Confusion was the hallmark of last year's developments in the Great Upheaval on the Chinese mainland. The big-character posters were the principal source of information and they were often contradictory. Observers and analysts disagreed about implications and the probable course of events. The power struggle between Mao Tse-tung and Liu Shao-chi was a known factor but many of its manifestations were obscure. The excesses of the Red Guards, for example, only reinforced the opposition to Mao.
In the first two months of 1967, some of the murkiness has been dispelled. Mao has not been able to destroy his enemies. In Peiping, the heartland of his power, he has been compelled to summon the "People's Liberation Army" to retain control. Yet he dares not order the army to destroy the revisionists. The army itself is fragmented and partly revisionist. At the least a call to the army would substitute a military dictatorship for Mao's tyranny. The teen-age Red Guards that Mao summoned were incapable of doing the job assigned to them. Mao was compelled to order them back to school.
Day by day the mainland struggle is becoming one of Communism versus anti-Communism rather than of Communism versus revisionism. This is indicated in the new Mao offensive against what has come to be called "economism" and the rise of the "Revolutionary Rebels" to replace the Red Guards. The "economists" are all those who want a better life now, who have good jobs and want to keep them, who demand a steadily improving standard of living. Mao insists on sacrifice of even the small gains made since 1961. He is adamantly pushing toward another Great Leap Forward in order to prepare for new external aggression.
"Revolutionary Rebels" include the trade union members that Mao has been able to capture or intimidate, plus any other cadres who owe their jobs and position in life to his largesse. The form of "Rebel" activity has not yet become clear, hut it probably will be concentrated on control of the industrial work force. Skilled workers have been among the strongest opponents of Maoism and are inclined toward anti-Communism rather than revisionism. The revisionist hold is strongest at the provincial and local cadre level, where officialdom doesn't want to lose what it has and where there is the clearest understanding that another Great Leap would have the same disastrous consequences as the previous attempt.
Another development is the establishment of urban communes in supposed imitation of the Paris Commune of 1871. This seems to be an effort to challenge the "bourgeois" government of Liu Shao-chi with revolutionary administrations of a pattern once stipulated by Lenin. The Paris Commune, which lasted only two months, must have been chosen for its propaganda value or because Mao has forgotten his history. However, the purpose is clear enough — to show that any Tom, Dick or Harry can take over the functions of government. Thus the body politic can be rid of expensive and arrogant professional bureaucrats.
Ploy for Power
The new commune movement is purely political, a ploy to bring power back to Mao and Lin Piao. It bears little resemblance to the earlier communes, which were economic and social as well as political, and which were largely confined to rural areas. The country communes failed because of widespread resistance to regimentation and also because of their unwieldy size. They still exist in name, but the production brigade and the still smaller production team provide the basic units of the agricultural economy. What the new communes have in common with the old ones is anti-intellectualism. When it comes to the management of cities, factories, and the non-agricultural economy, this should doom them to an existence not so much longer than that of the Paris Commune.
It is not likely that Mao plans a long life for the urban communes. They have been called into being solely to fight for his survival and the defeat of bourgeois revisionism. If they are successful, they will be quickly discarded. In fact Mao is taking a desperate risk in establishing them. These communes imply a decentralized government bordering on anarchy. Pragmatically, Mao must be a centralist; what he says has no meaning. If the present bureaucracy — largely controlled by Liu Shao-chi and his followers — can be pulled down, Mao will need to substitute an even more centralized system, possibly using the PLA as his agent. Otherwise the mainland will fall into an anarchy that would destroy Communism.
As if Mao didn't have enough troubles at home, he also has made contributions to the accelerating deterioration of the Peiping-Moscow relationship. Unquestionably, he has hoped to externalize some of the mainland unrest and unite the people against the newly invented "Russo-American enemy". Mao is also desperately afraid of Russian material assistance to his revisionist enemies. He has good reason to be. During the course of his visit to Great Britain, Alexei Kosygin expressed the hope that Mao would be overthrown by the revisionists. Russia has reinforced troops along the Chinese border and has attempted — at least in Sinkiang — to give assistance to those who oppose Mao. War is not impossible. If the Soviet Union entered the struggle on any considerable scale, Mao would have no choice except to fight hack with whatever strength he can summon.
