As our Hong Kong Bureau Chief for the last three years, Bruce Nelan discovered that "China watching is a misnomer. It has really been China reading until now." Barred from the country, most Western newsmen have relied heavily on the voluminous material published and broadcast in China, and on intelligence analyses of events behind the Bamboo Curtain. Though Peking has now allowed a slight parting of the curtain, understanding Ping Pong diplomacy, its genesis and potential, still demands depth reporting from the periphery of China and from other continents.

For this week's cover story, the editors called on Nelan and correspondents in Singapore, Tokyo, Washington, Vienna, Geneva, London and elsewhere to report on all facets of the new turn in U.S.-Chinese relations. Reporter-Researcher Sara Medina, a six-year veteran of TIME'S China desk in New York, contributed additional insights; she returned from her latest trip to Hong Kong in February. The information gathered went to Clell Bryant, who wrote the story, and David Tinnin, who edited it. To achieve the proper mood, Tinnin led his crew through a spirited doubles session in the office Ping Pong parlor. Deborah Pierce, who supervised picture coverage for the story, served as the fourth.

The ways of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can be less baffling than Peking's, but only slightly. This year TIME made its own type of best actor nomination with the cover story on George C. Scott (March 22). Though Scott had scorned the Oscar, the Academy in the end also found him irresistible. Following another hunch, the editors recently sent Contributing Editor Mark Goodman to England for an interview with Glenda Jackson; she turned out to be the dark-horse winner in the best actress category. "It was good to see a magnetic screen talent rewarded," he said. "Frankly, I was just as surprised as everybody else." His story on Actress Jackson appears in the Show Business section.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.