Plagues and monsters were still coming out of the Pandora's box that Mao Tse-tung opened when he ordered the purges of the "great proletarian cultural revolution" and unleashed the Red Guards in a futile attempt to hound down rivals and enemies and restore his totality of power.
Violence and factionalism continued to be the way of life in much of the mainland during July and August. No sooner had the "people's liberation army" suppressed trouble in one place than it broke out in another. Red Guards were fighting among themselves as violently as ever. PLA units clashed in some provinces. A large-scale mutiny was regarded as a possibility and perhaps even a probability.
Fighting was especially fierce in South China. Reports of the number of killed ranged into the scores of thousands. The Maoists also were unable to bring Tibet and Sinkiang under any semblance of control. Less was known of events in some northern and central provinces. Mao's hold seemed to be increasingly insecure everywhere. Some of the supposedly dominant revolutionary committees had begun to waver and a few to totter.
Mao stepped up efforts to divorce himself from the Red Guards. Many months ago the "young genella1s" were told to fold their tents and quietly go back to school. They didn't obey. Having seen the bright lights during the course of "exchanging revolutionary experiences", the Guards had neither the intention nor the desire to return to the quiet life. Some had found brutality and violence to their liking. Anything was better than being sent down to the countryside or up to the mountainside.
On their second anniversary, Red Guards were bluntly told that they had outlived their usefulness and should bow down to their elders - such elders as the PLA, the workers, the peasants or the cadres. Young people showed no signs of listening. For them there was no place to go - no schools worthy of the name, no promise, no future, no hope. Red Guardism was preferable to oblivion.
Mao has been having his troubles with the PLA as well as the Red Guard. The chief of staff was changed three times in three years. Some units of the armed forces are avowedly anti-Maoist. Such an elite command as the air force is Maoistically unreliable. Worse still, the army has fallen into factionalism. Warlords and not Peiping are in command. Where the trouble is bad - as in Kwangtung - the army has shown ineptitude as well as incipient disloyalty. The military stands aloof insofar as it can - and with good reason. When the army has dared to intervene, Red Guards and anti-Maoists and anti-Communists have often turned their guns against those in uniform. The PLA was given either total control or the dominant voice in the revolutionary committees. But this did not make the committees more workable or more popular, nor give them the mastery that had been intended.
Mao's desperation led him to the workers, whom he has always distrusted. In a special directive, he told the workers to take control of the "cultural revolution". Years ago he trusted only the peasants. These have been no help, however, in his bid for reinstatement as Peiping's super-tyrant. The rural population only "ate up and divided up" the produce and property of the production brigades. The workers have behaved similarly - but perhaps because there are fewer of them, not so conspicuously. In any event, Mao needed support of higher intelligence and greater leadership potential than he could find on the farm.
The deadline for the convening of the ninth party congress to restore Mao's legitimacy has passed again and again. There seems scant likelihood that the congress will meet before the Communist anniversary on October 1. This is not so much a matter of the handful of revolutionary committees yet to be established as it is of the fact that those already in existence don't really control much of anything. Mao cannot build his new dictatorship on the sands of an unoccupied castle.
Other troubles lay in wait in the economic sphere. Industrial production for the first half of 1968 was down by 15 per cent and the increasing violence and disruption suggested a performance just as bad, if not worse, for the rest of the year. The 1968 floods of South China have been the worst of this century. Early rice was seriously affected. The bumper harvest of 1967 was an important asset to the Maoists. There was small likelihood that it could be duplicated in 1968. Foreign trade was off. This was sure to mean less foreign exchange to pay for the foreign grains that Mao must have to keep the PLA and a sufficient number of cadres on his side.
The third five-year plan has ground to a halt. Enforcement is impossible. No one knows the goals or cares. A tired and ineffective regime has stopped reporting even the meaningless percentages of old. Capital construction is down materially. Only relaxation of the movement to enforce socialism in the countryside has kept the peasant hard at work in the fields and food production at life-preserving levels.