Worse to Come
Just ahead for Mao is the deepest pitfall of all. Industrial production already has been hurt by the mainland upheaval, although no one can yet say how seriously. If peasants join the workers in even a passive resistance movement, the spring sowing of April may be jeopardized. Food shortages later in the year could drive the last nail in Mao's coffin and bring down Communism as well. The rural population already is resisting Maoist attacks on private farm plots and sideline occupations.
These were the principal developments on the mainland during the last month (January 20-February 19):
January 20 - Peiping posters claimed that General Lo Jui-ching, former army chief of staff, and "vice premier" Po I-po, an economist, had committed suicide. No details were given. Red Guard reports of suicides by Mao opponents have been frequent and are not always reliable. Communist Party Secretary General Teng Hsiao-ping, classified by the Maoists as Enemy No. 2 just behind Liu Shao-chi, and "supreme court president" Yang Hsiu-ang were said to have failed in attempts to take their own lives. Liu again was reported under house arrest in Peiping. General Ho Lung, an army marshal, was said to be under arrest for plotting against "defense minister" Lin Piao, who was reportedly touring PLA units throughout the country to Whip up support for Mao. Lin has not made a public appearance since November. Official Peiping sources claimed peasants were leaving their villages in large numbers and interfering with agricultural production. Some rice had not been threshed and corn deliveries were behind schedule. Peasants were accused of inciting the masses to demand a better life. Banks were placed under army and police protection. Maoists complained that Liu faction had sent a million workers flooding into Peiping, disrupting transportation and slowing down production.
Civil Conflict
January 21 — Lin Piao was quoted as saying "the entire country is in a state of civil war". The source was a wall poster. The tidal wave of peasants continued to descend on the cities. Mao and the military moved to take over radio and other communications facilities. Posters charged that reactionary elements had been uncovered in the navy and air force and demanded that they be rooted out to avert military coup. Workers supporting Mao rallied in Peiping 100,000 strong and were urged to seize power from the revisionists and put down "economism". Czech reports said more than 30 institutions in Peiping had been taken over by Mao's "Revolutionary Rebels", including. People's Daily, the principal Chinese Communist newspaper. Chou En-lai was quoted as saying that the Rebels should carry out their movement throughout the mainland and keep dissenting workers under tight control. Red Guards were reported to be losing control of Canton, which they had intimidated for several months. Workers had lost their fear of the Guards; police and the army no longer intervened on behalf of the teen-agers. Red Guards were beaten up and pro-Mao posters and portraits defaced.
Fighting in Kiangsi
January 22 — Communist radio reports and travelers reaching Honkong told of fighting between Maoists and anti-Maoists in Kiangsi province of South China. Nanchang radio said tens of thousands of Red Guards had been poured into the provincial capital to take over from "capitalist" officials, and that pitched battles had ensued. Anti-Maoists were said to be in control of much of the province. In Peiping, People's Daily said the mainland upheaval was the beginning of a nationwide class struggle that would be waged throughout 1967. A Yugoslav correspondent in Peiping denied that Lin Piao had spoken of civil war and said there were no signs of such a conflict on the mainland. Revolutionary Rebels were said to have taken over the ministries of culture, mining, oil industry, and the first ministry of machine building. Also affected were newspapers and Peiping radio. Mao sources admitted that Red China's economy and international standing had been damaged by the actions of the "reactionary revisionist economists". Yugoslav reports claimed that three leaders of military schools had been paraded through Peiping streets with tablets of shame hung around their neck. They were identified as supporters of the bourgeois-reactionary line in the army. Kang Sheng, adviser to the Red Guards and believed to be No. 5 in the Mao hierarchy, was attacked in wall posters. In Washington, Chinese Ambassador Chow Shu-kai said that the mainland struggle was becoming one of the people against the Reds and that Chinese Communism was doomed.
January 23 — "Premier" Chou En-lai said the army would be used to crush anti-Mao forces. Chen Po-ta, chairman of the "cultural revolution", and Chiang Ching, Mao's wife, called for the establishment of a revolutionary city government of workers, peasants, soldiers, and revolutionary students and teachers (the Paris Commune idea). Fighting was reported in the Manchurian industrial city of Chang-chun, Tientsin, Paoting in Hopei, and the provinces of Kiangsi and Kwangtung in the south. The death of former propaganda chief Tao Chu as the result of a heart attack was rumored in Peiping. Photographs of the humiliation of "mayor" Tsao Ti-ch'iu and other Shanghai leaders appeared on Peiping walls. The officials were shown with "reactionary" labels hanging from their necks. Travelers reaching Hongkong said anti-Maoists were collecting weapons and forming an army in Kwangtung. A similar force was said still in control of much of Kiangsi.
