CHINA AWAKES ON THE GROUND AND IN THE SKIES 

FOR YEARS SOME CHINA WATCHERS HAVE BEEN SAYING "WHEN CHINA WAKES UP, WATCH OUT". THINGS OF SUBSTANTIAL MAGNITUDE HAVE RECENTLY BEEN HAPPENING IN THIS VAST COUNTRY OF ONE BILLION PEOPLE.

THE AVERAGE LIFE SPAN OF A PERSON BORN IN CHINA IN 1949 WAS 35 YEARS. TODAY IT IS ALMOST 70 YEARS. THE FIRST AIRPLANE THE CHINESE BUILT WAS A JET. NOW CANADA IS NEGOTIATING WITH THEM TO LAUNCH OUR NEXT COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE. CHINA IS A COUNTRY THAT COULD HARDLY FLY A KITE (ACTUALLY THEY DO THAT VERY WELL) JUST A FEW YEARS AGO. NOW CANADA, THE COUNTRY THAT WAS THE THIRD IN THE ENTIRE WORLD TO SEND UP A COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE, MAY BE ABOUT TO PAY CHINA TO LAUNCH ANOTHER THAT WILL CARRY CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION PROGRAMS! YOU THINK THE WORLD ISN'T CHANGING?

THE SATELLITE BUSINESS, FAST BECOMING ONE OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE IN THE WORLD, IS A GOOD BAROMETER TO SEE WHERE FUTURE ACTION MAY ORIGINATE. PRIOR TO A FEW YEARS AGO, THE UNITED STATES AND THE SOVIET UNION HELD CONTROL OF SPACE. FRANCE, THROUGH ITS PRIVATIZED CORPORATION ARIENESPACE, STARTED THE COMPETITION BY SETTING UP A LAUNCH SITE IN KARAU, FRENCH GUIANA, A COLONY IN NORTHEASTERN SOUTH AMERICA. JAPAN QUIET, AT LEAST UNTIL LAST YEAR, IS ALSO NOW IN THE SPACE BUSINESS. THE JAPANESE TOO, ARE ABOUT TO OFFER LAUNCH AND OTHER FACILITIES. THEIR VERSION OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE SHOULD BE IN THE HEAVENS BY 1992.

BUT THE BIGGEST SURPRISE HAS BEEN CHINA. HOW CAN COUNTRIES, APPARENTLY SO BACKWARD IN THE PAST, SUDDENLY SHOOT AHEAD OF WESTERNIZED COUNTRIES ESPECIALLY IN SUCH HIGH TECH FIELDS? IT ALL SEEMS TO RELATE TO ATTITUDE. THEY JUST WANT TO. AND THEY'RE WILLING TO WORK HARDER AND LONGER FOR LESS MONEY, AND TO WAIT FOR LONG-TERM GAIN, IN CONTRAST TO THE INSTANT GRATIFICATION SYNDROME OF MORE-INDUSTRIALIZED WESTERN COUNTRIES.

SPACE IS BIG BUSINESS. THE DISASTER OF THE U.S. SPACE SHUTTLE "CHALLENGER" A FEW YEARS AGO LEFT A HUGE VACUUM IN THE LAUNCH BUSINESS. OTHER COUNTRIES AND PRIVATE ENTERPRISE ARE MOVING AT WARP DRIVE TO FILL THAT VOID. CHINA IS NOW NOT ONLY OFFERING TO LAUNCH ORBITING COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES AND LOW-LEVEL EARTH ORBIT SPACE- CRAFT ON COMMERCIAL TERMS, BUT IS ALSO SELLING THE TYPES OF COMMUNI- CATIONS SATELLITES THEY HAVE SUCCESSFULLY POSITIONED IN THE HEAVENS.

THESE SATELLITES WERE LAUNCHED ON THEIR OWN MADE-IN-CHINA "LONG MARCH-3" ROCKETS. THEY HAVE DOMESTICALLY BUILT EARTH STATIONS AT FIVE WIDELY SCATTERED LOCATIONS IN THEIR COUNTRY. THEIR LEARNING CURVE HAS MOVED FAST UNDER EXTREMELY DIFFICULT CONDITIONS.

DIRECT INTERNATIONAL PHONE CIRCUITS FROM CHINA CAN NOW REACH MOST PLACES ON EARTH -- SOME MORE EASILY THAN OTHER LOCATIONS IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY. THEY HAVE USED BOTH GERMAN AND ITALIAN SATELLITES IN RATHER INNOVATIVE LONG DISTANCE TV RELAY OPERATIONS.

IN 1985 CHINA BEGAN TO BROADCAST LECTURES TO REGIONAL UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES VIA AN INTELSAT SATELLITE. THEY CALL THIS PROJECT S.H.A.R.E. FOR SATELLITE FOR HEALTH AND RURAL EDUCATION.

THE SPEED OF CHINA'S ENTRY INTO THE LAUNCH MARKET HAS STARTLED THE WEST. THEY ARE NOW OFFERING TO LAUNCH ANY SATELLITE JUST 30 MONTHS AFTER A CONTRACT IS SIGNED. ONLY THE SOVIETS CAN MATCH THAT. SWEDEN HAS ALREADY SIGNED A DEAL WITH CHINA TO LAUNCH THEIR ELECTRONIC MAIL SATELLITE, "MAILSTAR". THAT, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT MIGHT BE ABLE TO ACCEPT, BUT THREE AMERICAN COMPANIES, INCLUDING WESTERN UNION AND PAN AM PACIFIC, HAVE ALSO ENTERED INTO TENTATIVE LAUNCH DEALS WITH CHINA. TO THE U.S. SPACE INDUSTRY THAT REALLY HURTS. BRITAIN, PAKISTAN AND HALF A DOZEN OTHER COUNTRIES ARE TALKING LAUNCH WITH THE CHINESE SPACE AGENCY. A CHINESE NEWS SERVICE, XINHAU, REPORTS THAT BRAZIL HAS ASKED CHINA TO LAUNCH FOUR SATELLITES BEFORE 1992. BECAUSE NORTH AMERICANS ARE WOEFULLY IGNORANT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD OUR ECONOMY IS SUFFERING.

IT HAS NOT BEEN REPORTED IN MOST WESTERN NEWS MEDIA THAT CHINA, LAST OCTOBER 6, LAUNCHED ITS OWN EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE -- JUST ONE OF 19 RECENT SUCCESSFUL ORBITAL MISSIONS.

A CANADIAN COMPANY, SPAR AEROSPACE, HAS BEEN PRYING ITS WAY INTO THE CHINESE MARKET FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS. NOW THEIR EARTH STATIONS ARE LOCATED IN 30 FAR FLUNG CENTRES, INCLUDING ONE NEAR THE "POTOLA" IN LHASA, TIBET, FORMER HOME OF THE DALI LAMA ON THE 'ROOF OF THE WORLD'. THAT'S THE LOCATION HOLLYWOOD MADE FAMOUS AS SHANGRI-LA.

RECENTLY, 120 CHINESE TECHNICIANS LEFT THE MONTREAL TRAINING FACILITIES OF SPAR AEROSPACE TO RETURN HOME TO OPERATE THEIR CANADIAN EQUIPMENT.

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