Although the weeks had begun to pile up in the wake of the Chinese Communist Party's Ninth National Congress, the mainland situation was still just as inconclusive as during the hectic days at the height of the "great proletarian cultural revolution".
Mao Tse-tung had won - or so People's Daily and Red Flag claimed. But Mao didn't act like a victor. Mao victorious would surely have dragged Liu Shao-chi out by the heels. The heads of other leading "power-holders" would have been mounted atop pikes for a torchlight parade through the Square of Heavenly Peace. Mao's wife, Chiang Ching, would have brought her "young generals" back from disgrace and plow-shares would have been transformed into hydrogen bombs in a new "great leap forward".
Lip service to Mao's thought continued. But many of the sounds that emerged contradicted what the lips were supposed to be saying. Suddenly the host of the enemy was to be counted as a mere handful and everyone else was to be forgiven and rehabilitated. Only "a very few unrepentent diehards" are not to be remolded, said People's Daily, adding: "Even those who belong to the category of contradictions between ourselves and the enemy are to be differentiated and given a way out." The extreme left is being singled out for the largest share of what condemnation may be necessary after endorsement of Mao togetherness in a United Front society. Lin Piao's report to the Ninth Congress didn't even mention that erstwhile leftist Chiang Ching.
If the left has been defeated and its ideology rejected, what remains of Mao's thought? If only a handful of leftists and rightists are outside the pale, why is the "cultural revolution" to be continued as Mao has promised and as Lin Piao has made explicit in double talk that explains nothing?
Lin Piao's report to the Congress traces the history of the "cultural revolution" but gives scant indication of the future. The early stages of the "cultural revolution" have always been clear enough. Mao was calling upon the people to rise up and take over; to make a new and successful Paris commune, to create the pure communism of his dreams. Then everything came unstuck and has remained that way. Underneath the upheaval there was no faith or confidence in either Mao or Chinese Communism. In a succession of peasants, Red Guards, workers and the "people's liberation army", people and groups went their own way and sought their own self·interest. They are still doing so.
According to Lin, policies are to be carried out in the following order of priority: rehabilitation of ntellectuals, cadres, the children of those who fell into error and the mass organizations (principally the Red Guards); the struggle against the enemy; and economic reconstruction. In other words, the United Front will be established and this will permit defeat of the already defeated enemy. After that will be time enough to get around to the economic sphere. Lin boasts of good harvests and implies that it will be enough if the people can eat. As for the rest of the economy, the empty propaganda phrase of "making revolution while grasping production" is all he has to offer.
Actually, the Congress decided nothing. The hold of the PLA on the reins of power was ratified but that was foreordained. A majority of delegates represented or were controlled by the armed forces. The power struggle continues at the level of local and provincial "revolutionary committees". Nowhere on the mainland can Mao found any willing scapegoats for sacrifice on his altar of pure communism. Students rusticated to the mountains, the countryside and to frontier areas went because they had their arms twisted, not as volunteers. Many have already sneaked back into the cities.
In his "cultural revolution" references, Lin Piao said that a great victory had been scored but that the movement would continue. Mao has spoken of a revolutionary period of decades, and with ample reason. The goal of the "cultural revolution" is really the acceptance of a total tyranny that no one wants except the tyrannizers. During 4,000 years of history, a number of tyrants have sought to impose such a straitjacket on the Chinese people and all have failed. It will be no different with Mao.
Externally, the Maoists have taken great care to promote the Soviet Union to the position of Enemy No.1 while dismissing President Nixon and the United States as "a hopeless mess" and insisting that U.S. imperialism is becoming "less effective". This has the look of an effort to externalize and rationalize the Maois Communist failure. Russia is a traditional enemy of China, the United States a traditional friend. The United States is far away and not fighting against Chinese Communist forces. Peiping recently has made propaganda capital out of the clashes with the Russians along the border between Heilungkiang and' the Soviet Maritime Territory. Trouble also has been reported on the Sinkiang-Kazakhstan frontier.
