Word: deng
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...democracy movement, the government lost much of its authority, leaving itself isolated and condemned at home and abroad. There are even fears that Chinese Communism may be reaching backward for a discredited tool. Warned a Western diplomat: "Everything that has gone on has been preparation for Stalinist terror. Deng Xiaoping is an old Communist who , believes that when you don't observe party discipline, you are dead...
...after days of invisibility, as Deng and his conservative supporters, appropriately clad in Mao suits, paraded across the television screen to show their grip on power late last week, the contradictions -- and the questions -- remained. For the time being, the old men seemed to be in control again. But for how long? If the Chinese were being cowed into submission, a long- standing compact between them and their government had been broken. Tiananmen Square and Beijing might belong to the P.L.A., but the struggle for control of China is far from over...
...next day Deng, 84, China's supreme ruler for the past decade, made his first appearance on television in nearly a month. At his side were Li and a host of top leaders and party elders, as well as representatives of all key factions in the military, including those who had been considered loyal to party moderates. Present too were President Yang Shangkun, 82, a former army general and the reputed mastermind of the Tiananmen attack, and Qiao Shi, 64, the state security chief who may become General Secretary of the Communist Party. Conspicuously missing was the incumbent in that...
After a decade of reform that the Chinese had hoped would lead to steady economic and social progress, why had chaos and barbarity suddenly descended on Beijing? No answer had meaning for long. Even as Li and Yang appeared at Deng's side, speculation was rife that the Premier and the chief of state were dispensable. Rumors about Deng's frail health were not resolved by his appearance on television: his left hand trembled, his face was puffy, his eyes ringed with dark circles. But as he spoke, his words grew in coherency and exuded authority. At one point...
Although the link could prove tenuous, the observer just may be right. And if he is, that bond between two once disparate elements could haunt Deng and his successors for a long time to come. A similar connection between intellectuals and workers gave rise to the Solidarity movement that rocked Poland in the early '80s. China's leaders had been fretting about the similarities between the student movement and the Solidarity campaign. Tellingly, when officials ordered arrests last week, three of the 14 people who were briefly detained were members of a new, unauthorized union...