Word: china
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...downs. If Shaplen's book is flawed by the sheer breadth of his topic, it is held together by the author's personal approach. But A Turning Wheel is also a strangely unfulfilling work, copious in its detail, but marred by its omission of China...
...there is one problem with this book, however, it is the chapter on China--problem, because Shaplen has decided not to write one. In his conclusion, where he assesses China's impact on the surrounding nations in a scant ten pages. Shaplen offers us a weak-kneed rationalization. To discuss the mainland, he insists, would require an entire book. But elsewhere, he eagerly tackles Japan in less than 100 pages and the Philipines in even fewer. While one might expect this--American reporters' access to the mainland has been extremely limited--it leaves a gaping hole. A Turning Wheel...
Shaplen takes more dangerous risks when he abandons armchair criticisms and turns to present-day issues. He doesn't hesitate to discuss China's recent incursions into Vietnam, the refugee problem, or the Cambodian-Vietnamese situation. Lucid, insightful and delightfully straightforward, the author recounts the past and predicts the future. Shaplen is no dummy; when he doesn't know what will happen, he says so. On China, he writes, "No matter how many crystal balls one uses, it is patently impossible to foresee the future evolution of the Chinese Communist Party." Where a lesser writer would have struggled to find...
This may not be the time, however, for the U.S. to officially recognize the PLO. That option should be reserved as a carrot if the PLO acts reasonably and in good faith. This approach would be consistent with American policy toward the People's Republic of China before the normalization of relations early this year. Although the U.S. did not officially recognize China, the two countries did hold periodic talks to keep open the lines of communication...
...backwardness, China has been drastically reshaped since the Communists took over 30 years ago. No longer do people starve by the millions or die of such blights as smallpox, syphilis or malaria. Medical care is available to everyone, and by a combination of propaganda, pay supplements, and free birth-control devices, China seems to be making some headway in its efforts to halt its ruinous population growth, by limiting couples to only two children...