Planning has virtually vanished at all levels of mainland life. Existence is a day-to-day affair for more than 700 million people, and Mao is not exempted. Social controls exist on a provincial and local level rather than nationally. Like the people of Czechoslovakia, many individual Chinese were waiting a chance to fight meaningfully. Outside assistance awaits in Taiwan but there are complications in the implementation. The masses of the mainland are eking out an existence and preparing for the decisive moment to strike at their tormentors.
The emergent mainland system goes deeper than mere factionalism. It can be compared with the ancient family-cell struggle for survival that has carried the Chinese people through other times of suffering and trial. The Communists tried to substitute the commune for the family and the village or neighborhood. They failed and fell back on the production team and brigade. The family is intact, however, and the Chinese people are using it as a principal weapon in the fight to escape a fate of collectivization.
Chinese culture is playing a further role in Mao's downfall. The Maoist Communists have tried to change not only human nature but the thousands of years of Chinese tradition, to substitute a hundred "news" for the familiar "olds". The people have given lip service to the change and to the thought of Mao but have gone right on thinking and acting in the old ways.
The events just ahead are predictable. Mao will be failed by the workers as by the others. The anarchy that besets the mainland will worsen. No one else is left to summon. The people have already decided on revolution - but that of freedom and not the return to Maoist tyranny implied in the "cultural revolution". Even if Mao were able to summon a party congress, it could no more return him to real power than the revolutionary committees have been able to do.
Following is the record of mainland and peripheral events in the latter part of July and the first two-thirds of August:
July 20
South China conflict was raging at the level of civil war. Troops of the "people's liberation army" were unable to prevent the paralysis of rail and highway traffic in Kwangsi. This meant further delay in military aid shipments to North Vietnam. A Kwangsi railroad union publication told of disruption at the transportation center of Liuchow. Red Guards were raiding Hanoi-bound trains and seizing weapons and ammunition. Some 500 persons were said to have been killed in the Liuchow fighting.
Travelers from Kwangsi were divided in their opinions regarding the role played by the PLA. Some said troops were trying to stop the fighting in response to Peiping's orders. Others said army forces were making only token gestures in that direction and that some units were taking sides in the factional struggle. Fighting continued in Canton between the "East Wind" and "Red Flag" Red Guards. Assassination squads of each were roaming the streets at night. Factory production was affected.
Hunan radio said 20 persons were convicted of spying and other counterrevolutionary activities at a mass public trial in Changsha. The broadcast said the "heaviest punishments" had been inflicted.
Hongkong sources reported a secret meeting of Peiping leaders on Red China's attitude toward the Czech crisis. Although reluctant to support the Soviet Union in anything, the Chinese Communists were said to fear the example of the Czech liberalization movement.
July 21
Tokuma Utsunomiya, representing a Japanese Liberal Democratic Party group that favors the recognition of Red China, showed up in Washington to try persuading American political leaders to take a similar course. The LDP group is headed by former Foreign Minister Aiichiro Fujiyama. Utsunomiya said the China policy of the Johnson and Sato administrations is leading towards war with the Peiping regime.
July 22
Taiwan intelligence sources discounted Hongkong speculation that Mao Tse-tung and Liu Shao-chi might patch up their differences. A Hongkong newspaper had reported negotiations between Mao and Liu. The latter was reported to have demanded the denigration of Mao's wife, Chiang Ching. Taiwan sources claimed the schism had passed the point of no return.
July 23
Departing for a Far Eastern visit that included Taipei, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations George Ball said the United States continued to oppose the U.N. admission of Peiping.
An outbreak of meningitis afflicted children in Canton. Travelers reaching Hongkong said many died because of the shortage of pharmaceuticals. Victims of Kwangtung flood were said to be crowding into Canton and causing a food shortage. Many had turned to thievery to support themselves.
