A Sense of Panic Grips Peking

Drums and cymbals reverberated across China last week. In every one of the country's 29 provinces and administrative districts, mammoth rallies of 100,000 or more people were staged; in Peking (pop. 8 million) more than 4 million Chinese took part in such rallies. The press was filled with rhetoric praising Chairman Mao Tse-tung and the Communist Party Politburo.

To some analysts, there was a sense of panic in China's reaction to the dramatic, unprecedented protest demonstration that took place in Peking's vast T'ien An Men Square two weeks ago. In the weeks ahead, these analysts speculate, the Communist Party leadership will make a concerted effort to create a sense of mass enthusiasm and legitimacy for its policies--most notably the abrupt sacking of Chou En-lai's onetime heir apparent Teng Hsiao-p'ing and the elevation of Security Minister Hua Kuo-feng to Premier and First Vice Chairman of the party.

What particularly struck China watchers was the depth of Peking's shock at the open, scrappy and in many ways anti-Maoist protest. The incident at T'ien An Men--and similar violent confrontations in the city of Chengchow--began as reactions to the removal of memorial wreaths to the late Premier Chou En-lai (see color opposite). It was clear that the disturbances went far beyond the narrow issue of respect for the late Premier. They were also expressions of support for the kind of consistent, moderate policies mapped out by Chou--and supported by Teng--and opposed by the radical faction that claims to speak for Mao himself.

Significant Meaning. Hence Peking's propagandists harshly labeled the T'ien An Men riot "an organized, premeditated and planned counterrevolutionary political incident." Teng himself was not accused of having organized the incident. Nonetheless, said the official report to the Politburo, the unnamed organizers of the riots wanted to "stir up disorder in the whole country." In Peking and elsewhere, great prominence was given to the workers' militia rather than to the regular army as the group responsible for maintaining order. The militia, said the official press agency, "feared neither hardship nor death" in fighting the "class enemy." Significantly, it is Mao and the radicals who have promoted the expansion of workers' militia organizations in China, presumably as a power base in the event of a future struggle with more conservative factions.

Meanwhile, the position of the professional army remains a mystery. While party leaders and the heads of government ministries were turned out for the pro-Mao demonstrations last week, several key military commanders were absent. Among the most important was Ch'en Hsi-lien, commander of the Peking military district, a member of the Politburo and widely regarded as the country's most powerful general. In the past, the army often favored the kind of moderation practiced by Chou and Teng. The fact that it is staying aloof from the current struggle may be bad news for Mao and his radical supporters.

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