Word: deng
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...incident was fresh evidence that China's seesaw struggle between doctrinaire Communist hard-liners and pragmatic reformists had taken yet another swing. In recent months, the reformists had been gaining greater control over the economy. Now, however, the ideologues have apparently persuaded Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping that the party cannot afford to shelter those who snipe at its authority. Though Wu was the only intellectual whose departure has been confirmed, as many as four other liberal theoreticians and journalists have reportedly been asked to quit the party...
Gorbachev's rejuvenating crusade raises the question of whether he can achieve durable change without provoking insurmountable opposition from party conservatives and fearful bureaucrats. After all, Nikita Khrushchev was swept from power 23 years ago for attempting reforms far less daring than Gorbachev's. More recently, when Deng Xiaoping's economic liberalization in China began to spill over into the political sphere, hard-liners rose up and forced the ouster of reformist Communist Party Chief Hu Yaobang early this year. Even if such internal party opposition does not stop Gorbachev, how far can he push change without unleashing democratic forces...
Late last year, when Deng himself moved toward acknowledging the criticism, the reform campaign began to run out of steam. He accepted the ouster of his protege, Hu Yaobang, from the important post of party General Secretary and slowed down measures to expand China's fledgling market economy. Debate on political reform, especially sensitive after the demonstrations, was shelved. With Deng apparently on their side, the conservatives pressed ahead with their campaign against capitalist thinking and Western influence...
Since then, however, the conservatives have been unable to devise economic proposals to replace Deng's reforms while still retaining China's newfound prosperity in the countryside and some urban centers. In April, Deng suddenly unbalanced his opponents when he told visiting dignitaries that the greatest danger to China came not only from complete Westernization but also from "leftist inertia...
Meanwhile, Deng shrewdly continued to groom his other protege, Premier Zhao Ziyang, who last January took on the discredited Hu's responsibilities as party General Secretary. At first, Zhao's official speeches outlined a delicate balance of power, with the conservatives dominating the political sphere and the reformists managing to keep control of the economy. With tacit encouragement from Deng, however, Zhao soon grew bolder. In April he faced down a conservative decision to bar a Chinese movie from overseas distribution. In late May the Premier denounced the conservatives' "ossified thinking," which he said endangered the livelihood of the people...