Who Friend, Who Enemy? Rewi Alley and the Friends of China
“Who friend, who enemy?” So asks Rewi Alley, poet-laureate of Sino- Foreign Friendship, echoing Mao. This article considers Friendship2 in the Chinese Communist sense; its principal focus is on the work of Alley and his role as an official Friend of China.3 Friendship is a key theme in China'ss foreign policy repertoire, and the Friend of China is a living embodiment of that Friendship. In the days when the People'ss Republic was isolated in the international community, any foreigner who was involved in China in some way had the potential to be labelled a Friend. Friendship implied obedience to the Chinese government'ss version of events. Declared ideological commitment to the ideals of the Chinese Communist Party was preferred, but not essential.