Defection of Liao Ho-shu, the 47-year-old Chinese Communist charge d'affaires in The Hague, on January 24 set in motion a chain of events that was still growing at the end of February. Liao walked into a police station and said he did not want to return to Peiping. He was given asylum and subsequently permitted to depart for the United States.
Although Liao had been only a second secretary before start of the "cultural-revolution'" he apparently was well informed about Peiping's espionage, infiltration and subversion in Europe and Africa. The Peiping regime reacted quickly and violently. Liao's return was demanded and a protest filed with the U.S-Embassy in Warsaw.
Reports from The Hague said Liao had told the Dutch some time before' that he wanted to defect as soon as wife and children reached Hongkong from the mainland. He left after the Dutch foreign ministry informed him they were safe.
In mid-February Chinese Communist gunboats seized three pleasure boats in waters between Hongkong and Macao and kidnapped 11 foreigners and four Hongkong Chinese aboard. The foreigners included six Americans. Three other yachts were stopped but permitted to proceed because none of the foreigners aboard was an American. Apparently Peiping meant to hold the Americans as hostages for Liao, just as they have detained Anthony Grey, a Reuters, correspondent, for nearly two years as a hostage for Chinese Communist newsmen imprisoned in Hongkong for leading riots in 1967.
On February 18, the Chinese Reds said the Warsaw meeting with the Americans scheduled for February 20 could not be held because the United States had ignored demands that'Liao be surrendered.
Liao's flight shook the Maoists deeply. There had been reports that Peiping was about to return its ambassadors" to foreign missions and undertake a diplomatic offensive. Obviously, Peiping was afraid of what envoys-already recalled because of their uncertain loyalty to Mao Tse-tung - might do once they got away from the Maoist straitjacket. Liao's flight could not be kept secret from higher-ranking officialdom.
However, other causes may have been involved in the. Warsaw cancellation. The Maoists mounted a large-scale defamation campaign against President Richard Nixon in late January and early February. Not for along time have People's Daily and other Maoist mouthpieces had so much to stay about the United States and American policy.
As yet there was no indication of the effect of the kidnapping of the 11 foreigners on Italian and Canadian moves toward Peiping recognition. Italy announced it was planning to recognize but there were no details. Canada began talks with Chinese Communist representatives in Stockholm. The Republic of China asked for clarification from the Italian government and filed two protests with the Canadian government (see "The month in Free China").
Mao continued to have troubles on the mainland.Violence was reported from a number of provinces. Maoists admitted the power and class struggles were far from over.
The 9th Party Congress still had not been summoned. There were reports that the 29 "revolutionary committees" of provinces, special cities and autonomous regions had met in Peiping to hand-pick delegates for the first CCP general meeting since 1956. Other hints suggested that Mao was planning a forgiveness campaign that might reach as high as Party secretary Teng Hsiao-ping but which would not include Liu Shao-chi.
All chairmen of "revolutionary committees" were said to have gone to Peiping for the pre-Party Congress meeting. In effect this would mean control of the Congress and of the new Maoist party by the "People's Liberation Army". A majority of the chairmen are from the PLA, which also was reported replacing some of the worker and peasant
"propaganda teams" that have been re-educating students and insisting on Mao- thought in industrial, trade and other organizations.
Nothing more was heard of the new draft charter of the Party, approved last October, that names Mao as leader, Lin Piao as his successor and specifically identifies the United States, the Soviet Union and anyone else who doesn't accept Mao-thought as enemies of the Peiping regime. This "Mao party" charter was laid before a number of "revolutionary committees" for approval in November and December but the process apparently was never completed. The next level of consideration would be the rump 9th Party Congress, ere approval by a packed house would be inevitable.
Following is the record of mainland and peripheral occurrences in the period of January 20 through February 19:
January 20
Hongkong reports told of an uprising of Uighur nomads in Sinkiang. Three to four thousand Uighurs clashed with Maoist forces. Loudspeakers on the Soviet side of the Sinkiang border bade the Uighurs cross over to asylum in the U.S.S.R.
French sources said Charles de Gaulle was concerned about possible Peiping troublemaking in the Middle East. The French president was said to be expecting a step-up in Chinese Communist diplomatic activity this year.
January 21
Moscow radio reported attacks against Maoist forces in Hupeh, Szechwan, Kwangtung, Tibet and Hainan. The broadcast said new turmoil will be triggered when Mao Tse-tung attempts to convene the 9th Party Congress.
Chinese Communist broadcasts said Maoists have sent 90,000 young people of Canton to the countryside for resettlement since November. Thousands were still leaving daily.
Hupeh radio said vast rural areas of that central China province were in the hands of anti-Maoists and anti-Communists.
