Putting Its House in Order

Despite the peaceful fac,ade of proletarian uniformity that it presents to impressed foreign visitors these days, China for years has been a divided and unsettled country. The upheavals of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of 1966-69 and the purges that followed the abortive 1971 coup of Army Leader Lin Piao--Chairman Mao Tse-tung's designated successor--denuded the Communist Party's leadership and plunged its bureaucracy into disarray. Since 1971 China has had no head of state, no defense minister, and no army chief. The Central Committee of the Communist Party and the powerful Politburo both have been functioning at half-strength.

No Fanfare. China has now taken an important step toward filling those vacant ranks and putting its house in order. Last week Hsinhua, the Chinese news agency, announced that the long-anticipated Tenth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party--the first such gathering since 1969--had been held in Peking from Aug. 24 to 28. The Congress had been led by Mao himself, whose failing health was belied by the amazingly healthy and even youthful-looking photographs released by the Chinese. Although China watchers for the past few weeks had suspected that the Congress was imminent, neither fanfare nor publicity marked its opening. Instead, 1,249 delegates from all corners of China secretly gathered at a still undisclosed site in the capital.

The news agency's terse communiques about the unusually brief Congress indicated that Mao, now almost 80, remains the unchallenged leader of the party. His appearance at the Congress, according to the news agency, triggered "prolonged and hearty applause." Premier Chou En-lai continues as second to Mao. At the Congress, Chou presented the all-important political report; he was also elected one of the party's five vice chairmen and, significantly, was listed first. The Congress endorsed Chou's foreign policy, including improved relations with the U.S., but it also warned against the "hegemonism of the two superpowers--the U.S. and the U.S.S.R." Chou's hand was also strengthened by an increase in the number of foreign ministry officials on key party bodies and a reduction of army influence. The military, which comprised about 50% of the Central Committee elected four years ago by the Ninth Party Congress, have now been reduced to less than one-third of the committee's membership.

A surprise was the election of a relatively youthful (37) Shanghai party leader, Wang Hung-wen, as one of the five vice chairmen. A onetime textile worker and later a boss of the city's rampaging Red Guards, Wang has powerful patrons--among them Mao's wife Chiang Ching. At the Congress, Wang gave the important report on the revision of the party constitution--a role possibly assigned by Mao himself. These developments make Wang one of the party's most important leaders.

The Congress apparently failed to resolve the question of Mao's eventual successor. The announced lineup of the new 21-member Politburo gives no clue as to who ranks where in the hierarchy. To some observers, this suggests that although Chou is clearly No. 2 now, the party may be preparing for a collective leadership during the transition period after Mao dies or retires. By contrast, the Ninth Party Congress, in the process of approving a new constitution, specifically named Defense Minister Lin Piao as Mao's heir. Last week's conclave repaired that embarrassing error. The constitution was revised to expunge the name of Lin Piao, who was, according to Hsinhua, publicly excoriated as a "bourgeois careerist, conspirator, counterrevolutionary, double-dealer, renegade, and traitor."

Relaxing Tensions. Throughout Peking, hundreds of obviously preplanned processions gleefully greeted public announcements that the Congress had met. The U.S. and other Western nations may also have reason to be pleased. If, in fact, Chou has been strengthened as much as the first hints from the Congress indicate, then China --for the short run at least--will probably continue its policy of relaxing international tensions and encouraging political and economic relations with the capitalist nations it once damned.

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