At the 12th national congress of the Chinese Communist party, Teng Hsiao-ping failed to carry out his scheme to scrap the powerful political bureau, but succeeded in planting his men in the party's central secretariat.
The political bureau used to be the core of the Chinese Communist party. Teng Hsiao-ping had planned to scrap the organ and enlarge the role of the central secretariat in order to further deprive his political rivals of power. This effort was strongly resisted by the leftists.
Among the new secretariat members, Hu Chi-li, Teng Li-chun, and Chiao Shih are staunch supporters of the Hu Yao-pang line. Yao Yi-lin is also one of Hu's long-standing partners. Only Yu Chiu-li and Ku Mu may be "questionable." They are technocrats who have engaged in the "new leap forward." The Teng faction may need their help if it is faced with grave economic crisis.
Teng Hsiao-ping is emulating Mao Tze-tung - holding firm the "gun-barrel" by serving as chairman of the central military commission. This has disproved the popular assumption that he would retreat to the second line.
It is worthy of note that the Teng faction failed to "wipe out" the dogmatists. It allowed Hua Kuo-feng and Saifuting, two major cultural revolutionary beneficiaries, to remain in the central committee as "negative examples for education" and a facade of "solidarity."
The dogmatist faction headed by Hua Kuo-feng will become the major opponent of the Teng Hsiao-ping/Hu Yao-pang faction, while the "new leap forward faction," represented by Yu Chiu-li and Ku Mu, will be the secondary opponent.
Besides, the present central committee, central advisory committee, and central committee of discipline and inspection run counter to Teng's original reform plan. The three-way division of power among these organizations was schemed to fulfill the function of check and balance. Under the new system, the advisory committee and the discipline and inspection committee are no more than "assistants" to the central committee. This indicates that the Chinese Communists' claim of "democratic reform" is just a gimmick.
The army continues to play a key role in the policy-making process. In the new political bureau, 10 members are professional military men: Teng Hsiao-ping, Yeh Chien-ying, Hsu Hsiang-chien, Nieh Jung-chen, Yang Shang-kun, Wang Chen, Yang Te-chih, Li Te-sheng, Chang Ting-fa, and Ching Chi-wei. All of them are also members of the central military commission. They account for 35.7 percent of the political bureau membership.
The inclusion of Liao Cheng-chih in the political bureau is another noteworthy development. Originally, Ulanfu was in charge of united front work in the political bureau (he had served as director of the united front department and was later replaced by Yang Ching-jen); the additional united front cadre was not absolutely necessary. Liao's inclusion assumes a special meaning.
Judging from the addition of Liao Cheng-chih to the political bureau, the Chinese Communists intend to step up "united front" activities directed toward the Republic of China and abroad. Ulanfu will be in charge of "internal united front activities," directing Yang Ching-jen in their execution on the mainland; Liao Cheng-chih will be responsible for the "external united front offensive." Liao's targets will include the people of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao and pro Communists in foreign countries. Liao is concurrently vice president of the "national people's congress," director of the "Hong Kong-Macao office," and boss of the "Taiwan work group." His admission to the political bureau will facilitate his job of orchestration.
The party chairman, Hu Yao-pang, had, actually, announced in his report to the 12th national congress that the Chinese Communist regime would pursue the "reunification of Taiwan with the motherland."
Immediately after Hu made the utterance, Dr. James C.Y. Soong, government spokesman of the Republic of China, told an AP reporter:
"The 'peace talk' remarks of Hu Yao-pang to the 12th congress of the Chinese Communist party constitute another example of 'united front' polemics.
They should immediately scrap the Communist system and Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, which is a contradiction of democracy and freedom.
"They should dissolve totalitarian Communist organizations, restore Chinese culture, and identify themselves with Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People."
Lu Hsun's grandson renounces Peking ties... will wed girl from Taipei
The grandson of Lu Hsun, the modern Chinese writer most admired by the Chinese Communists, flew to the Republic of China Sept. 18 to wed Chang Chun-hua, a resident of Taipei, and cut his ties with Peking.
Chou Ling-fei, 29, renounced his Communist party membership at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport on Taiwan while on his way to Hong Kong with his 25-year-old girl friend.
Chou was a photographer of the People's Liberation Army Pictorial Service and People's Fine Arts Publishing Company. He was sent to Japan in early 1980 to study TV techniques, and there he fell in love with Miss Chang.
Peking - Preparing to play the Russian card
The new "constitution" of the Chinese Communist party suggests that Peking will try to play the Russian card as well as the U.S. card, Dr. James C.Y. Soong, government spokesman of the Republic of China, said in response to queries of foreign correspondents as the CCP concluded its 12th congress in Peking.
Playing the China card, he said, is "like adding gangrene to an infection."
Dr. Soong said that in holding onto the central military commission during the reshuffle of Chinese Communist leadership, Teng Hsiao-ping was attempting to use "the gun barrel" to consolidate the "Gang of Three" rule in himself, Hu Yao-pang and Chao Tse-yang. But these three cannot control the total situation, he added.
The text of Dr. Soong's remarks follows:
"The old cast chosen for the new organs at the recent congress of the Chinese Communist party shows that the 'Gang of Three' of Teng Hsiao-ping, Hu Yao-pang and Chao Tse-yang cannot effectively control the total situation and reach their target. The clinching proof is found in failure of such old cadres as Yeh Chien-ying and Li Hsien-nien to retreat from the scene as they were supposed to. Since the Teng faction has failed to attain its objective of complete control, Communist party power struggle will be accelerated.
"The Chinese Communists are obsessed with ensuring power through 'the gun barrel.' Mao Tse-tung relied on the gun barrel during the Cultural Revolution. Now Teng Hsiao-ping is attempting to consolidate the rule of the 'Gang of Three' through the gun barrel by clinging to chairmanship of the central military commission. Instead of retreating to the second line, he is attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of the people and exercise the power of party chairman through the military commission post. Using this authority, he can continue to launch liquidation movements against opposing factions.
"In foreign policy, the Chinese Communists have removed mention of 'the United States and the Soviet Union,' as their anti-hegemonic targets, which were specified in the 1977 party constitution. But the new constitution emphasizes unity with the third world in the struggle against hegemonism. The Chinese Communists obviously intend to oppose Russia for leadership of the international Communist movement and at the same time counter the United States with the strength of the third world. This is attempting to play the Russian card as well as the U.S. card. The Chinese Communists have restored the Russian system of the 'general secretary' and assert that their ultimate ideological goal is to implement the Communist social system. But they have downgraded 'anti-hegemonism' to third place in their order of priorities. They are also prepared to resume border negotiations with Russia. This demonstrates that the Chinese Communists are trying to play their game two ways, placating and attacking at one and the same time. Under such conditions, any attempt to play the 'China card' will be like 'adding gangrene to an infection.'"