January 24 — Taipei sources suggested that economic questions were crucial in the mainland struggle for power, and that if Mao comes out on top, he will attempt a new Great Leap. People reaching Hongkong from Canton said gangs of Chinese youths were burning Mao's books. Communist sources told of pledges of support to Mao from PLA commanders in Kunming, Lanchow, Shenyang, Canton, Foochow, Nanking, Wuhan, Peiping, Chengtu, Tibet, Sinkiang, and Inner Mongolia. These same sources claimed that Maoists had recovered Peiping publishing houses, a Tientsin jute mill, a Shenyang mill, a Sian auto parts plant, the Shensi provincial department of communications, and a Wuhan dies and molds plant.
January 25 — People's Daily asserted that the PLA had crushed an attempted anti-Mao coup in Shansi province. Foreign correspondents reiterated that Nanchang in Kiangsi was in the hands of anti-Maoists and claimed that students had led the way in a takeover of the capital of Inner Mongolia. Mounting resistance to Mao was reported from Manchuria. Liu forces were said to have surrounded three key buildings in Harbin.
Chiang Ching Rapped
February 26 — The Mao-controlled Chinese Communist Party Central Committee ordered the PLA to intervene in the power struggle whenever called upon. The army was urged to step up its precautions against bourgeois reactionaries. Reports of the death of propagandist Tao Chu were renewed. Another "vice premier", Ulanfu of Inner Mongolia, threw army units under his command against Mao supporters. Mao's wife came under attack by "reformed reactionaries" — those who have changed their coat from Liu to Mao. Mao sources admitted continuing conflict in Kiangsi and Heilungkiang in Manchuria. Wall posters told of fighting in Sinkiang and Tibet. Chinese students started home from Russia, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and other Soviet-oriented countries. The 60 who departed Moscow were bandaged and iodine-stained to dramatize their charges of Russian police brutality. Russians claimed the students had provoked an incident in Red Square but that only Russian women were hurt in the fracas.
February 27 — More Sinkiang clashes were reported. Wall posters said more than 100 had been killed and many wounded in Shihotzu, a city in the northwest. PLA forces were said to be backing the anti-Maoists; Shihotzu was under their control, according to a broadcast from Urumuchi, the Sinkiang capital. London sources said thousands of people were fleeing into Soviet territory from Singkiang and Manchuria. The number from Sinkiang was estimated at 70,000. In Peiping, the Red Guards smeared the walls and gates of the Soviet Embassy with anti-Russian slogans, blocked the entrance, and insulted Soviet diplomats. Demonstrators surrounded the embassy in retaliation for the Red Square incident in which Chinese students allegedly were injured. Peiping claimed the students were attacked while trying to pay tribute to Lenin and Stalin.
Serious Inflation
February 28 — Red Chinese soldiers joined demonstrators in front of the Soviet Embassy in Peiping and Soviet leaders were hanged in effigy. The Russians claimed that Soviet citizens were being insulted and abused throughout mainland China. In Paris, Chinese Communist students attempted to march on the Soviet Embassy and 60 were arrested by French police. Hongkong reports claimed that the mainland struggle had led to inflation that was expected to set back the economy at least six years. The people no longer put any trust in the Peiping currency, the Hongkong sources said, and had virtually exhausted the mainland stock of consumer goods. Stores had closed and troops had been called out to prevent the people from withdrawing money from banks. Farmers were said to be studying the works of Mao Tse-tung, as ordered, and neglecting their crops. Peiping radio verified reports of conflict in Sinkiang, and said Maoists had vowed to seize the government from the appointees of Liu Shao-chi. Seven of the eight Sinkiang divisions were said to be loyal to General Wang En-mao, who supports Liu. PLA troops in full battle dress paraded through the streets of Taiyuan in Shansi, Shanghai, Peiping, and other cities.