A Red Guard publication from Canton blamed the PLA commander in Wuchow, Kiangsi, for the slaughter of hundreds of Red Guards. Much of the city was said to have been burned to the ground. Snipers attacked PLA forces trying to put out fires and 11 Red Guards were publicly executed.
July 24
Dismissal of Liu Sho-chi was reported by a Canton Maoist publication. There was no confirmation. Similar reports have been made before.
Red Guards of Canton's "Red Flag" faction beat to death more than 20 "East Wind" Red Guards at a rally, according to Hongkong sources.
July 25
Peiping radio announced the signing of a new aid agreement with Hanoi. No details were revealed. Signers were North Vietnam's Vice Premier Le Thanh and Peiping's "vice premier" Li Hsien-nien.
Seven men escaped to Hongkong by swimming across Deep Bay. Two wounded refugees were rescued from Macao waters.
Permission was granted to three British diplomats to leave Red China.
The report of the U.N. commissioner for refugees said that about 1,000 European refugees were still living in mainland China. Only a few such refugees arrived in Hongkong last year. The appropriation for all refugees reaching Hongkong was only US$35,000, the report said. U.N. classification of refugees stipulates 57,000 Tibetans in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim, and 74,000 Chinese in Macao.
Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman said Malaysia faces the threat of subversion from Chinese who are loyal to Peiping.
July 26
Sixty-five Chinese-American organizations representing some 300,000 people sent communications to the Republican and Democratic Parties of the United States urging their continued opposition to the recognition or seating of Peiping at the United Nations. The Republican Party's platform included an anti-Peiping plank.
Report of a speech by "premier" Chou En-lai told of his denunciation of a woman, Chang Chin-hui, for sabotage at the Manchurian port of Dairen. He said that in league with Li Ching-tien, she tied up transportation and interfered with production. He also told of sabotage and transportation breakdowns at Liuchow, Shenyang, Chengchow, Tihwa (Urumchi) and Canton.
PLA troops with orders to shoot to kill were reported to have arrested thousands of Canton Red Guards. Army clashes with the Red Guards in Peiping also were reported.
Intelligence sources in Hongkong said Liu Shao-chi is still "president" of the Peiping regime but is under house arrest in the Chung Nan Hai district of Peiping and not allowed to make public appearances.
Chinese Communists tightened patrols to prevent refugee escapes. Leaders of the Kwangtung anti-Mao group were said to be planning attempts to reach Hongkong.
On sale in Hongkong and a best seller was a book of Mao quotations - but those he wishes he had never said. The Mao bloopers included praise of the Soviet Union.
July 27
Chekiang radio reported Kuomintang sabotage from the southern part of President Chiang Kai-shek's home province, not far from the offshore island of Matsu. The broadcast said: "These renegades, spies, capitalist roaders, incorrigible bad elements and remnants of the Kuomintang are trying all their dirty tricks, using all measures to carry out their sabotage. They are pointing the spearhead at the Liberation Army and the new-born revolutionary masses and the command post with Chairman Mao at its head and Lin Piao as its deputy head. In some places, the counterrevolutionary elements are creating serious trouble. They are disrupting relations between the army and civilians. They are damaging transportation and communications, sabotaging production and attacking the Liberation Army."
Serious disorders were reported from many parts of Fukien, which lies across the straits from Taiwan. A battle in Foochow, the capital, was said to have raged for several days.
Shanghai Communist sources admitted mounting subversive activities there, including attacks on railroads and military organizations. Production was disrupted in the mainland's principal industrial center.
Moscow told of a new mainland educational "revolution" aimed at curtailing time spent in higher level schools and substituting technical training for engineering study at home and abroad. Slogans include "People are dulled by books" and "Knowledge shackles initiative".
Chinese Communist automatic rifles were used in a guerrilla raid on the American air base at Udorn in Thailand. This was the first Communist assault on Thai bases from which 85 per cent of the sorties against North Vietnam are flown.
