation made it impossible for the delegates to have thoroughgoing discussions on all questions put before the congress." The Korean \Momen's Delegation in its statement says: "Some memb,ers of the executive body of the congress.. steered the congress in an undemocratic, manner in an uproarious atmosphere of slander and calumny, disorder and duress." ".,. Certain membdrs of the executive body, obsessed by biased views, failed to discharge their duty with sinoerity, betraying the con' fidence of the congress, and exerted negative influence harmful to bringing the congress to a sucbessful conclusion." "The Korean 'Women's Delegation, together with the delegates of sorne other countries, was denied the right to express its will to the full..,." "But, speeches running counter to the character of the congress and detrimental to the development of the wo,r1d women's movement were actively defend,ed and encouraged by certain memb,ers of the executive body of the congress and delegates from certain countries." "We sternly protest against this unjust act of some members of the executive body of the congress." Among the delegates from the Western countries, quite a few also showed their dissatisfaction with the manipulators of the congress who acted in such a disgracefuJ. way. Some of the Italian delegates, for instance, told us that although they did not agree with the Chinese viewpoints, they too firmly disagre,ed with the manipulators of the congress who did things in that way. Comrades: The present era is one pregnant with great and profound chang,es. At this critical juncture, there invariably are.people who fail to catch up with the pace of historical development and even become a stumbling block on the way of progress. The,se peopl,e not only stand still themselves but also try to prevent others from advancing; they not only themselves do. not make revolution but also forbid others to do so. At the World Congress of Women in Moseow, the leader of the Soviet 'Women's Delegation and certain other leatlers of the W.I.D.F. t[rought that the correct course of the world women's movement could he changed, the ernancipation of the world's wornen hindered and the aim of isolating China achieved by bringing the congress to adopt certain documents. But they completely miscalculated. By so === [PDF page 31] === doing, they completely betrayed the fundamental interests of the women of the world, thus cutting themselves off from the broad masses of women in all countries an{ the revolutionary people of the world. The attempt of the organizers of the Moscow World Congre,ss of \Mom,en to isolate China and oppose China will nbver succeed. One delegate said: "We're discriminated against. Fortunately we have our brave Chinese sisters who speak out what we want to say." "China supports us in fighting against irnperialism. To oppose China means to oppose us." During the congress iession, after the Albanian del,egate repudiated the attacks made by Mrs. Ulhricht on the Chinese delegation, someone speaking Russian went to the Alhanian delegate, holding her hand tightly and said: "Thank you for supporting China"' After the Chinese \Momen's Delegation voted against the "Appeal to the Women of the World" and rnade a staternent on it, one Soviet friend of ours said to us: The Chinese Communist Party is the genuine Party of Lenin' Another, raising her fist, whispered: "Long live Mao Tsetung!" On the day following the close of the congress, some. 160 women delegates from.A.sia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and North America attended the reception given by our Ambassador to the Soviet Union Fan Tzu-li and his wife. At the reception, women delegates from varioue countries, all warrn-hearted, danced, sang songs and expressed; in all manner of ways, their profound friendship for Chinese women and the Chinese people. One delegate said: "These people hope to isolate our dear Chinese friends but in vain." Let those antiChina heroes listen to these resounding voices! By opposing China and pleasing U.S. imperialism, they will cer.tainly lift a rock to crush their own fdet and will certain: 54 Iy be deserted by the people of the whole world' Those who will eventually be isolated will be none other than this small gnoup who go against the current of the time and the people. To make revolution and to get emancipation are the urgent comrnon desires of the women of the whole world and the irresistible historical tide of the present time' under cover of its "strategy At prese 11 more frenzied arms drive of peace its aggressions against fying and war the people of the Asian, African and Latin American countries, intensifying its subversion and sabotage against the socialist countries, intensifying its oppression and exploitation of the people at home and in the countries allied to it. U.S. imperialism is the common enemy of the peoplb of the world. To safeguard their vital interests, women of all countries must unite closely, form a broad united front and join the other sections of the world's people in waging the most resolute struggles against U'S' imperialism. The W.I.D'F. is a united organization of dernocratic women in all countries; under thdse circurn-stances it is only nattrral that it should reflect their common aspirations and mobilize women in the various eountries to rise and fight U.S. imperialism. But some leaders of the preserat organization said nothing about opposing imperialisrn and about revolution, instead, they are engaged in empty talk of disarmarnent and peaceful coexistence. What is there in cornmon between this and the original purpose and revolutionary tradition of this organization? If they go on like this, how can they avoid heing deserted by the revolutionar:y women of the whole world? === [PDF page 32] === Comrades, throughout the World Congress of, Women in Moscow, the Chinese Women's Delegation has aIJ' along held to the stand of persevering in principle, strengthening unity, eliminating differences and waging a common struggle against the enemy and has also made great efforts in the hope that this congress would press on alon$ the path prcgressive women and the revolutionary people have,hoped for, so that it could make positive contributions to the cause of the world women's fight against imperialism and colonialism, for national liberation, people's d.