Word: deng
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...first time since martial law was declared, receiving -- as if to underscore his legitimacy -- a covey of newly arrived ambassadors. The Premier declared that the soldiers would move into Beijing as soon as the city's residents understood the need to restore order. From all available signs, Deng Xiaoping had cast his lot with the hard- line faction headed by Li. The losers were a more reformist group led by party chief Zhao Ziyang. Diplomatic sources said that Zhao had been stripped of his power, although perhaps not his title, and put under house arrest for daring to challenge...
Though the leaders of the P.L.A. initially seemed torn by the crisis, by week's end most active generals had sided with the hard-liners, out of personal loyalty to Deng and concern for the restoration of order. But a question arose: Could the troops impose martial law without spilling the blood of hundreds and perhaps thousands of fellow Chinese, thereby giving the lie to the army's proud claim to be one with the people...
...process has continued during Deng Xiaoping's decade of pragmatic reform. In 1981 all P.L.A. members were required to take a special pledge of loyalty to the party, the government and Deng's modernization program. To save money and to lessen tensions with the Soviet Union, the P.L.A. was trimmed from a peak strength of 4.5 million to its present level of 3.2 million. The increasing prosperity of farm life means that the army has been forced to enlist more urban youth, who are more inclined to question orders. Despite such lures as family benefits and monthly bonuses, local officials...
...Their pay has not kept up with China's inflationary pace. A major earns about 250 yuan a month (roughly $67), while a hard-working Shanghai taxi driver can clear 2,000 yuan ($537). Such perks as free housing and food allowances, however, compensate somewhat for the income differential. Deng, moreover, has worked to maintain ties with the leadership by insisting on faster promotions based on skill rather than seniority. Nonetheless, promotion to the top ranks, particularly the political commissars, is still made on the basis of personal and political loyalties...
According to some reports, Deng last week traveled to Wuhan and Shanghai to rally the support of the generals. There is little doubt that his survival depends on the good offices of the P.L.A. To the rebellious students and their supporters, Deng, the progenitor of reform, is now viewed as an autocratic and imperious obstacle to it. It must have been particularly galling that many of the demonstrators' abusive slogans echoed his own words. WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T RETIRE? read one sign in the square, reflecting Deng's frequent statement that he cannot step down because the country needs...