Hong Kong--Window in the Bamboo Curtain

Genre: Television

Year Published: 1955

Creator: Dr. George A. Peek Jr. Albert Ravenholt Dr. John W. Hall University of Michigan Television Hazen Schumacher Robert Newman Tom Coates Frederick Remley Don Hall Garnet Garrison

Format: 16mm

Description: The British colony of Hong Kong is the second "tension area" discussed by Mr. Ravenholt, Professor Peek, and their guest Dr. John W. Hall, director of the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan. Describing Hong Kong as a "window in the bamboo curtain," Mr. Ravenholt explains that the colony, made up of 76 islands and a peninsula, is the crossroads of the world where there is fairly free travel across the border into Red China. Here we are able to get a picture of what is happening in Communist China. The picture is not complete, he points out, but we are able to determine general trends in that vast country. It is now becoming apparent, according to Dr. Hall, that China is emerging as a major power for the first time in over 150 years. With this accumulation of power there is a natural "spilling over" into other countries such as North Korea. The grassroots level is the source of this new found power. The Communist Government of China has succeeded in organizing the peasantry. Mass organizations have been established with chapters in every village. Here the leaders are trying to change the Chinese society--trying to make it a community-centered society instead of the traditional family-centered society. The country has also been "westernized" and it now has the largest standing army in the world. Concluding the discussion, Mr. Ravenholt predicts that, in time, Red China will pose as a rival to the Soviet Union.