Peiping claimed the visit of U.S. Ambassador George Ball to the Far East was a threat to Red China. The envoy to the United Nations was said to be recruiting Japanese troops for the Vietnam war.
July 28
Hongkong sources said 10,000 prisoners had escaped from a Chinese Communist labor reform camp, stormed into Canton and killed policemen, soldiers, Red Guards and government cadres. Several thousands of the escapees were reported to have been killed. Other sources told of antagonism between PLA factions in Canton.
U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Katzenbach told a New Delhi press conference that the Peiping regime has no interest in improved relations with the United States nor in peaceful coexistence with the free world in general.
"Vice premier" Hsieh Fu-chih, Peiping's security chief, told the Peiping revolutionary committee that too many people had been murdered or driven to suicide in the "cultural revolution". A Red Guard publication said the victims had included children and even babies.
July 29
Some 50,000 people have been killed in all-out civil war raging in Kwangsi province bordering North Vietnam during the last six months, according to a Red Guard publication reaching Hongkong. Fighting had erupted in 56 counties and cities. Tens of thousands of refugees were said to be fleeing to other provinces. Most of the 50,000 victims were said to have been Red Guards.
Maoist papers in Kweichow and Honan told of widespread violence and said there is danger that the "proletarian dictatorship" (of Mao) will be changed into a "bourgeois dictatorship" (of Liu). Maoists were said to be afraid to take retaliatory action because of the antagonism of the people.
Peiping admitted that Kwangsi fighting was interfering with shipments to North Vietnam. Chiang Ching complained of efforts to undermine relations with Hanoi and warned of drastic action against the offenders.
Hongkong economic estimates of mainland prospects indicated another bad year as a result of the turmoil of the "cultural revolution" and unfavorable weather for agriculture. Industrial production was estimated as off by 15 per cent in 1967 and to be at equivalent or lower levels in 1968. Agriculture was not expected to come close to the bumper crop level of 1967.
Red China was reported to have promised North Vietnam troops, supplies and all the weapons it needs, including nuclear devices, to defeat the United States. U.S. intelligence sources were said to have predicted that Peiping would have nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles operational by 1973.
July 30
Sabotage of Hanoi-bound shipments was reported in a Red Guard document from Kwangsi. Railroad service through the province was said to have been interrupted by incessant sabotage of tracks, bridges and rolling stock.
Moscow told of the dispatch of PLA forces from Northern China to put down growing revolt in southern Kwangtung province. Most Canton factories were said to have ceased production. The city was crowded with refugees. Kwangtung floods were adding to the confusion. More than 50 persons were executed in Canton during May and June for failing to bow down to Mao's thought.
As the PLA prepared to mark its 41st anniversary August 1, deep divisions were reported at the command level. The top commander, Huang Yung-sheng, had been in his post only since March and his standing was insecure. No one knew how many high-ranking officers had been purged along with Yang Cheng-wu in March.
July 31
Speaking in Tokyo, Siddavanahalli Nijalingappa, the president of the Indian National Congress, said New Delhi does not know what Peiping will do next, but "we are prepared to meet any aggression".
August 1
"Notorious counterrevolutionaries in the pay of class enemies trying to restore capitalism" were charged with carrying out four "bloody massacres" in South China. A Canton tabloid said the 1,300-man force led by Yu Feng-ching attacked four revolutionary headquarters and killed hundreds of Maoists. The anti-Maoists were armed with mortars, machine guns, grenades, rocket launchers and automatic rifles. One battle at Chapo was said to have raged for a week. Several Maoist leaders were captured and executed.
An editorial in the Liberation Army Daily said the PLA had been given enlarged authority to deal with factional conflict. Some observers said that the Maoists had virtually given a "blank check" to the mainland armed forces.
August 2
Red Guard information from Kwangsi said thousands had been killed in that embattled province. Two of Red China's table tennis champions were purged and their coaches committed suicide. One coach was accused of being a Kuomintang agent and the other of working for Japan. Lin Piao was reported to have dispatched the 55th Army to seize power from forces of the Kwangsi Military District led by Wei Kuo-ching. Red Guards also were fighting each other. The 55th Army supported the "April 22" pro-Mao faction and the Kwangsi army backed the anti-Mao "United Command" Guardists.
