Who's Doing What to Whom?

Was some great secret upheaval going on in Red China? The editorial in the party journal, Red Flag, certainly had a bloodthirsty ring. "A death struggle between the bourgeoisie to restore capitalism and the proletariat" is taking place, warned Red Flag, calling on the people of Red China to guard against a "counterrevolutionary" uprising of the 1956 Hungarian variety. "Failure to take the necessary steps to prevent it would cost the lives of millions of our people."

Hardly anyone expected the Chinese bourgeoisie to rise again. But there was no doubt that the purge of "counterrevolutionary" Communists that swept Peking's Mayor Peng Chen from office (TIME, June 10) was spreading rapidly into the provinces. In southern Yunnan province and in neighboring Kweichow, editors of provincial party papers were under fire for spreading "revisionist poison." In Szechwan, a high-ranking official in the party's regional directorate was accused of having shamelessly attacked party cadres. "He has not yet made a confession," snarled the local radio, "but he will not be allowed to sneak by." The Deputy Governor of Shantung province was charged with attempting to "abolish the proletarian dictatorship," while other Deputy Governors had apparently been removed.

Nearly three-fourths of the 90-odd members of the national party's Central Committee have not been mentioned by press or radio for the past six months, and more and more China watchers are coming to believe that the reported purges reflect a far wider struggle to succeed ailing Mao Tse-tung. The faction currently in the ascendancy seems to be using its opportunity to junk allies of the losers, but among the gainers almost certainly is Defense Minister Lin Piao. Travelers recently returning to Hong Kong from China report having seen posters declaring "Long Live Chairman Mao! Long Live Lin Piao!"

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