January 30 — Fighting was reported from Szechwan province, and Peiping admitted its supporters were not in full control of the cities of Chungking and Chengtu. The resistance was linked to Li Chung-chuang, who vanished from Peiping after being attacked by Red Guard posters. Army units loyal to Mao were dispatched to Sinkiang. Peiping was still having trouble with the hundreds of thousands of people who flooded into the city, some of them at the instigation of revisionists, who told them to demand higher pay and other economic benefits. Mao ordered anti-Russian rallies to be held throughout the mainland-but only 500 Red Guards could be rounded up for the demonstration in Canton. Fearful the anti-Maoists would make use of the holiday to Whip up people's sentiment and paralyze transportation, the Mao regime prohibited observance of the Lunar New Year and ordered elementary and junior high pupils back to school February 9, first day of the new year. Maoists took Tsingtao, naval port in Shantung, and said they would use it as a base to seize the rest of the province. The Sinkiang rebellion continued. President Tito was burned in effigy during a demonstration outside the Yugoslav Embassy in Peiping.
Bid to Warlord
January 31 — Chou En-lai offered to discuss Sinkiang problems with rebellious military commander Wang En-mao. A Hongkong newspaper said Wang had threatened to seize Red China's nuclear installations. Another Hongkong report asserted some 100,000 armed anti-Maoists were active in the area around Canton. Peiping's anti-everybody demonstrations continued with a march on the French Embassy. Demonstrations against the Russian and Yugoslav Embassies continued.
February 1 — Taipei sources said anti-Communism had erupted all across the mainland and that the situation bordered on anarchy. Peiping radio admitted that anti-Maoists has disrupted the economy of Chekiang province and charged that the commune system was being undermined. Peasants were said to have been led down the capitalist road with proposals that they quit collective production, demand higher payment for their produce, give less to the state, and keep more for themselves. Moscow said it would reduce the Peiping "embassy" to skeleton size and demanded that the Chinese Reds do the same in Moscow. An attempted coup against Mao by the purged "mayor" of Peiping, Peng Chen, and others was said to have been foiled last July. Radio Peiping said Maoists were continuing to put up fierce resistance in Tsingtao.
February 2 — Peiping radio claimed that Heilungkiang province in Manchuria was taken over from Lin in a bloody struggle in which the PLA played the decisive role. Peiping also claimed that the PLA had pacified Sinkiang, and that anti-Maoists had fled into the mountains. Travelers from Canton said anti-Maoists were planning a program of sabotage for the Lunar New Year period. Troops loyal to Mao were ordered to take over food storehouses because of increasing pilferage. Moscow charged the Chinese Reds with faking injuries to their students. France rejected Peiping's demand that it withdraw a protest against the manhandling of a French diplomat and his wife.
Peiping Violence
February 3 — Wall posters told of violence in Peiping, charged its military commander was plotting against Mao, and claimed the police force was riddled with dissidents. There was admission that resistance had not been stamped out in Shansi and Kweichow provinces, which Mao claimed to have taken from the anti-Maoists. New claims were made that anti-Maoists threatened Canton, and Canton authorities were accused of taking no action against "agents of the United States and" the Nationalists". After a two-month absence from the public scene, Mao Tse-tung turned up to talk with an Albanian military delegation visiting Peiping. Soviet jets began evacuating 200 wives and children of Russian diplomats in Peiping. Sofia radio charged that 10 members of the Soviet Embassy in Peiping were trapped in their cars for more than 14 hours by a mob of Chinese Communist hooligans. In Moscow, Soviet police tore down a display case of anti-Russian materials at the Peiping regime's "embassy" and struck diplomats who tried to intervene.
February 4 — Mao's backers again admitted that their hold on Shanghai and Taiyuan in Shansi was tenuous. Moscow radio told of continuing resistance in Shansi and Sinkiang. Anti-Maoists were said to have routed Maoists in Taiyuan, Shansi. Peiping called for a "great alliance" of Mao supporters, and warned that continuing splits could be disastrous. Confusion and division were reported from Yunnan province bordering North Vietnam. Factories were said to have closed down there, and a food shortage was reported in Kunming. Transportation was said to have been crippled by the departure of railroad workers for Peiping. The Yunnan Maoists were said to have split. Peiping and Moscow continued their namecalling. The U.S.S.R. warned that "the restraint and patience of the Soviet people are not boundless". An East German staff car was attacked in Peiping, and East Berlin joined those protesting Chinese Communist barbarism.
February 5 — Peiping radio accused the anti-Maoists of stealing weapons from the army and secrets from the state in the southern province of Kweichow. Maoists admitted that Kweichow had not been secured, as claimed before. Liu Shao-chi and his wife were said to have been denounced at a public rally. Maoists ordered concentration of the "cultural revolution" in Peiping, Shanghai, Tientsin, and Manchuria. Moscow charged that Red Guards had beaten Soviet diplomats and spat in their faces.