Peiping's third army chief-of-staff in three years, Huang Yung-sheng, charged that the United States, Soviet Union and India were trying to encircle mainland China. In a PLA anniversary address, he called on the North Vietnamese to fight on and denounced the Paris peace talks. He said the PLA will always remain loyal to Mao.
Maj. Gen. Liu Hsun-wu, speaking for the National Government's Ministry of National Defense, confirmed reports that Russia has built a missile base in Outer Mongolia. He said there had been clashes along the border. PLA mutinies have occurred at Wuhan and Mukden, General Liu said, and expressed belief an anti-Mao revolt of armed forces units is possible at any time.
August 3
Travelers reaching Hongkong estimated the number of dead in Kwangsi and Kwangtung fighting of the last several months at more than 100,000. The arrest of 10,000 Red Guards was reported from Canton. A number were said to have been shot to death. Canton's "Red Flag" faction of the Red Guards was singled out by the Maoists as having connections with the Kuomintang.
A Red Guard publication claimed that agents of Liu Shao-chi, notably Chiang Hua of Chekiang province, had recorded conversations of Mao and Chiang Ching and photographed their writings over a period of 10 years. "Chiang Hua and his confederates have resorted to every means known to secret agents to steal vital secrets," said the Canton tabloid.
August 4
Yeh Hsiang-chih, chief of intelligence and mainland operations for the Kuomintang, said 1,260 missions have been carried out deep in mainland territory in the last two years. The number of mainland cells has been increased by some 800 in the same period, a gain of 70 per cent. He specified this regional distribution of KMT units: Southeast China, 48 per cent; South, 21; East, 5; North, 7; Southwest, 16; Northwest, 1; Manchuria, 2.
August 5
Hongkong sources told of a conspiracy led by Fu Chung-pi, the former Peiping garrison chief, to rescue Liu Shao-chi. Fu was purged along with Yang Cheng-wu, former army chief-of-staff. Some 140,000 Maoist troops were massed in the capital to balk the coup.
Kweichow radio told of the trial of eight "counterrevolutionaries" by a mass meeting of 100,000. An undisclosed number of the accused were sentenced to death for criticizing Mao, Chiang Ching and Lin Piao.
An editorial in People's Daily called for renewal of centralized Maoist control of the mainland. Mao is the only leader of the party, the army, the nation and the people, said the Maoist organ. The editorial admitted that regional challenges have seriously weakened Mao's authority.
Maoist Red Guards in Swatow were reported to have killed 1,000 anti-Maoist rivals with the assistance of PLA troops. Reports from Fukien said anti-Maoist Red Guards had sabotaged rail transportation and communications facilities there.
Liu Shao-chi's daughter, Ping-ping, reportedly had 'been arrested on orders of Mao. Liu's son has been detained for the last two years.
Anti-Mao radio stations in Chekiang called for armed revolt. Hongkong observers at first suggested the stations were operating from offshore islands held by the National Government. Pinpointing of the location ruled this out. Mao's Chekiang radio has denounced the broadcasts as a call for "frenzied counterrevolutionary struggle".
Hongkong police rescued three refugees attempting to swim from the mainland. They had been caught in a storm.
Ambassador to Washington Chow Shu-kai said the lull in the Vietnam war is partly the result of mainland turmoil that has diverted or delayed munitions and supplies en route to Hanoi. He said mainland fighting is heaviest in Kwangsi, Yunnan, Fukien, Sinkiang and Tibet.
August 6
Pamphlets demanding the arrest of Mao Tse-tung on 10 charges have been distributed throughout the mainland. The accusations include the murder of tens of millions and the destruction of Chinese culture.