A strange note was injected into the Peiping-Moscow relationship late in May with the Chinese Communist offer to negotiate border questions but without stipulation of time or place. The China News made this editorial comment:
"Even this much of a concession is something of a surprise. The Chinese Communists have studiously ignored several Moscow calls for talks since fighting broke out along the border between Heilungkiang and Russia's Maritime Territory.
"Even more surprisingly, the 8,000-word Peiping statement announced acceptance of the 19th century treaties with Tsarist Russia, although asserting that these agreements were unequal.
"The treaties are accepted, Peiping said, because 'large numbers of the Soviet laboring people have lived on the land over a long period of time' and in the interest of the 'revolutionary friendship' of the two peoples.
"There are many possible implications of this softer Chinese Communist stand on one of the many differences with the Soviet Union.
"First, the Chinese Reds are now agreeable to a cooling off of the border war. The big question is why. This could mean that Peiping wants to clear the decks for action elsewhere. Or it might imply fear of a larger conflict with the Russians.
"Second, acceptance of the Tsarist treaties could open the way for a definitive settlement of the frontier dispute. This might imply willingness to reach accommodation on other matters in time to come.
"Third, although the statement is propagandistic, there is a general tone of diplomacy that has been missing from Peiping announcements since start of the 'great cultural revolution'. A return of the Chinese Reds to the international diplomatic arena was rumored even before the Ninth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. This could be the first step.
"Fourth, the statement and the strategy behind it bear the trademark of Chou En-Iai rather than Mao Tse-tung. Putting this together with the apparent rehabilitation of 'foreign minister' Chen Yi it may be wondered whether the Peiping pecking order is changing in the aftermath of the CCP Congress. The 'people's liberation army' sits in the driver's seat but may not want to do all the driving nor to turn the reins over to Mao.
"These are matters of speculation. Nevertheless, the whole situation will bear the closest possible watching. When the Chinese Communists speak to the Russians almost gently, and grudgingly accept the results of Tsarist military dictation in the bargain, something seems to be newly rotten in Peiping.
"Frontier adjustments will have no meaning until the sovereignty of the Republic of China is returned to the mainland. However, the Chinese Communists may be up to much more than border redemarcation. The free world will do well to join the Republic of China in actions, of preparedness as well as vigilance."
This is the record of Chinese mainland and related events in the month's period ended May 19:
April 21
U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers said the United States would respond to any indication of a less hostile attitude on the part of Peiping. But he added that the Chinese Communists "are hostile toward the United Nations, hostile toward the United States, hostile toward the Soviet Union and have shown little interest in normal diplomatic relations with other countries. They still preach violence as a permanent way of life".
April 22
Communist Party Secretary Ivan Kapitonov told a Moscow meeting that Peiping had not responded to Soviet offers to negotiate their border dispute. He said two notes had been sent to the Chinese Reds.
April 23
In New Delhi, the Dalai Lama charged the Chinese Communists were building up their military forces along the Tibetan borders with Sikkim and Bhutan. Cantonments were said to have been established at Phardizong, Achang and Khambu along with patrol posts all along the frontiers.
Peiping denounced India for what it called the "frantic stepping up of war preparations". The broadcast said the Indians were acting in collusion with the United States and the Soviet Union.
April 24
U.S. Republican leader Gerald Ford charged that Peiping-trained "agitators from the Middle East" were participating in American college disturbances.
A Hongkong newspaper said two Americans held by the Chinese Communists are hostages for the return of Liao Ho-shu, charge d'affaires who defected from Peiping's "embassy" in the Netherlands last January 24. The Americans, Simeon Baldwin and Bessie Hope Donald, were taken from a yacht bound from Hongkong to Macao on February 16.
Canadian Minister of Commerce and Trade Jean Luc Peipin said Ottawa seeks diplomatic relations with the Chinese Communists for political rather than commercial reasons. He made the comment while visiting Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Ninth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party ended in Peiping. Lin Piao presided and Mao Tse-tung was present at the concluding session. (For details of the Congress, see the May issue.)
