In return for Chinese support the Albanians accept the Chinese view of world affairs and speak for their sponsor in Eastern Europe and in the United Nations. Albania successfully defied Moscow, but its internal and international positions remained weak. In 1968 Hoxha withdrew his country from the Warsaw Pact in protest against the invasion of Czechoslovakia, but this was primarily a symbolic move because Albania had not participated in Warsaw Pact affairs since 1961.
By 1970 Albania was attempting to normalize relations with its Balkan neighbors, but its main propaganda thrusts continued to be against revisionism and imperialism. Overtures toward both Greece and Yugoslavia were made in 1970, which may indicate that the Hoxha regime recognized the futility and danger of an isolationist policy. Official attitudes toward the Soviet Union remained as they had been for ten years—strident and abusive—but better relations were being sought among Eastern European nations as well as with some non-Communist states. Seemingly the regime recognized that Communist China was a distant ally, that the Chinese could not support the Albanian economy, and that, if Albania was to remain a viable national entity, it would have to relate to its European neighbors and, in effect, become a part of Europe.
CHAPTER 7
COMMUNICATIONS AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Information channels in 1970 were relatively well developed compared with those of the pre-World War II period. The press was the most advanced, although by 1970 a substantial radio network existed. Throughout the 1960s there was only a single experimental television transmitter, at the end of 1969, however, the government reportedly requested the French to install a television system.
The press and radio were indispensable instruments in the efforts of the Albanian Workers' Party (Communist Party) to revolutionize all aspects of life. To supplement the formal channels, there were several thousand Party activists who orally transmitted the Party line to the people on a more personal and informal level.
The various aspects of culture, such as literature, art, music, and drama, were also structured to promote the goals of the Party. They have been used extensively to promote support among the masses for the Party and its principles, to combat religion, and generally to increase the political and social consciousness of the people.