Peasant Wakening
February 6 — Hongkong sources reported peasant resistance to Communist controls on production and distribution. Encouraged by the anti-Maoists, the people of the countryside were said to be wrecking food production and paving the way for serious crises this summer and fall. Peasants were said to be distributing stocks of cash, food, and materials among themselves, including the capital for forthcoming production; to have sold farm animals and shared the proceeds; to have increased their own food rations; to have refused to deliver foodstuffs to the state; to have stopped winter cultivation of vegetable seedlings; to have organized resistance movements; to have abandoned winter wheat cultivation and other seasonal work; to have demanded larger private plots; to have refused to pay for materials and services; and to have demanded a return of land and property to private ownership. If even half of these reports were true, the Maoists faced desperate trouble in the countryside. Pre-Lunar New Year explosions were reported in Canton. New wall posters there ordered a purge of anti-Maoists. Travelers told of thousands arrested. Japanese dispatches quoting diplomatic sources said Liu Shao-chi and Teng Hsiao-ping had been stripped of their official positions. There was no confirmation from any other source. Moscow charged that Red Guards had torn down the cast iron gate of the Soviet Embassy in Peiping and invaded the grounds.
February 7 — A Hongkong newspaper said anti-Maoists were attempting a counter-coup in Shanghai. It quoted the PLA newspaper in Shanghai as saying that anti-Mao elements had gone underground and were inciting workers to organize the masses against Mao. The Shanghai trade fair, usually held in February, was canceled. The Canton fair was still scheduled for April. Travelers from Canton told of reports that Li Lin-ming, Kwangtung "governor", had committed suicide. Peiping warned the U.S.S.R. it could not guarantee the safety of Russian diplomats outside the embassy compound. Red Guards had been besieging the embassy for 13 days. In Moscow, workers took a petition of protest to the Red Chinese "Embassy". A Chinese Communist diplomat tore up the petition and threw the pieces in the faces of the Russians.
Coup Warning
February 8 — Moscow said that the Chinese Reds electronically jammed telephone connections between Moscow and Peiping. In a tit-for-tat move, Soviet workers carried their demonstration against the Peiping "embassy" into its third day. They protested being thrown out by the Chinese Communists after they were tricked into entering the building. Peiping official sources warned that the Maoists should be alert against a "palace or armed coup". Two Hongkong newspapers reported an outbreak of spinal meningitis in Canton and said medical supplies were insufficient.
February 11 — Peiping demanded that the Russians stop their demonstrations at the Chinese Communist "embassy" in Moscow or face the consequences, which they did not spell out. Similar threats were made by the Russians. A massive anti-Soviet rally was held in Peiping. The Soviets charged that Red Guards had ambushed a busload of Soviet technicians in Peiping and delayed their Moscow-bound train by 27 hours. Most of the technicians were returning from North Vietnam.
February 12 — Peiping was placed under military control, apparently not so much to suppress anti-Maoists as because the Maoists themselves were badly split. Mao ordered frontline army units to increase vigilance against Russia and the Republic of China, even at the expense of delaying the offensive against the anti-Maoists. Mao was quoted as saying that "international imperialism and revisionism have launched full-scale anti-(Red) China activities to take advantage of the cultural revolution". The orders to the PLA called for reinforcement of garrisons in Tsinan, Nanking, Foochow, Canton, Kunming, and Sinkiang. Hongkong press reports said hundreds of pro-Mao Red Guards clashed with workers near Canton February 7. The PLA sided against the Maoists. Helicopters flew over the city telling the pro-Mao Guardists to go home.
Generals Meet
February 13 — Mao was said to have purged "marshals" Chu Teh, 80, a co-founder of the Red army, and Ho Lung. From Hongkong came a report of a secret generals' meeting that made plans to oppose Mao in Yunnan, Szechwan, Kansu, and Sinkiang provinces. The meeting was said to have been held in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Japanese correspondents said the Chinese Communists had ordered high schools reopened March 1, a possible means of getting rid of the troublesome and ineffective Red Guards. The schools had been closed since September. Food profiteering was reported in Kiangsi, where Mao had been unable to re-establish control. Another reported suicide was that of Nan Han-chen, Peiping's top international trade promoter.