April 26
Peiping was reported to have given India a 24-hour ultimatum to withdraw troops from Nathu La pass on the Sikkim-Tibetan border where Indian and Chinese Communist forces clashed in September of 1967. The Indian commander threatened to return fire for fire and the ultimatum expired without violence.
Japanese dispatches from Peiping quoted diplomatic observers as expressing doubt that the Chinese Communists would soften up in their international position following the CCP Congress.
April 27
Peiping belatedly broadcast the political report of Lin Piao to the CCP Ninth Congress. Lin hinted of a new "great leap forward" and continued attacks on Liu Shao-chi and his supporters.
April 28
American sources said 13 Japanese, mostly businessmen, are held by the Chinese Communists. Of four Japanese arrested at this spring's Canton trade fair, two were released.
April 29
Hongkong sources said the Maoists were clamoring for intensification of the mainland power struggle in the wake of the CCP Congress. Broadcasts from Hunan said "class enemies," were still trying to sabotage Maoist leadership in Mao's home province.
April 30
Chinese Communists opened fire on six refugees trying to escape to Hongkong. The six were apprehended before they could get across the border. Ten refugees, including four militiamen, were given permission to remain in Hongkong.
Peiping clainled that the "People's Liberation Army of Thailand" won battles in 12 provinces in late March and early April.
May 1
Sources in Hongkong said the Chinese Communists have established a special military organizaltion to prepare for war. It is under command of Huang Yung-sheng, chief of the general staff of the armed forces and a member of the new 21-member standing committee of the CCP politburo.
May 2
Moscow urged convening of a commission established in 1951 to supervise navigation on rivers that form part of the border between mainland China and Russia. The commission last met in 1967. The Soviet Union wants it to discuss navigation on the Amur, Ussuri, Argun and Sungacha rivers and Lake Khanka.
A Chinese Communist fishing vessel entered Hongkong waters and tried to capture two sampans. One of the sampans got away, as did the crew of the other. The Reds towed away the other boat.
May 3
Meeting in New York, some of America's top Chinese scholars denounced their associates for advocating closer relations with the Chinese Reds. Several of the speakers maintained that the Chinese Communists are in the process of destroying themselves.
May 4
London diplomats said the Soviet Union is fearful of a clash with the Chinese Reds and is stepping up military and diplomatic efforts to contain the Peiping regime.
May 5
Hongkong sources said the Chinese Communists have recently increased military activities in Kwangtung and Fukien. Movement of forces was reported between Swatow and Amoy.
May 7
A rising tide of anti-Peiping editorials and articles in the Soviet press charged Red China was preparing for world war. One story claimed the Chinese Reds massacred more than 200 Uighurs and Kazakhs of Sinkiang when they tried to visit relatives on the Soviet side of the border on May 29, 1962. Mao was said to have militarized the country and to have rusticated 20 million intellectuals.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman accused Red China of subversive designs and hostile propaganda.
Singapore accused the Communist "Bank of China" of failing to comply with a regulation requiring that 20 per cent of assets be in liquid form.
Reports from Hongkong said the Chinese Communists were strengthening artillery emplacements along the coast of southeast China and enlarging air strips in southern Tibet.
May 8
Two weeks after the Ninth Congress the CCP still had failed to identify a new general secretary or a secretariat.
May 9
Peiping charged that Premier Kosygin visited India to instigate further incidents aJong the Tibetan border. The China Reds also claimed that Indian Communists are arming the peasants and starting guerrilla war. Indians claimed that 900 Peiping-trained rebels have been infiltrated into Nagaland, a state bordering Burma and Pakistan.
Red border guards opened fire on two refugees trying to reach Hongkong. A woman was shot in the back and a man fled into the woods.
Canadian Pacific Air said it was seeking to establish service between Vancouver and Shanghai or 'Peiping.
