Big Budget

For the first time in their 3 1/2 years of rule, the Chinese Communists last week made public some of the facts & figures of their national budget. This year, said Finance Minister Po Yi-po, the Peking regime will launch its first five-year plan for industrialization--and spend 233.5 trillion people's dollars (U.S. $9.86 billion at the official Communist rate of exchange).

The bulk of the money, said Po, will go into peaceful people's pursuits: 59.24% for "national economic construction and social, cultural and educational projects" --and only 22.38% for war measures. But Po's breakdown was misleading. China's Reds build highways and railroads only where they have strategic value; most new factories are geared for heavy industry. Outside experts estimated that at least 60% of the budget will go into military expenditures.

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