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.