The Christian Science Monitor, Boston, said May 13: "With modern marvels, and presumably some old-fashioned spy work, too, American experts are probing and assessing Communist China's latest nuclear explosion.
"But for political observers, the state of (Red) Chinese leadership behind the bomb remains a much more interesting story.
"Despite Mao Tse-tung's public re-emergence, there are many unanswered questions about what is happening in the Chinese Communist Party's hierarchy. Some observers believe the ground is being cleared for a major showdown.
"Certainly the campaign of intra-party maneuver and political witch-hunting continues at full blast.
"Whether Chairman Mao is really coming to the end of his political reign and all this is the preliminary to a contest for the succession, nobody can be sure.
"But the campaign is deep and bitter and nobody doubts that the fruits for the victors will be juicy and the consequences for the losers probably severe.
"Though the lines of the contest are not clearly drawn, a group of intellectuals, journalists, and literary figures are bearing the brunt of criticism from hard-line party forces. They are accused of deviating from the Maoist line and charged with 'singing the same tune as Khrushchev.' In Peking today there is no more shameful crime.
"Spearhead of the campaign against them seems to be the Army newspaper Liberation Army Daily. Earlier this year there were whispers of dissent in the Army itself, but now the Army is strongly plugging the official line.
"Three Peking newspapers recently under criticism have just published abject apologies admitting serious ideological errors. They have promised to return to the proletarian stand.
"Singled out for special criticism was journalist Ten To. Mr. Ten is thought to have connections with Peking's missing Mayor Peng. This could mean that the criticism of Mr. Ten was intended primarily for the Mayor." (Partial text)
Mainichi Daily News
The Mainichi Daily News, Tokyo, said May 18: "A powerful and provocative drive to shift the center of gravity of orthodox communism finally from Moscow to Peking has been launched in (Red) China with a spate of official propaganda. Simultaneously and as an essential phase of the same operation, the image of Mao Tse-tung is being enhanced in the highest tradition of the personality cult.
"A rapid tour d 'horizon suggests that the campaign has got off to a fairly good start. Already genuflexions to the newly gilded image have been noted among several Communist parties abroad.
"It is difficult, however, to imagine how the prime necessity of absorbing the Maoist sacred scriptures could be much emphatically inculcated than has been the case for a considerable time past. Evidently the writings themselves are now being given a higher status, in the sense that their applicability and authority not only for the People's Republic but for the world at large is being stressed.
"At the same time, what is noticeable in the current drive is the persistent theme of veneration for Mao as a man. His teachings could not prevent the earthquakes in Hopei province — but rescue workers were reported to be telling sufferers 'since we have Chairman Mao with us there is nothing in the world to be afraid of."
"An old Chinese proverb has been adapted into the slogan that 'Mao could make chicken feathers fly to heaven.' His personal inspiration has enabled bridges to be built without arch supporters. As is known the Chairman has no medical manual to his literary credit — but simply by looking to Mao the rate of recovery from burns in a Peking hospital has risen to 95 per cent.
"With the years fast catching up on Mao, it is conceivable that a timely effort is being made to prepare him for the posthumous role of a demigod who will continue to inspire (Red) China from beyond the tomb. But, a more practical consideration, it is younger men who will have to measure up to the challenge thrown down by the unequivocal claim that Peking is the destined center of world Communism. Immediately, the repercussions of this claim seem more likely to affect Sino-Soviet relations than anything else."
Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, said May 1: "At 6: 30 p.m. in Taipei, capital of the Republic of China, rush hour is still at its height. Cars (some Formosan, most U.S. models 4 or 5 years old) jam to a halt on a bridge leading to the city centre. People on bicycles or in pedicabs funnel through the side lanes. One carrier bicycle is piled with 11 swaying boxes. Another is laden with what appears to be one man's total worldly possessions. Yet another is laden with a little chair in which sits a 2-year-old with eyes like brown almonds. Pedicabs carry single riders or whole families. One, constructed for freight, goes by carrying two hogs. Strangely, not an American is to be seen. But the truck ahead is filled with Chinese soldiers.
"Almost one in every 10 citizens of this country is a Chinese soldier, which constitutes a problem for the economy probably unparalleled anywhere else in the world. Formosa is about the size of Vancouver Island. For 50 years before 1945 it was under Japanese rule. There has since been such startling economic development that last year all U.S. non-military aid was phased out. From 1955 to 1956 export volume increased from $133,000,000 to $488,000,000 In addition to sugar and rice, products exported include textiles, furniture, metals, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and canned mushrooms.
"The land is farmed to its fullest potential. Beans are grown straight up poles to save space. Relay planting and heavy fertilizing permit as many as seven harvests a year from one piece of land. In some places one rice paddy may be used to grow rice, fish, ducks, and cucumbers at the same time.
"But in addition to the task of moving from the era of the water buffalo to nuclear energy, Formosa's resources are being mobilized with terrible seriousness for what is everywhere called the return to the mainland. Every 19-year-old male is called for army duty. After the initial service period, men are encouraged to remain voluntarily. Because of the desire to keep the armed services young and vigorous, retirement is not uncommon at age 40 to 45. Each year about 8,000 to 10,000 servicemen return to civilian life.
"But for all the apparent brightness of the economic future, trucks carrying furniture in Formosa are less important in the Government's view than trucks carrying soldiers.