*o".""y, social progress and women's emancipation. If the leader of the Soviet Women's Delegation and certain other leaders of the W.I.D'F. had proceeded from the revolutionary interests of the women and people of the world, if they had treasured the cause of the unity of the world's progressive women in their fight against imperialism, if they had treasured the fundamentaL interests of women and children of the world and had given up their wrong stand and line and come back to the correct and revolutionary stand, the congress could have been heLd very satisfactorily. It is only because the leader of the Soviet Women's Delegation and certain other leaders of the W.I.D.F. persisted in their wrong stand and erroneous line that the congress went astray under their manipulation, thus leaving a most disgraceful page in the history of the world women's movement. But, just as Chairman Mao has said, a bad thing can be turned into a good one. This congress has taught the women of the world a vivid lesson by negative exarnple and rnade them see clearly who really oppose imperialism, and who neither oppose imperialism themselves nor allolv ottrers to do so; u'ho really support the national-liheration movement and promote the emancipaattheMoscowWorldCongressof\&omen,progressive === [PDF page 33] === ress and the emancipation of women, and courageously rnarch on to new victories. And now, let us shout together: Oppose U.S. imperialism, the most vicious enemy of the women and children of the world! Suppo,rt the struggle of the women of the world against imperialism, against old and new colonialism, for national inclependence, people's democracy, social progress and women's emancipation! Long live the victory of the struggle of the women of the world! Long Live the great unity of the women of the world! Long live world peace! I&ESOLUTION OF SUPPOR,T FOR ACTIONS OF CHINESE WOMEN'S DELEGA,TION AT THE MOSCOW WORLD CONGRESS OF WOMEN ADOPTED BY PEKTNG RALLY OF WELCOME Ohi J{JLY 18, 1963 We, people from various walks of life in our capital, have gathered today at a grand meeting to give a warm 'Women's Delegation returned welcome to the Chinese from the World Congress of Women in Moscow and to hear a report by Yang Yun-yu, leader of the delegation, on how it took part in the congress. We completely support the actions of our country's delegation at the congress. The Chinese delegation, tog'ether with women d,elegates from other countries who oppose imperialism and want revolution and democracy, firmly upheld the correct line of opposing U.S.-led imperialism and colonialism, old and new, defending world peace, winning and safeguarding national independenoe, striving for p'eople's democracy and social progress and defending the rights of women and children. Defying all kinds of pressure, the Chines,e Women's DeLegation courageously and determinedly repudiated the erroneous line which sets general and complete disarmam'ent and peaceful coexistence as the overriding central task of the international women's movement; it frustrated the unbridl'ed anti-China chorus; and, with great patience and selfrestraint, it waged a sharp, intense struggle against the 59 === [PDF page 34] === leader of the Soviet Women's Delegation and some other Ieaders of the W'omen's International Democratic Federation who insisted on the erroneous line and on opposition to China. All this fully demonstrat,es ttr,e noble quality of the Chinese people and women who defend truth and uphold justice, and their correct stand of persevering in principle, eliminating differences, strengthening unity and waging a common struggle against the enemy. We firmly support the Chinese Women's Delegation in voting against the "Programme for the Activities of the Wom,en's International De'mocratic Federation" and the "Appeal to the Women of the World" of the congress, which wer,e rammed through as a result of pressure exerted by the leader of the Soviet Women's Delegation and some other leaders of the W.I.D.F. We resolutely condemn the lead,er of the Soviet Women's Delegation'and some other leaders of the W.I.D.F' for flagrantly instigating an anti-China chorus at the congress. We resolutely condernn their arrogance and arbitrariness, their violation of democracy and their sectarian and splitting activities. Under their manipulation and control, the congress set the worst precedent in the history of international democratic organizations. Despite the fact that the congress was badly run, we are firmly convinced that demand Jor r'evolution and emancipation is the pressing common aspiration of the women of the world and that no force can change the correct direction of the world wornen's movement. The correct line adhered to by the Chines,e women and the r,est of the Chinese people fuIly accords with the fundamental interests of the wornen and other people of the world. Truth is on our side. Any activity designed to isolate us frorn the women and other people of the world is of no avail. The Chinese women and the rest of the Chinese people will always stand united with th,e women and other people of all countries and struggle for the complete victory of the cause of peace, democracy, national independence and socialism. === [PDF page 35] === EHtr+ltt5?lf;at*l. Ei*HtrHt++ L563.+H-IE ffiE: (4)3oso-670 000 48 3-E-559p