Hunan radio said anti-Maoism was increasing in Mao's home province of Hunan and admitted that the provincial revolutionary committee is in trouble.
People's Daily took the Soviet Union to task for permitting the "nauseating stink" of jazz to spread through Russia. "Western jazz," said the Peiping commentary, "is one of the evil fruits of the all-around capitalist restoration by the Soviet revisionist renegade clique and a manifestation of the degeneration and decline of the new Soviet bourgeoisie represented by Brezhnev, Kosygin and their gang."
August 7
Fighting raged on in Canton. Travelers said the PLA had killed several hundred Red Guards and had dragged several vice mayors through the streets wearing hats with "counterrevolutionary" labels. Army units were said patrolling the city on a 24-hour basis. "Mayor" Cheng Seng was reported under arrest.
Reports from Kwangsi said anti-Maoists had seized a Nanning-Peiping train, executed three passengers and held some 1,000 others prisoner for nearly a week. Mao personally ordered an end of the Kwangsi fighting but the directive was ignored.
Chien San-chiang, one of Red China's leading atomic scientists, was reported purged on a spy charge. There was speculation that rocket expert Chien Hsueh-szen was also in trouble.
August 8
Hongkong sources charged the Chinese Communists with abducting four anti-Communists from the Hongkong-Macao area this year. They were said to include two professors, a merchant and a military man of the National Government.
August 9
Red Guard reports said anti-Maoists had taken over units of the PLA on the island of Hainan. The PLA prevented pro-Maoist Red Guards from seizing a newspaper that had published anti-Maoist materials.
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeo Miki admitted contacts with Red China through diplomatic channels but said Peiping had not answered. Trade between Tokyo and Peiping was down 20.6 per cent in the first six months of 1968. Japan exported US$122 million and imported US$98 million. The export figure was down 7.6 per cent and imports by 32.4 per cent.
U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Katzenbach said Peiping "represents a hostile and dangerous revolutionary force which any future American Asian policy would ignore at great peril".
August 10
Taiwan intelligence sources said Mao has established a special SS-type force in an attempt to put down anti-Maoism and anti-Communism and regain mainland control. The special troops were formed up in June and are under Mao's personal command. They have the power to investigate the PLA and disband regular units and place their personnel under arrest.
Red Guard publications reported the emergence of new anti-Mao and anti-Communist organizations in Honan, Shanghai and Inner Mongolia.
Canton fighting, looting and the overall breakdown of social control brought industry there to a standstill. Workers of some 70 plants had left their jobs or were unable to get to work.
More than 1,000 Fukien Red Guards attacked an arsenal and seized weapons and ammunition at Chuanchow, 40 miles north of Amoy.
Red Guards were carrying out guerrilla warfare against PLA units in Kwangtung.
August 11
Maoists said the North Vietnamese were defeating the United States and that nothing would come of the Paris peace talks. The issue will be settled on the battlefield, the Maoists claimed.
Red Guards of the "Red Flag" group were accused of eating the hearts of assassinated rivals of the "East Wind" faction in Canton.
August 12
Mao Tse-tung received military commanders and cadres from areas of the mainland where his rule is challenged most seriously. Lin Piao was also present at the rally of 20,000 army leaders from the Foochow, Wuhan, Chengtu, Kunming, Sinkiang and Tibet military regions. Some observers viewed the meeting as a prelude to a Maoist attempt to establish revolutionary committees in the five provinces that do not yet have them: Fukien (opposite Taiwan), Kwangsi and Yunnan bordering North Vietnam, Sinkiang and Tibet.
Peiping granted an exit visa to Sir Donald Hopson, the British charge d'affaires in Red China, who was knighted for his resistance to Red Guard demands that he bow down to Mao thought. He had not been permitted to leave Peiping since September of 1965. The British mission in Peiping was sacked and burned in August of 1967. Four British diplomats reached Hongkong on their way home from Peiping. Five others and eight wives and children were awaiting exit permission.
