Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding
Encyclopedia
The Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) is a charity
whose goal is to foster understanding between British
and Chinese
people, established in 1965 and based in Barrow-in-Furness
, United Kingdom (UK). It publishes the quarterly China Eye magazine. It liaisons with local British Chinese
communities and provides information for Chinese students studying in the UK. In the 1970s the SACU was one of the few organisations that could arrange visits to China. The organisation's first chairman and president was British academic Joseph Needham
.
public about politics in China
. It was a communist organisation, The Economist
reports, which was controlled by the British Communist Party
.The Cold War
Sino-Soviet dispute
in the early 1960s made the organisation's work more difficult, and eventually it closed down. British academic Joseph Needham
had resigned from its presidency to seek to form a new organisation; several members joined him.
On 15 May 1965 the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding held its inaugural meeting at Church House, Westminster, which was attended by more than 1,000 people. The SACU had the support of over 200 public figures, including historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, who said "Whether this society will do any good I don't know." In a letter announcing its inauguration, Trevor-Roper, together with historian Arnold J. Toynbee
and composer Benjamin Britten
, said "This society is being formed to foster mutual comprehension between Britain and China in many different fields." Needham, the organisation's first chairman and president, gave an address. His main point was that the British and Chinese should try to understand each other better, and he said the organisation would not be political. He ended his speech with a Chinese phrase: "He who comes with the odour of enmity will invite the clash of weapons, he who comes with the fragrance of friendship will be loved like a brother." British diplomat Derek Bryan was its founding secretary. The SACU was described by United Press International
as a "breakaway from the British-China Friendship Association, which always has been tied to the Moscow-aligned British Communist Party".
Bryan writes that while the launching was a great occasion, it was "not easy to keep on course". The first annual general meeting on 21 May 1966 was a "stormy one", and in the following years, difficulties were compounded by the deterioration in Sino-British relations. On the other hand, "The achievements were both more numerous and more significant", Bryan reports, and almost all the main activities of the society were started in the first year. Trevor-Rope resigned from the organisation in June 1966 after he was criticised by members for publishing anti-China articles. He said the organisation has "neither proper bureaucratic responsibility it is government nor proper democratic methods in its functioning". The Economist reported in September 1967 that questions were raised over its funding and that membership had fallen. Clyde Sanger in Malcolm MacDonald: Bringing an End to Empire (1995) describes the SACU as moving to "uncritically Maoist
" during the Cultural Revolution
of 1966–1976.
In the 1970s the SACU was one of few organisations that could arrange visits to China."Early SACU Tours". Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Archived by WebCite
on 10 November 2010. Feminist Ellen Leopold was part of a group of the first Western women to China, later writing about the experience in China Now. The tours ceased in 1989 when China became more open. At one stage, membership numbers reached 10,000 with offices in London. Today, the organisation is small and run by volunteers.
Ferdinand Mount
wrote in The Spectator
in 2006 that "[Trevor-Rope] had lighted upon an infinitely obscure organisation called the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding, which had become a communist front, broadcasting reports of Chairman Mao
’s bottomless benevolence and allegiance to high liberal principles and kept going by the usual stage army of stooges led by the famous Cambridge scientist Joseph Needham".
, Cumbria
and has branches in Manchester
and Cheltenham
. It liaisons with local British Chinese
communities and provides information for Chinese students studying in the UK. The SACU says they have "always kept independency with no political and governmental affiliations".
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
whose goal is to foster understanding between British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
people, established in 1965 and based in Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, United Kingdom (UK). It publishes the quarterly China Eye magazine. It liaisons with local British Chinese
British Chinese
British Chinese , including British-born Chinese are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in, or have migrated to, the United Kingdom. They are part of the Chinese diaspora, or overseas Chinese...
communities and provides information for Chinese students studying in the UK. In the 1970s the SACU was one of the few organisations that could arrange visits to China. The organisation's first chairman and president was British academic Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham
Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS, FBA , also known as Li Yuese , was a British scientist, historian and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1941, and as a fellow of the British...
.
History
Established in the late 1940s the British-China Friendship Association (BCFA) provided information to the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
public about politics in China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. It was a communist organisation, The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
reports, which was controlled by the British Communist Party
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
.The Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
Sino-Soviet dispute
Sino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
in the early 1960s made the organisation's work more difficult, and eventually it closed down. British academic Joseph Needham
Joseph Needham
Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS, FBA , also known as Li Yuese , was a British scientist, historian and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1941, and as a fellow of the British...
had resigned from its presidency to seek to form a new organisation; several members joined him.
