Word: move
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...move is an important step in China's campaign to formalize the country's legal code and replace renzhi, the rule of men, with fazhi, the rule of law. Although the ancient Chinese developed a sophisticated civil service system, the prominence of law waxed and waned with the fortunes of China's Emperors. The Communists tried to install a Soviet-style system after the 1949 revolution, but the fledgling effort began to unravel during Chairman Mao's "anti-rightist" political campaign in the late 1950s. What little jurisprudence survived was virtually swept away during the tumultuous Cultural Revolution...
...captures the essence of Soviet military policy since World War II. More important were his promised troop cuts, not just their numbers but their nature. The West has long insisted that any conventional-forces agreement requires the Soviets to reconfigure their troops into a defensive posture. Gorbachev pledged to move in that direction by withdrawing assault units, river-crossing equipment and tanks that threaten a blitzkrieg through central Europe. Deterring such an attack has been the core reason for NATO's existence...
...greater danger, however, is the possibility that a wary and grudging attitude could cause the U.S. to miss out on a historic turning point in world affairs. Those who sniff at Gorbachev's recent moves were proposing last year that many of these same steps -- on emigration, troop configurations, individual rights, loosening controls in Eastern Europe -- be used as litmus tests of Soviet intentions. With every Gorbachev move, the evidence mounts that he is seeking not just a breathing space but a fundamental change in the Soviet system...
...This can be the most significant thing that's happened to Western security in NATO history," declared retired General Andrew Goodpaster, a former supreme commander of NATO. Echoed David Abshire, a former U.S. Ambassador to the Alliance: "It's a bold, masterful move, among the most consequential in NATO's 40-year history." As NATO's foreign ministers convened in Brussels, the Secretary-General of the West's 16-nation military pact was far more subdued but still upbeat. "It's an encouraging development which we welcome," said West Germany's Manfred Worner...
...keeping an eye on Gorbachev is as exciting as it is demanding. Says Kohan: "There have been times during the past hectic months of political activity when I have wondered if Gorbachev has not reached a dead end. Then, suddenly, he will pull off a surprise, and everything will move forward again. He has shown an endless talent for the unexpected...