Basic HTML Version
AFTERMAO
NEWERA
FORCHINA
by
Keith W. Stump
As expected, the death of Mao Tse-tung three
months ago triggered a scramble for power in the
top echelons of the Chinese government.
A new Chairman has now emerged. What will the
post-Mao era hold for China and for
the world at large?
A
exactly 3 p .m. Peking time on
September 18, one quarter of
mankind stopped its work
and stood in silence, heads bowed,
for three long minutes. In an un–
precedented display of mass grief at
the conclusion of an official eight–
day period of mourning, 850 million
Chinese quietly paid thei r last re–
spects to their departed Cha irman.
Mao Tse-tung.
T he "Great Helmsman" - the
only leader the Chinese had known
since the People's Republic was pro–
clai med 27 yea rs ago - was gone.
Without a doubt. he had made a
greater impact on their nation than
any other leader in centuries.
As a permanent symbol of the
Chinese revolution, hi s body is to be
enshrined in a crystal sarcophagus
in
Peking for the inspiration of fu–
ture genera tions, in the manoer of
two o ther communist heroes, Lenin
and Ho Chi Minh.
T he a nno uncement o f Mao' s
death on Septembe r 9 a t the age of
82 triggered a ftood of condolences
and tributes from around the world.
Even leaders in the United States
and Weste rn Europe - well aware
that Mao was responsible for the
slaughter of multiple mi Uions of
Chinese as he brutally extended hjs
control over the cou ntry in the early
l950s - were inexp licably profuse
in their eulogies ofhim.
Only the "other Chinese" on the
2
island of Taiwan, it seemed, took a
different view. rejoicing at the death
of " red tyra nt Mao, the greatest vil–
la in in C hin ese hi s tory," who
through hi s " iniquitous rule" had
" plunged the Chinese people .into
an abyssofagony."
Veneer of Unlty
Mao's death followed close ly the
dea ths of two o ther "old gua rd "
leaders - Premier Chou En-lai and
Marshal Chu Teh . chai rman of the
Na tional People 's Congress. With
most of China's "elder statesmen"
either dead or in poor health and no
designated successor on the scene to
insure an orderly transfer of power,
China-watchers waited for signs of a
power struggle between rival claim–
an ts to a uthority.
Bu t as they stood side by side in
mourn ing by Mao's glass-encased
bier in Peking's G reat Ha ll of the
People, China's top leaders con–
veyed an impression of stabili ty at
the nation's helm. Sorne observers
saw this as an indicat ion that the so–
ca lled rad ical and rnoderate factions
of the Chinese Communist Party
may have agreed to avo id open con–
ftict and to govern for the time
being as a coa lition.
But few observers doubted that a
fierce struggle was a lready under
way behind the scenes to determine
who would ultimately step in to the
shoes ofthe depa rted Chairman.
Ri valry between the two factions
dates back to the tumultuous Cul–
tura l Revolution of 1966-69, whicb
was spearheaded by the radica ls in
an attempt to revive revolutionary
ardor in China a nd destroy the bu–
reaucratic party s tructu re which had
developed. The radi ca ls are charac–
terized as isolationist and xenopho–
bic, wary of both Washington and
Moscow, preaching se lf- reliance and
advoca ting periodic nationwide pur–
gings for ideological purity.
The mode rates or pragma tists, on
the o ther hand, emphasize orderly
economic and technological devel–
opme nt and the expansion of for–
eign trade. They shun di srupti ve
ideological campaigns. And it was
the moderate faction, led by the late
Chou En-lai, which opened the door
to im proved re la tions wi th the
United States in 1971.
Power Play
The ve neer of pretended unity be–
tween the rival fac tions was short–
lived. In early October, sketchy re–
ports filtered ou t of China that
Chairman Mao's fiery widow.
C hiang C h ing, a nd three oth er
prominent radica l leaders in the rul–
ing Politbu ro had been arrested a nd
accused of plotting a coup d ' etat. In
addition to Madame Mao. a former
movie actress who is the acknowl–
edged leader of the radical faction ,
the o thers said to have been arrested
were Deputy Party Chairman Wang
Hun g-wen. Vice-Premier Cha ng
Chun-chi ao, and propaganda expert
Yao Wen-yuan.
The rumors of their fall from
power were soon confirmed. An in–
tens iv e wall-pos te r ca mpaign,
spreading th roughout the country
with ligh tning speed, openly de–
nounced the four as a "dangerous
cancer" tha t had long plotted to
take over th e Chinese government.
"CRUSH THE HEADS OF THE FOUR
DOGS"
ran a typical slogan. Even in
Shanghai, China's largest city a nd
the radica ls' former base of opera–
tions, there was little resistance
to
the campaign to discredit the so–
called gang offour.
Early reports from inside China
indicated that the radical quartet
had tried unsuccessfully to assass i–
nate Premier Hua Kuo-feng. But
perhaps the most damaging of the
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1976