Word: deng
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Throughout his years in power, Deng balanced moderate vs. hard-line factions in every organ of the state -- the party, the government, the military. The result was paralysis: important decisions were frequently avoided or ignored. Deng remained the ultimate arbiter, but hobbled by age and his penchant for toughing out dilemmas, he increasingly played off would-be successors against one another, letting their disagreements fester into bureaucratic skirmishing...
...corruption not only confronted the leadership with fundamental questions about China's future direction but also created an opening for political jockeying. According to one theory, Zhao, 69, the leader reputedly most willing to adopt more open politics, took advantage of the situation to ask for greater authority. From Deng, Zhao reportedly sought the power to grant some of the students' demands. Sensing an attempt at a power play, Deng refused...
...internal document leaked through Hong Kong claims Deng then demanded action and the suppression of all perceived threats to the party's central authority -- namely himself. In spite of Zhao's refusal to support the imposition of martial law in Beijing, Deng pressed ahead with plans for military rule with Premier Li and President Yang...
...architects of the debacle, Li and Yang could eventually prove liabilities to Deng, and he might have to jettison them. An alternative could be provided by Qiao Shi, an unfamiliar Politburo member, who emerged as a rising star after a telegram from the Supreme Court congratulated him for his support of the military crackdown...
...student protests. That demonstration of neutrality may have made him acceptable as a compromise leader to all sides. "He is a very shrewd man," says Ruan. "He was elevated to the Politburo by Hu Yaobang. But when Hu was ousted, Qiao acted against his former mentor and sided with Deng...