Interview with Li Xiangjun

LI Xiangjun (b.1946) is a resident of Shili village, Zoucheng City, Shandong Province. According to Li, the reason that the whole nation was devoted to iron-smelting and steel production at that time was because Taiwan wanted to recover the Mainland. All young and middle-aged men were involved in iron production activities. The style of boasting and exaggeration was the main reason for poor or no harvest. Grains were not planted properly. There was a harvest in 1958 but for lack of hands, grains were not harvested in time. There were no harvests in the following years. And as the country had to pay off USSR's debt, wide spread hunger happened, some died of starvation, some even ate the dead bodies.

李祥君（1946年生）是济宁市邹城市千泉街道办事处十里村村人。李老人说大炼钢铁是为了对付台湾反攻大陆，青壮年都被抽去炼铁。饥荒主要是因为浮夸风，地种的不好，58年有收成秋天却没有足够人手收获，后几年都没有收成。加上还苏联的债，饥饿蔓延，有人饿死，有人吃死人。

Transcripts for this interview and more may be available under the ‘Documents’ link above. 采访抄录和相关内容，请点击查看上面的’Documents’链接。