February 14 — Moscow radio asserted that bloody resistance to Mao was in progress in these areas: Honan and Hopei in central China, Kwangtung in the south, Heilungkiang in Manchuria, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia. There were unconfirmed stories of Chinese Communist clashes with Russian forces along the Ussuri River near Harbin in northeastern China. Peiping posters told of a sweeping purge of Liu Shao-chi supporters in the armed forces. Twenty-five military leaders were said to have been severely criticized, meaning they were on the way out. Among those charged with being bourgeois reactionaries were vice defense minister Hsiao Ching-kuang, air force commander Wu Fan-hsien, navy deputy commander Li Tso-peng, commander of the Inner Mongolia military district Ulanfu, and commander of the Sinkiang military district Wang En-mao. Peiping called off the Red Guard siege of the Russian Embassy and said the Russians could leave the compound.
Plot Against Mao
February 15 — Lin Piao accused Liu Shao-chi and Teng Hsiao-ping of being the "wire pullers" in a plot against Mao last year. This was the first such public claim. Lin said that "if we had not crushed them they would have crushed us". He indicated that a redeployment of troops was involved in defending Mao. A Hongkong newspaper said "General" Kwok Pang, the chief deputy of Sinkiang military chief Wang En-mao, had conferred with the Russians in Ulan Bator, the capital of "Outer Mongolia". He was said to have been seeking Russian assistance for the anti-Maoists. "Foreign minister" Chen Yi said Peiping was on the verge of diplomatic rupture with Moscow. Wall posters told of bitter fighting in Tibet, and said anti-Maoists had declared martial law in the capital of Lhasa.
February l6 — Radio Peiping claimed victory for Maoists in Fukien province. A rally of 150,000 PLA troops and "Revolutionary Rebels" was reportedly held in Foochow to celebrate. The Chinese Communist Central Committee ordered the dissolution of all organizations of which it did not approve, presumably to make way for the domination of organizational life by the Revolutionary Rebels. The special target seemed to be the "All-China Federation of Trade Unions" which has sided with Liu Shao-chi. The action indicated that earlier Red Guard takeovers and dissolutions of anti-Mao organizations had not always been successful. The crackdown also was supposed to apply to as yet unapproved pro-Maoist organizations, which had been mushrooming and some of which had gotten out of control.
Shanghai Leaflets
February 17 — Czech dispatches said Lhasa was cut off and that Maoists and anti-Maoists were locked in combat for control of Tibet. The anti-Mao forces were said to be headed by Chang Kuo-hua, chief of the Tihet military command. Lhasa radio said three army divisions were sent to Tibet to crush revisionism. Peiping posters said anti-Maoists had seized control of the southern tip of Manchuria and cut rail service to the naval base of Port Arthur. Anti-Mao leaflets were dropped over Shanghai. Japanese sources said Maoists were claiming control of Kansu province and saying they had repulsed counterattacks in Fukien. Peiping claimed that the Russians had forbidden their newsmen to take pictures in the Soviet Union.
February 18 — Peiping posters denounced Liu Shao-chi and Teng Hsiao-ping for their continuing defiance of Mao. The Maoists admitted that the two had not confessed their crimes and repented, and said that after months of struggle, the enemies of Mao were still strong. Travelers reaching Hongkong said food hoarding had begun in Canton and that an organized movement to starve out the Red Guards was under way. Anti-Maoists were going from house to house, urging the people not to feed the Guards, who had afflicted the city like a plague for several months. Hungry Red Guards were reported sifting through garbage for sustenance. The Chinese Communist Central Committee decreed that the PLA would assume control of "military production and construction units" in Sinkiang.
February 19 — Moscow sources reported Maoists were in control of Inner Mongolia and were increasing the tempo of resistance in Tibet. Roads leading to Dairen and Port Arthur were said to be blocked by anti-Mao units of the PLA. Peasants were opposing pro-Mao Red Guards in Shantung and Szechwan. A Soviet magazine said Mao has sent half a million of his enemies to the countryside. Fatal beatings and compulsory suicides also were laid at his door. Peiping posters again reported that Liu Shao-chi had been relieved of all Communist Party positions. Fighting was reported continuing in Shanghai, where the Maoists had claimed total victory.
January and February had been eventful on the Chinese mainland. The record offered conclusive proof that this was far more than just another struggle for power. All evidence indicates that the real battle has just begun — the battle of the people against both Maoists and anti-Maoists. The masses of tyrannized China are seizing the chance to strike a blow for their own liberation. By the time Mao and Liu Shao-chi understand what is really going on, the mainland may be well along the road to freedom.