Deng Xiaoping

Zedong's thesis of the three worlds. In January 1975, when Premier Zhou Enlai became seriously ill and was hospitalized, Deng Xiaoping was reappointed Vice-Premier and appointed Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee, Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission and Chief of the General Staff of the PLA, thus replacing Zhou as the person in charge of all the routine work of the Party and the state.

Jiang Qing had tried to prevent Deng's reinstatement from the outset, but it was in 1975 that the struggle between Deng and the Gang of Four became acute. With all his energy Deng set about restoring order to the chaotic situation caused by the "cultural revolution". "At present," he said. " There are a great many problems which we cannot solve without indomitable will. We must be determined and daring." He called for efforts to bring about stability and unity and to develop the national economy. His conviction that this was that the country needed reflected the interests and aspirations of the whole nation, and to the people's great satisfaction, noticeable results were achieved within a short period of time. Nevertheless, while Mao Zedong supported Deng Xiaoping in his administration of the day-to-day work of the central organs, he could not tolerate Deng's systematic correction of the mistakes arising from the "cultural revolution". He therefore launched a movement to criticized Deng and to counter the "Right deviation of reversing correct verdicts", which plunged the country into turmoil again. Taking advantage of this situation, the Gang of Four stepped in and framed Deng Xiaoping. They accused him of having been the behind-the -scenes instigator of the Tiananmen Incident of April 5, 1976, in which the people had poured out their love for the late Premier Zhou Enlai and their hatred for the Gang of Four, Deng was thus once again dismissed from all his posts inside and outside the Party, and once again dark clouds hung over the entire nation.

USHERING IN A NEW STAGE

Nineteen seventy-six is a year the Chinese people will never forget. Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and Mao Zedong died one after another, plunging the nation into mourning. Then in October, to general rejoicing, the Central Committee smashed the counter-revolutionary clique of the Gang of Four. The ten-year "cultural revolution" that had wreaked such have was finally brought to an end, and the country entered a new period of its history.

The situation, however, was dismaying. Hundreds of problems were crying for solution, the "Left' thinking which had completely dominated the country for so many years was now deeply rooted and the economy was on the brink of collapse. What road should China take from now? This was the question troubling millions upon millions of people.