A Canadian yachtsman of Hongkong and his wife were released by the Communists after a 10-day detention on the mainland. Their boat was disabled in a storm. Cambodia arrested two Chinese Communists at a shop making grenades and other explosive devices. A number of other workers took refuge in the Chinese Communist "embassy".
January 22
The Manila Times said Filipino Communists can go to the mainland via Hongkong without the authorities knowing it. Filipino Reds were said to have attended a meeting of overseas infiltrators in Peiping.
A symposium of mainland affairs scholars meeting in Taipei agreed that Mao Tse-tung is likely to call the 9th Party Congress in 1969, probably on October 1, which will mark the 20th anniversary of the Peiping regime's establishment. Some experts thought the CCP might be summoned before May 1.
January 23
Hongkong sources said rumors of Mao's death were sweeping the mainland. While substantiation was lacking, there were indications that the rumors alone might be sufficient to stir up' new turmoil in the power struggle between Mao and Liu Shao-chi.
January 24
Liao Ho-shu, 47, Peiping's charge d'affaires in The Hague, defected and asked for asylum, which was promptly granted by the Netherlands. He had been in Holland since 1963 and was said to have expected to be recalled by the Peiping regime.
January 25
Reports in Hongkong said Liu Shao-chi, Teng Hsiao-ping and other anti-Maoists attempted to escape to the· Soviet Union last August. Chiang Ching, Mao's wife, was said to have discovered the plan. An aircraft carrying Ho Lung, purged chairman of the physical culture and sports commission, was said to have made it to Russia. The other planes failed to get off the ground. The story was told by a refugee from Canton who claimed to have read it in a Red Guard publication.
"New China News Agency" reported that Mao, "defense minister" Lin Piao and other Maoists appeared at a Peiping reception for 40,000 members of the "People's Liberation Army". It was Mao's first public appearance since November 28.
January 26
Moscow radio said anti-Maoists were gaining power in the Chinese Communist armed forces and that Maoists had attempted to purge the PLA. One of Mao's sons-in-law warned the Shanghai “revolutionary committee” against commanders with feudalistic ambitions. NCNA reported that the PLA has been ordered to help workers and peasants increase production and to propagate Mao's teachings.
Peiping radio said that Mao showed "vitality and good health" in 'his appearance at the PLA reception.
London sources said Mao may be getting ready to demand a voice in Vietnam peacemaking. The report cited . continuing reports that Peiping "ambassadors" soon will be sent back to their posts.
Pro-Peiping students rampaged through a Chinese school in Tokyo and destroyed an anti-Communist exhibition of "cultural, revolution" photographs.
Bonn sources let it be known that the West German government has no intention of recognizing the Chinese Reds.
January 27
Peiping radio broadcast an editorial warning President Nixon to expect no change in. the Chinese Communists' hard-line' policy. toward the United 'States. The editorial said there will be no peace in the world until the Americans pull back to their own shores. Peiping also said Nixon's inauguration was "like a funeral".
January 28
Dutch sources said Peiping diplomats in Western Europe had been ordered to determine the whereabouts of Liao Ho-shu, who defected in The Hague. The order was believed to imply a possible attempt to kidnap Liao.
January 29
Informed sources in Hongkong said more than 20 organizations are receiving financial support from the Chinese Communists.
Another Hongkong report said General Tao Zse-yu had been purged in Sinkiang after an Uighur rebellion. Sinkiang political commissar General Wang En-mao was said to have told Mao Tse-tung that the military had to be cleansed to assure its loyalty in case of conflict with Russia,
January 30
One mainland industry is not in the doldrums. It's the Mao adulation industry, which has been working 24 hours a day to print Mao-thought booklets, portraits of Mao, Mao statues and Mao badges. Moscow radio said that since last November, the Maoists have printed 300 million volumes of Mao's works, 740 million volumes of Mao's thought and 96 million volumes of Mao's poetry.
Dutch Foreign Minister Dr. Henk de Koster said defecting Liao Ho-chu acted entirely of his own accord and had not been"prompted by the Dutch government.
Hongkong reports said CCP secretary Teng Hsiaoping might be reinstated. Teng was not mentioned in the CCP12th plenum communique that denounced Lhi Shao-chi by name. Mao at times has mentioned the rehabilitation of 'some of those who followed Liu.
January 31
Prime Minister Eisaku Sato told the Diet that his government will neither recognize Peiping nor support its admission to the United Nations.
Moscow radio said the Maoists had executed 13 anti-Maoists in Peiping. No date was mentioned.
February 1
People’s Daily continued to lead a campaign heaping vitriol on President Richard Nixon. The Maoist press was showing more interest in the United States than at any other time in recent years.
