How Far?

Chungking asked a question: now that Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek had strengthened his Government (TIME, Nov. 27), what about Foreign Minister T. V. Soong, the Gissimo's able, Harvard-trained brother-in-law? Once called "Asia's greatest statesman," T. V. Soong was an ace trouble shooter and efficiency expert in government. And what about the powerful Cheng Hsueh Hsi (Political Science Group), the organization of Chinese businessmen who favor swifter modernization of their country's political and economic structure?

Among Cheng Hsueh Hsi's leaders were General Chang Chun, 60, governor of Szechwan, once known as the Gissimo's "one-man brain trust," and Dr. Wu Ting-chang, 56, banker, expublisher of the influential Ta Rung Pao, and governor of Kweichow. The appointment of T. V. Soong as President of the Executive Yuan or the inclusion of the Political Science Group in the Government would indicate how far Chiang intended to go in liberalizing his regime. Said Ta Kung Pao last week: "Now is the time" for more changes "to increase administrative efficiency."

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