Word: hua
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...figure of authority and the constant infighting within the bureaucracy have created the most explosive political crisis to face China since the Cultural Revolution of 1966-69. The vast might of the military makes a genuine civil war unlikely, but if lingering unrest and sporadic outbreaks of violence continue, Hua could be shunted aside by the army. His military backers may decide that they have put up the wrong man to deal with the post-Mao crisis, and turn their support to some stronger, more charismatic figure." Thus while 1977 may be a tough year for opponents of the regime...
Unrest among ordinary Chinese may prove harder for Hua to deal with. Mass dissatisfaction, held in check under Mao, was unleashed following his death. Workers are unhappy over low wages, effectively frozen since 1971. There is widespread resentment about intrusive authority, misuse of power by local officials and party demands for constant indoctrination sessions. Existing poverty has been exacerbated by the rising expectations that are encouraged by the Chinese leaders, who talk constantly about the splendid present and the glowing future. Young Chinese resent the practice of being sent from the cities to the countryside to learn the virtues...
Against this background, Hua in his Peking address proclaimed that China's "central task for 1977" would be "to expose and repudiate" Mme. Mao's followers totally and "move toward the goal of the great order." Behind Hua's rhetoric lay an admission that few if any of the professed goals of China's new leadership can be realized until Hua establishes a Mao-like absolutist rule over the nation. To do this, analysts noted, the new Chairman needs the army: only the generals who supported Hua in his bid for power last autumn can keep him there...
...Indeed, Hua's Peking speech represented a victory for the army. Before it, Hua had appeared to want to style himself as a compromiser who would rule by deft negotiation among the factions within China's complex ruling bureaucracy. People's Daily, speaking for Hua the compromiser, had often advocated "treating the disease to save the patient," that is, allowing opponents a chance to correct their errors...
Drastic Measures. The military's chief mouthpiece, Liberation Army Daily, has consistently called for "beating the dog in the water," meaning showing the enemy no mercy. Some China watchers believe that Hua may have become persuaded that the disease of factionalism has failed to respond to treatment and so more drastic measures must be considered...