February 2
Dutch sources said defector Liao Ho-shu had left for the United States after a debriefing by Central Intelligence Agency personnel in Bonn. The same sources said Liao's wife and two children had fled to Hongkong from the mainland before his defection.
London intelligence circles said Peiping may fire a 6,000-mile rocket this year. They said the Chinese Reds may have from 15 to 20 ICBMs with nuclear warheads by the mid-1970s.
Peiping radio admitted that anti-Maoists are still "directing upheavals from behind the scenes and attempting to subvert Mao Tse-tung's leadership". Some Peiping workers were accused of seeking power for themselves through the application of Mao's thought.
Chinese Communist sources told of a Mao directive to Maoists in Tientsin calling for forgiveness of cadres who made mistakes. He was said to have suggested that too much pressure would only compel them to go over to the enemy.
Li Tsung-jen, former vice president of the Republic of China who returned to the mainland in 1965 after 16 years of self-imposed exile in the United States, died in Peiping at the age of 78.
February 3
Red Chinese broadcasts said "military propaganda teams" were replacing worker teams in disseminating Mao's thought in Shanghai. The PLA was said to be concentrating on financial and trade circles, where "enemies are wicked and mean".
Military forces guarding highways and railroads of Kwangtung were reinforced preparatory to the Chinese New Year, when many Hongkong Chinese visit relatives on the mainland. Sabotage was feared.
People's Daily said the Nixon of U.S. imperialism and the Khrushchev of Russians revisionism are peas in a pod and sought to link them with quotations from their speeches.
Peiping charged the Russians and Americans were conspiring to "sell out the Arabs". Moscow proposals for Middle Eastern peace were said to call for Arab capitulation.
February 4
The U.S. State Department announced defector Liao Ho-shu had arrived in the United States and asked for asylum. Liao was in "protective custody" pending a decision of the U.S. government.
Moscow radio said Red China suffered a "great leap backward" in political, international and economic affairs last year. The Russians said Mao still had, not won the power struggle after purging more than 5 million cadres.
February 5
An article in Red Flag confessed that the Maoists had not been able to win over intellectuals of the mainland and that their obstinate opposition to the thought of Mao Tse-tung was "frustrating". The article, which concerned Maoist reform attempts at Peiping Industrial University, said neither rough measures nor gentle persuasion were of much use and that the intellectuals just "didn't want to be reformed".
Prime Minister Eisaku Sato said Japan had failed in efforts to obtain the release of a newsman and 12 businessmen held by the Chinese Communists.
February 6
Intelligence sources in Taipei told of hand-to-hand fighting between 50,000 anti-Maoists and PLA forces on Hainan island late last year. Four thousand were reported killed or wounded in a struggle touched off by opposition to the takeover of various organizations by Mao-thought propaganda teams.
Kwangtung radio charged anti-Maoist scientific and engineering groups with boycotting the thought of Mao. They were attacked for following the revisionist road and putting "experts and materials first".
More than 20 were killed and 30 injured in an uprising by anti-Communists of two counties near the Tibet-Nepal border.
February 7
Peiping demanded that the United States return defector Liao Ho-shu. The broadcast claimed that Liao was incited to betray the Red Chinese regime by the Dutch and then abducted by the United States. A strong protest was said to have been made to the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw.
February 8
Hungarian sources said Red China had spent US$2.5 billion on its nuclear program in the last five years. The report said modernization of the army's conventional weaponry was slowed down to help pay nuclear development costs.
February 9
Peiping radio told of a widespread campaign to "re-educate the educated"-meaning those students who had been "sent-down to the countryside". Teachers were said to be peasants and army personnel. The broadcast said Mao was still urging city dwellers to send their children to rural areas so they could "grow up healthy and sound in body and mind".
Peiping charged President Nixon with joining the Soviet Union in "counterrevolutionary collusion to divide the world". Nixon's trip to Europe was described as an attempt to head off the "revolutionary struggle of the people of the world".
Japan's Ambassador to the United States Shinjin Tsuruoka said in Tokyo that the Chinese Communists have no chance to get into the United Nations this year, even if Italy and Canada recognize Peiping. Such recognition would bring no landslide in Peiping's favor, he said.
February 10
Hongkong reports told of serious disruption of mainland rail and highway transportation as a result of turmoil and sabotage. Peiping admitted that Mao's "purification campaigns" in transportation had been subverted.
Indian Foreign Secretary T.N. Kaul said in Hongkong that India is prepared to negotiate border disputes with Peiping but "is in a position to defend herself against invasion from any country".
As a Japanese group prepared to depart for Peiping to negotiate renewal of the informal trade memorandum, Prime Minister Sato said he hoped for more trade but on a private basis, as in the past, and for an agreement good for longer than a year.
