This brings us to comment on what has been correctly termed the “lie of the Century”, namely the persistent accusation that the leadership of the Communist Party of China stands for the achieving of Socialism on the ruins of mankind, through a nuclear war.
On this our delegation in Moscow stated firmly that the spreading of this idea, not only by capitalist propaganda but by some Communist Party leaders and particularly by the leaders of the C.P.S.U., had created a situation where some workers have already reached the conclusion that socialist China wants war. Many have always believed that no socialist country would desire war, now they are told, not just by the imperialists but by the leaders of a number of socialist countries, that one such country does and thus the seeds of disunity and despair are sown.
Not all are willing or able to read what the Chinese themselves say about this. To our knowledge, the Chinese Party leadership in their programme or their policy have never made this point. In fact, they have always advocated an active peace policy based on faith in the masses of the world. They have personally assured the leadership of the C.P.N.Z. that they do not stand for achieving Communism by nuclear war. All they have said is that, if the imperialists start such a war, all is not lost, mankind after grievous losses will survive and Socialism will eventually triumph. And, in fact, the 81 Parties’ Statement of 1960 says the same thing!
But in Moscow on September 4, 1963, in answer to the above, the representatives of the C.C., C.P.S.U. once again said:
The Chinese comrades persistently propagate the idea that on the ruins of perished imperialism, through thermo-nuclear war, the peoples of the world will create a thousand times better civilization and build a really beautiful life. Get rid of imperialism is what they say, and without stopping at the whole destruction of nations and countries, that war in the final analysis is for the benefit of Socialism – and the Chinese comrades are trying to lead our whole movement to this conclusion! It is with this aim in mind that they propagate that war is not so terrible. In Moscow, in 1957, the Chairman of the C.P.C. put forward the thesis that there is nothing terrible in the fact that if half of mankind perishes this will bury imperialism. But do not you think that the whole of the New Zealand people may be in this half of mankind? Who then will build a wonderful future on your soil? Ask your workers if they would agree with this.
The Chinese did not make that statement. We know what Mao Tse-tung actually said in Moscow in 1957. A. Ostler, a member of our Political Committee, was present as a delegate from the C.P.N.Z. at that meeting of world Communist Parties.
Why the persistent misquoting? Surely one only misquotes if one’s case is weak. It is not a habit that should be indulged in by anyone claiming to be a Marxist-Leninist.
It is doing our world movement great harm.