Heir Apparent

As eldest son of Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek, 55-year-old Chiang Ching-kuo has long been touted to have better than an even chance to take charge of Nationalist China when his father, now 77, retires. But no one could ever be certain that Little Chiang would win out over Vice President Chen Cheng, rival leader of another Kuomintang faction.

Last week, with Chiang Ching-kuo firmly installed in a top Cabinet post, and with 67-year-old Chen Cheng almost constantly abed with a liver ailment, the issue seemed less in doubt. Chiang was made Minister of National Defense, a post for which he has long been preparing as Deputy Minister. In other shifts, the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Education were handed to two of his firmest allies, Cambridge-educated scientist-economist Li Kuo-ting and Yen Chen-hsing, a Ph.D. from Iowa State University. The older men they replaced were known to have leaned more toward Chen Cheng. To most observers, Little Chiang's new job was tantamount to his being named heir apparent.

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