February 11
Hungarian reports told of tight control of Peiping traffic because of a meeting of high-ranking Communists. The Budapest stories suggested Mao might be ready to convene the 9th Party Congress. Reports were circulating in Peiping that Teng Hsiao-ping and other leading "revisionists" might be forgiven.
Intelligence sources in Taipei said a PLA regiment stationed on the Yunnan-Burma border had defected and fled to mountainous areas to escape a purge. Anti Maoism has been strong and turmoil continuous in Yunnan.
Moscow radio said more than 140 anti-Mao organizations were active in South China, many of them Jed by PLA cadres.
Anti-Mao posters appeared at stations along the Yingtan-Amoy and Chekiang-Kiangsi railroads. This led to numerous arrests along the mainland coast. Martial law was imposed in parts of Fukien and Kiangsi. Maoists sabotaged sections of the railroads and then fled to the mountains.
Diplomatic sources in Dacca said Peiping was financing anti-government riots in Pakistan.
February 12
Tokyo sources said Japanese trade with Peiping will drop again this year to a level of around US$100 million. Last year's trade was estimated at US$114 million of which US$64 million worth was exports.
Yugoslavia announced it will sign a trade protocol in Peiping.
Peiping admitted the detention of British journalist Eric Gordon and his wife and son for unspecified offenses. They had been missing on the mainland for 16 months.
February 13
New violence erupted in Sinkiang, according to Hongkong sources. Uighurs were said to be continuing their resistance. Another factor was a reported struggle for power between General Wang En-mao and General Lung Su-chin.
A Moscow periodical charged that the Chinese Communists have singled out the Soviet Union as "Enemy No.1". The Maoists are attacking the whole socialist community, according to Mezhdunarodnaya Zhizn.
February 14
Peiping claimed that Shanghai had been restored as the mainland's chief source of manufactured goods. Tonnage of shipments from the biggest mainland city was said to have doubled during the last year.
Washington denied reports of any change in the ban on trade with Red China. The State Department said it knew of no proposals for change.
February 15
In a message to the leader of the Viet Cong, Lin Piao said the Chinese Communists will help the Vietnamese win total victory and throw the Americans out of South Vietnam. He accused the United States of stepping up "military adventurism".
February 16
Sinkiang radio quoted Saifudin, the vice chairman of the region's "revolutionary committee", as saying class enemies were attacking the committee and the PLA. "The class struggle is not yet over," said Saifudin, a Moscow-educated Uighur.
February 17
Chinese Communist gunboats intercepted six pleasure boats in waters between Hongkong and Macao and seized three of them. Aboard the three were four Americans and seven other non-Chinese. Foreigners aboard the three boats that were permitted to proceed did not include any Americans.
February 18
Peiping announced cancellation of the 135th meeting with the Americans that had been scheduled for Warsaw on February 20. The announcement said that the United States had ignored Peiping's protests, taken defector Liao Ho-shu to Washington and was planning to send him to Taiwan.
"Under the circumstances in which the United States is creating anti-(Red) China incidents the meeting is obviously not suitable," Peiping said. Washington expressed regret and denied the United States bad engineered the defection. Secretary of State William Rogers said the United States bad been planning to discuss with Peiping a peaceful coexistence agreement "consistent with our treaty obligations in the area". There was no explanation of what kind of coexistence the United States had in mind.
Liberation Army Daily said the armed forces had pledged full support to Mao's "revolutionary committees" and that the PLA would deal sternly with anti-Maoists.
A Japanese trade mission of seven members reported discussing "political matters" with the Chinese Communists as a prerequisite to talks on renewal of the trade memorandum.
Peiping still had said nothing about the detention of three yachts and 11 foreigners, including four Americans. The yachts were sighted in a fishing village a few miles from Macao.
February 19
Moscow radio said the Maoists were meeting in Peiping to choose delegates to the 9th Party Congress. Chairmen of the 29 "revolutionary committees" were reported attending.
Speculation mounted regarding possible reasons for cancellation of the Warsaw meeting of Chinese Communists and U.S. representatives. Peiping blamed the move on defection of Liao Ho-shu. But Taipei sources suggested the Chinese Reds may have decided against reopening talks because of the anti-Communist position of President Nixon. This reasoning accorded with Peiping's recent attacks on Nixon and the United States. Washington sources suggested that a struggle was in progress between Peiping moderates and hardliners. The Peiping correspondent of a Hungarian news agency said the Chinese Reds were not sure of their policy line.
The yachts seized by the Communists were reported to have been towed to Whampoa on the Pearl River. Whereabouts of the 11 detained foreigners was not known. The United States said it would seek the release of 4 Americans through Sweden, France, Britain and Australia.