May 11
Moscow sources told of more clashes along the Chinese mainland border. The new incidents were said to have been along the frontier between Sinkiang and Kazakhstan. The Russians claimed that the Chinese Communists lost 800 men to their 60 in fighting on the Heilungkiang border.
Peiping denied demanding the withdrawal of Indian troops from a pass on the Sikkirn-Tibet border. The Chinese Reds said the story was an Indian propaganda fabrication.
May 12
Hongkong sources told of chaotic situations on Hainan island and in southern Kwangsi province bordering North Vietnam. War preparations and the intensification of anti-Maoist activities were reported.
Peiping agreed to a meeting of the commission that controls navigation on rivers along the Soviet border. Khabarovsk was suggested as the site and mid-June as the time.
Red China and Japan have agreed on a formula calling for settlement of export and import contracts in yuan or yen and trade accounts in British pounds.
May 13
Moscow said 1,000 Chinese Communist troops moved into Soviet territory to a depth of two to three miles in a high plateau area southeast of Simipalatinsk in central Asia. No violence was reported in the occupation of about 24 square miles.
Diplomatic sources in Beirut said the Chinese Communists may offer rockets to Syria. A Syrian military delegation was said to have gone to Peiping to seek the weapons, which the Soviet Union has denied on grounds they are not defensive. The sources said that if the rockets are sent to Syria, they will be accompanied by Chinese Red advisers.
A Hongkong fisherman was shot to death by Chinese Communists while fishing in international waters. The Reds had sought to board the Hongkong vessel.
May 14
Hongkong residents returning from Canton said factory workers in South China's largest city are engaged in a slowdown because of dissatisfaction with pay and working conditions. Top factory pay was said to be about US$16 a month.
Writing in Pravda, Marshal Ivan I. Yakubovsky, commander of the Warsaw Pact forces, said Red China has become "the accomplice of world imperialism".
May 15
Both Malaysian and Hongkong sources accused the Chinese Communists of sending money to Malaysia to instigate racial clashes. Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman said the Chinese Communists were to blame for the conflict.
May 16
Clandestine mainland China broadcasts charged that Lin Piao was usurping Mao's power. Hongkong observers said this indicated attempts to undermine the Mao-Lin group.
A Singapore court fined the Communist "Bank of China" US$42,666 for not maintaining assets required by the law. The bank refused to accept a copy of the judgment, played Communist songs on a PA system, displayed Mao's portrait, claimed political persecution and urged depositors not to close their accounts.
Nine refugees reached Hongkong and reported that three others were killed trying to escape.
May 17
Hongkong newspaper reports said the Chinese Communists murdered Li Tsung-jen, former vice president of China, after he surrendered a secret dossier on Liu Shao-chi to Mao. Li returned to the Chinese mainland after 16 years in the United States. His death was reported by the Chinese Reds February 1.
The dossier was reported to have included evidence that Liu had agreed to become an agent of the National Government working inside the Communist Party. Li's wife, Kuo Te-chieh, was said to have been murdered because of suspicions she was an "American spy".
May 18
Washington sources said that relations between Peiping and North Korea are so strained that the border is sealed and shots have been exchanged on several occasions this year.
London sources said Red China has agreed to build missile bases for Syria and supply rockets and other weapons.
May 19
Peiping charged the Soviet Union is engaged in collusion with the United States and is flirting with "reactionaries" of Southeast Asia. The Chinese Reds said the Russians want to move into the Southeast Asian vacuum that will be left when the British withdraw their forces in 1971.
Canadian and Chinese Communist representatives began recognition talks in Stockholm. Visiting the United States and Canada, Paul Cardinal Yupin said that Canadian or Italian recognition of the Peiping regime would bring trouble down upon the heads of the two Western countries.
Hongkong arrivals from Canton said more than 1,000 Communist troops had been deployed in rural Kwangtung to root out an anti-Maoist organization. More than 20 arrests were said to have been made. Headquarters of the group was reported to be at Panyu, the home place of many overseas Chinese.