On 15 May 1965 the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding held its inaugural meeting at Church House, Westminster, which was attended by more than 1,000 people. The SACU had the support of over 200 public figures, including historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, who said "Whether this society will do any good I don't know." In a letter announcing its inauguration, Trevor-Roper, together with historian Arnold J. Toynbee
Arnold J. Toynbee
Arnold Joseph Toynbee CH was a British historian whose twelve-volume analysis of the rise and fall of civilizations, A Study of History, 1934–1961, was a synthesis of world history, a metahistory based on universal rhythms of rise, flowering and decline, which examined history from a global...
and composer Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, said "This society is being formed to foster mutual comprehension between Britain and China in many different fields." Needham, the organisation's first chairman and president, gave an address. His main point was that the British and Chinese should try to understand each other better, and he said the organisation would not be political. He ended his speech with a Chinese phrase: "He who comes with the odour of enmity will invite the clash of weapons, he who comes with the fragrance of friendship will be loved like a brother." British diplomat Derek Bryan was its founding secretary. The SACU was described by United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
as a "breakaway from the British-China Friendship Association, which always has been tied to the Moscow-aligned British Communist Party".
Bryan writes that while the launching was a great occasion, it was "not easy to keep on course". The first annual general meeting on 21 May 1966 was a "stormy one", and in the following years, difficulties were compounded by the deterioration in Sino-British relations. On the other hand, "The achievements were both more numerous and more significant", Bryan reports, and almost all the main activities of the society were started in the first year. Trevor-Rope resigned from the organisation in June 1966 after he was criticised by members for publishing anti-China articles. He said the organisation has "neither proper bureaucratic responsibility it is government nor proper democratic methods in its functioning". The Economist reported in September 1967 that questions were raised over its funding and that membership had fallen. Clyde Sanger in Malcolm MacDonald: Bringing an End to Empire (1995) describes the SACU as moving to "uncritically Maoist
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
" during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
of 1966–1976.
In the 1970s the SACU was one of few organisations that could arrange visits to China."Early SACU Tours". Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Archived by WebCite
WebCite
WebCite is a service that archives web pages on demand. Authors can subsequently cite the archived web pages through WebCite, in addition to citing the original URL of the web page. Readers are able to retrieve the archived web pages indefinitely, without regard to whether the original web page is...
on 10 November 2010. Feminist Ellen Leopold was part of a group of the first Western women to China, later writing about the experience in China Now. The tours ceased in 1989 when China became more open. At one stage, membership numbers reached 10,000 with offices in London. Today, the organisation is small and run by volunteers.
Ferdinand Mount
Ferdinand Mount
Sir William Robert Ferdinand Mount, 3rd Baronet , usually known as Ferdinand Mount, is a British writer and novelist, columnist for The Sunday Times and commentator on politics, and Conservative Party politician...
wrote in The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
in 2006 that "[Trevor-Rope] had lighted upon an infinitely obscure organisation called the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding, which had become a communist front, broadcasting reports of Chairman Mao
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
’s bottomless benevolence and allegiance to high liberal principles and kept going by the usual stage army of stooges led by the famous Cambridge scientist Joseph Needham".
Activities
The SACU publishes the quarterly China Eye magazine, the successor to China Now. The society is based in Barrow-in-FurnessBarrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
and has branches in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
. It liaisons with local British Chinese
British Chinese
British Chinese , including British-born Chinese are people of Chinese ancestry who were born in, or have migrated to, the United Kingdom. They are part of the Chinese diaspora, or overseas Chinese...
communities and provides information for Chinese students studying in the UK. The SACU says they have "always kept independency with no political and governmental affiliations".
Sources
- "Background to the formation of SACU in 1965". Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Archived by WebCiteWebCiteWebCite is a service that archives web pages on demand. Authors can subsequently cite the archived web pages through WebCite, in addition to citing the original URL of the web page. Readers are able to retrieve the archived web pages indefinitely, without regard to whether the original web page is...
on 10 November 2010. An extract from Bryan, Derek (April 1975). China Eye. Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding. p. 2.
External links
- Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding
- The Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding page at the National Archives.