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Salient. Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 26, No. 7. Tuesday, June 18, 1963
Harriman On Red China
Harriman On Red China
"What does the United States hope to achieve by not recognising Red China?"
That was the question a representative of the New Zealand student press put to the United States Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Mr. Averell Harriman, at a recent Wellington press conference.
Harriman said that recognition of China would only encourage Red Chinese aggression.
China did not conduct herself according to the rules of international behaviour, said Harriman. Her ruthless attacks on India, Korea and other countries were adequate testimony to this. All free members of the United Nations condemned this attitude.
Internally the Government at Peking was incompetent, said Harriman. Their great leap forward had ended in collapse.
Harriman said there were deep differences between Moscow and Peking. But he did not think their alliance would break down completely. There is a fundamental difference between the two in attitude, said Harriman. Moscow was not interested in being involved in an atomic war. China demonstrated a willingness to take much greater risks.
But what was unforgivable, said Harriman, in the eyes of Moscow was the unwillingness of Peking to recognise Moscow as the oracle.
"Peking is offering alternative leadership to International Communism."