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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 1981)
emerald Vol. 82, No. 87 I Eugene, Oregon 97403 Tuesday, January 27, 1981 1 Prof has no pity for Mao’s widow ‘Gang of Four’ guilty says visiting scholar By CAROLINE PETRICH Of the Emerald The Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade may not agree, but Mao Tse Tung made some mis takes, a visiting Chinese scholar says. Zhou Renming, a physics professor from south western China, says one of Mao’s mistakes was the Cultural Revolution. Although the revolution was intended to purge China’s bureaucratic government and counter revolutionary influence, it kept China in turmoil for nearly a decade. The Chinese themselves were vic timized, Zhou claims. ’’There was a move to criticize Confucianism,” recalls Zhou, then a physics professor at Yunnan University. “A lot of people didn’t agree but we did not dare voice it. "There was no teaching. There were no students," he says somberly. "We did nothing. We did not teach. Students did not study. People suffered a lot.” The Cultural Revolution’s upheavals hurt young people the most because it prevented an open-mind ed exploration of life and learning, Zhou says. Zhou says he has no sympathy for Mao’s widow, Chiang Ching, who recently was sentenced by a Chinese tribunal to life imprisonment for participating in Cultural Revolution promotion and later political intrigues. Photo by David W. Zahn Zhou Renming “The Gang of Four committed a lot of crimes,” Zhou says. "They deserve their punishment.” “A majority of Chinese hate them. They are guilty of monstrous crimes. No matter what, they should be punished.” Satellite broadcasts of the Gang of Four trials have been Zhou’s only contact with the trials of Mao’s widow and her alleged conspirators. While his coun trymen have been occupied with the trials, Zhou has been tasting EMU food, exploring Safeway, and trying to understand both American football and the pres idential race. Zhou came to Oregon to study nuclear astro physics with physics Prof. Amit Goswami. Although Zhou has a doctorate in physics and has taught nuclear physics, cosmic-ray physics and general physics since 1961 (not counting the Cultural Revolu tion years), he says he hasn’t had time for research until now. Zhou’s and three other Chinese scholars’ trips to America were sponsored by the Chinese government. An American-based organization, the New Chinese Education Foundation, arranged for their stay in Eugene. Zhou says student enrollment is one of the major differences between the University and the Chinese university at which he teaches — the University has nine times as many students as Yunnan. Most Chinese students choose physics, unlike American students, who often prefer business and law, Zhou says. Consequently, the physics depart ment is the largest of Yunnan’s nine departments. “A lot of young people want to study physics because there is a lot of new phenomena," he ex plains. "If a student graduates, our government will give him a job ’’ To prevent bookwork "burnout," Yunnan Univer sity requires its students to exercise for 11/? hours every day. They play basketball, volleyball, badminton and soccer. But American football looks like nothing he has ever seen, Zhou says. “When I watch football, I can’t understand. "A friend of mine told' me if I can’t understand football, I can't understand America,” he says with a laugh. Plan outlines campus area metamorphosis By RICHARD WAGONER Of the Emerald University students would walk or bicycle to school on well-lit, traffic-free streets or paths flanked by community gardens, small shops and high-density apartment buildings. Recreation facilities such as basket ball hoops and street games would provide entertainment for neighborhood residents. Parking structures would be limited or eliminated altogether, and covered bus stops and a shuttle service would make mass transit a preferable alternative to automobiles. That’s just a small sample of the met amorphosis the West University neigh borhood and a small part of the South University neighborhood might undergo if a plan designed to improve the “livability” of the area is approved by Eugene officials. The plan’s first draft, called the West University refinement plan, was three years in the making. Its first draft was released last week by neighborhood and city planning leaders. City planner Jody Miller stresses the proposal is just in draft form and probably will be changed dur ing a lengthy hearing and review process. If approved, the refinement plan would be a guide for city officials developing public facilities and services in the area. Private developers also would be urged to consult the plan to make their projects more compatible with the neighborhood area. The proposal was developed by a planning team of representatives from the West University and South University neighborhoods, Sacred Heart General Hospital, the University, downtown bus inesses and neighborhood churches. “This represents three and one-half years of hard work in trying to arrive at a compromise that will benefit the whole city," says Harold Lannom, a planning team member and neighborhood res ident. “I’m just excited as hell to get the thing done." The 62-page plan lists the findings of extensive neighborhood surveys and background research conducted over the past three years. It names possible city policies fo.r directing decisions on neighborhood transportation and park ing, public facilities and services, neigh borhood design, land use, housing and commerce. Highlights of some of the proposals include: • Creating a two-way bikeway on High '/?r ; —■ Emerald graphic Street with limited two-way automobile use and elimination of the Pearl Street bike lane. Willamette Street also would be returned to a two-way street for tran sit, automobile and bicycle use. • Encouraging bicycle use for work related trips by having employers provide employee '‘pool" bicycles. Businesses would provide covered bicycle parking and Lane Transit District buses would be equipped with bike racks. • Developing community garden space within the neighborhood and des ignating certain streets as recreation facilities for residents. • Encouraging recycling of glass, me tal and paper and controlling litter by placing trash cans in activity centers. One of the more controversial propos als in the plan calls for a ban on hotels, motels, motor hotels, tourist courts, conference centers and public parking garages and limiting medical clinics, private parking areas and churches in areas zoned multiple family residential Local medical representatives already have expressed concern about limiting clinics, Miller says. And she expects more complaints as the plan's review process continues. "I'm expecting all kinds of surprises ” The document’s planning committee will decide whether to approve the plan this week, and neighborhood residents will be mailed a copy of the proposal in March, Miller says. West University neighbors will then hold hearings on the plan before for warding it to the planning commission and city council for approval, a process that could take two months to a year, Miller says.