August 14
Red Guard sources said mainland areas bordering the Soviet Union were racked by violence and sabotage that was supported by the Russians. PLA and air force installations were attacked in Sinkiang. Sabotage was said to be serious in Inner Mongolia. Agents of the U.S.S.R. and Outer Mongolia were reported cooperating with anti-Maoists and an anti-Maoist party was said to be active in Inner Mongolia.
More than 1,000 buildings in Liuchow, Kwangsi, were blown up or burned down last April and May, according to a Red Guard publication from Canton. Liuchow is an important junction in the movement of supplies to North Vietnam.
August 15
Britain denied it had made any deal with Peiping for release of Sir Donald Hopson. The former charge d'affaires in Peiping reached Hongkong en route to London and said that the treatment of British diplomats had improved only slightly since the "outrages" of 1967.
Red Guards continued fighting the PLA in Canton. Travelers said the army appeared to be losing control of Kwangtung province. Wall posters in Canton attacked the revolutionary committee and the army. Red Guards and workers joined in an armed assault against the military commission building. PLA barracks also were stormed.
Mao Tse-tung was said to have estimated the dead in the Yunnan civil war at 80,000. Military district commander Tan Fu-jen reportedly had been ordered to stop the fighting at any cost. Peiping claimed the establishment of a Yunnan revolutionary committee but only a small area of the province could be considered under Maoist control.
"Marshal" Nieh Jung-chen, who is in charge of Peiping's nuclear and missile development program, was accused of ignoring Maoist directives and of "setting political traps" for Mao and Lin Piao. Red Guards complained that Nieh kept the "cultural revolution" out of the nuclear program.
Hongkong authorities closed a Communist school where terrorist bombs were manufactured in 1967. The Communists threatened retaliation but did nothing beyond sloganizing. The closing left 32 Communist schools in the colony. Their enrollment is 22,000 in a student population of more than a million.
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau said Canada was undertaking groundwork looking to the recognition of Peiping and an exchange of diplomatic missions.
August 16
A publication from Wuhan claimed that an anti-Maoist army in Hupeh has 50,000 weapons and more than 200 vehicles. An underground headquarters has been established in Wuhan. Officers came from the pre-1949 Communist army and from the 8201st PLA army based in Hupeh. This force was said to be connected with the "one million heroes army" that kidnapped Mao emissaries in Wuhan last summer.
More than 100 Red Guards were killed and 300 arrested in Canton on August 6, according to reports from the South China city.
Mao issued a directive naming the working class as the most important on the mainland. Observers said this indicated his growing disillusionment with the military, peasants, Red Guards, intellectuals and professional cadres.
Hongkong authorities announced the release of a Communist education official and labor leader, and the reopening of three Communist schools. The government also told of labor reforms designed to undercut Communism's appeal to workers.
August 17
Taipei sources said the anti-Maoist movement on the mainland is now directed at Communism in general. Mainland reports reaching Taiwan said guerrillas in Kwangtung and Kwangsi killed more than 2,000 PLA troops in a battle last June. The strength of the guerrilla forces was put at 30,000.
August 18
Peiping marked the second anniversary of the Red Guards with an order to the "young generals" to knuckle under to army, peasants and workers. People's Daily said the Red Guard has served its purpose and that the working class is now the leader of the "cultural revolution".
Efforts were under way to establish a revolutionary committee in Fukien.
In Hangchow, the capital of Chekiang, seven persons were sentenced at a mass trial attended by more than 100,000. One was described as an "American spy".
Radio Moscow told of continuing bloody clashes in Kwangtung, Kwangsi, Chekiang, Kiangsu, Kiangsi and Tibet. Violence in Canton was virtually out of control, the broadcast said.
Communists scattered leaflets through Hongkong to protest the closing of a school that made bombs during last year's riots.
August 19
Maoist Red Guards warned of possible civil war throughout the mainland. One of Chiang Ching's principal lieutenants was said to have urged preparations for such a conflict.