"Government officials rejoice in the economic growth. But they attribute it to the fact that they have a national purpose. 'If we do not go back to the mainland, we cannot survive,' said Foreign Minister Shen." (Partial text)
Japan Times
The Japan Times, Tokyo, said May 13: "Indications are that the rivalry between Soviet Russia and Red China to gain the commanding influence both among the smaller nations, already under Communist rule, and the so-called developing countries — in most cases not yet attached to any special political ideology — is increasing.
"That is the most significant interpretation we can put on the coming and going of various Communist leaders.
"The Albanian delegation which has been visiting Peking for the past fortnight left the (Red) Chinese capital on Wednesday. Led by Albania's Mr. Mehmet Shehu, its visit, from the outside observer's point of view, was of special significance as the occasion for the Chinese Red leader, Mao Tse-tung, making his first appearance in public for nearly six months.
"Albania is the smallest of the Communist-ruled countries of Eastern Europe and plays no important part in world affairs, but it has consistently supported the Communist Chinese standpoint and consequently set itself up in opposition to Moscow, whose supposed 'revisionist' activities it has bitterly criticized. The visit of Mr. Shehu to Peking will probably serve to strengthen the theoretical Tirana-Peking axis, if 'axis' is the right word here, but the practical consequences are not likely to be important.
"Meanwhile, Soviet Communist Party leader, Mr. Leonid Brezhnev, is reported to have arrived in the Romanian capital of Bucharest on Tuesday under the cloak of secrecy. Both the Russian and Romanian Governments are most reticent about the matter. But it is believed that Mr. Brezhnev has gone to Bucharest for a discussion with the Romanian authorities before Red Chinese Premier Chou En-lai can get there.
"Romania is inclined of late to take an independent attitude and has shown the world that it does not regard itself as bound to Moscow's interpretation of what a Communist state should or should not do. On the other hand, recent utterances in Bucharest indicate that Romanian policy is not in step with Peking's right line.
"It is reported that the Warsaw Pact countries are planning to hold a major conference in Bucharest in July, and this may be an added reason for Mr. Brezhnev going to Romania to make fresh contacts on the top level. The planned Warsaw Pact conference, it is understood, will want to examine the new position of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization following French President de Gaulle's partial withdrawal of France. It may also examine the over-all position of the Communist world as it is at the present day, and try to make provision for tightening up bonds that hold the Communists together.
"Among the political movements of the present moment, we cannot fail to take notice of the visit of Soviet Premier Kosygin to the United Arab Republic for talks with President Nasser, who has just played host to President Tito of Yugoslavia. Here again, there is a Chinese factor for it is rumored that Mr. Chou En-lai is planning to visit Cairo, perhaps this June. He was there just a year ago, but since then Communist China has lost much prestige in Africa generally. President Nasser is, of course, a prominent leader in the nonaligned world; how far he wishes for clear relations with either Moscow or Peking is uncertain.
"All these movements of which we have spoken pose an interesting study for the Free World. While Peking's basic uncompromising policies, based on rigid revolutionary ideas, are fairly clear — although, of course, we are ignorant of many details — it is difficult to grasp just how far Soviet Russia is inclined to liberalize and be prepared to cooperate with non-Communist nations.
"We feel considerable changes in the international political arena are about to make themselves manifest, but in precisely what directions it is hard to say." (Partial text)
New York Times
The New York Times said May 29: "The grief and clamor of the Vietnam war have tended to obscure changes in the over-all strategic outlook for Asia.
"Subtle readjustments have taken place in relations among Communist nations, notably a growth of tensions between Peking and Hanoi. These developments, favorable to the United States, have significantly altered long-term prospects in Vietnam and Southeast Asia generally.
"When the United States first begin to slip into direct military involvement in South Vietnam, Washington officials justified the new commitments by citing the danger of Chinese Communist expansionism. North Vietnam was looked upon as a tool in Peking's drive to establish hegemony over Southeast Asia.
"Peking and Hanoi retain parallel interests in a Communist victory in South Vietnam. But American officials concede today that North Vietnam is pursuing an independent foreign policy. This is evident in the stubborn refusal of Hanoi to accede to Peking's emphatic demands for an ideological break with the Soviet Union.
"The number of Soviet military advisers and technicians is increasing in North Vietnam as Moscow's military aid, particularly anti-aircraft missiles and MIG fighter planes, flows into the country. Yet at the same time, Peking asserts that the Soviet Union has joined with the United States, India and Japan in military encirclement of Communist China. Foreign Minister Chen Yi asserted this week that the Soviet Union and the United States might 'jointly want to start a war against us.'
"Apart from the importance attached to Soviet military aid, Hanoi seems determined to stand by its ties with Moscow for the sake of its long-term interests. North Vietnamese leaders look to the Soviet Union for help in the economic rehabilitation of their country in the postwar era. They also wish to preserve the Soviet presence as a balance against Communist China so as to assure their continued independence. This would also enhance Hanoi's chances of realizing Vietnamese ambitions for pre-eminence in Southeast Asia.
"(Red) Chinese reaction to the North Vietnamese game has been one of ill-concealed fury. Peking has snubbed Hanoi's leaders, who have also been denounced by implication in Chinese Communist ideological pronouncements for taking a compromise 'centrist line' in the struggle against Soviet revisionism. The Vietnam war is getting less attention in Chinese propaganda.
"Unhappy as they may be with their maverick neighbor, the Chinese Communists have too much at stake in Vietnam to withdraw their aid to Hanoi, which in effect would undermine the Viet Cong insurrection. The strategy of world revolution propounded by Mao Tse-tung rests upon the concept of a 'people's war' as exemplified in South Vietnam.
"Growing diversity within the Asian Communist camp may provide new opportunities for American policy-makers." (Partial text)