Po' ge Twelve

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Friday, September 10, 1976

I'aqe Twelve THE MICHIGAN DAILY Fr~doy, September 10, 1976


China

faces

turmoil

in

wake

of

Mao's

death

(Continued from Page 1)
PRESIDENT FORD, who con-
ferred with Mao for almost two
hours last December, said in
Washington that his death was
"tragic," and called him a "re-
markable and very great man."
Tributes to Mao flowed from
world leaders and time and
again he was referred to as one
of the greatest figures of this
century, if not in the history of
mankind.
But while many Western lead-
ers of opposing political belief
praised Mao unstintingly for his,
personal contribution to mod-
ernizing China, there was almost
tntnl silence from the Soviet =

Mao's body might
taken there.

have been

THE PEKING correspondent
of Tanjug, the Yugoslav news
agency, reported that "All
Chinese who come in contact
with foreigners are openly show-
ing their emotions. Many of
them are so upset that they
cannot perform their usual
work."
There was no immediate in-
dication who might emerge as
successor to Mao, leader of the
People's Republic since he de-
clared its founding on Oct. 1,
1949. Under the party constitu-
tion of 1973, the central com-

Union and other Communist re- coste chairman.
gimes that support Moscow in choose the chairman.
its ideological feud with Peking. Hua, the relatively obscure
former security minister who
THE OFFICIAL Soviet news was made premier when Mao
agency, Tass, reported Mao's fired Teng, was named party
death in a two-line item, while vice chairman at the same
Moscow. Radio's domestic ser- time, making him China's No. 2
vice reported it as the 10th item man.
on its morning bulletin.
The Soviet Communist Party HUA IS regarded as occupy-
cabled a brief message of con- ing a middle ground between
{ ! the , quarreling radicals and
dolences. moderates. But he may not
The central committee ordered have had time to entrench him-
a mourning period to last untilhaelhud t e tor m
the memorial meeting Sept. 181 self securely at the top.
in Peking. The ceremony is to There have already been
begin with all Chinese, "where- hints of more recent disorder
ever they are," standing at at- in China. Besides the People'sl
tention in silent tribute for three Daily editorial Monday men-

i,
1.,
ti
i
k
. k

contending groups using the
anti-Teng campaign to criticize
their foes.
Given the short and incon-
clusive five months Hua has
been in the No. 2 spot and the
vaulting ambition of other con-
tenders, the contest for the
chairmanship - the most pow-
erful job in China - could es-
calate rapidly.
THIS IS SUGGESTED by
the violence which swept Pe-
king and other major cities in
early April when Teng made
his ill - timed bid to become
premier and was fired by a still
vigorous Mao.
Among other contenders for
Mao's job are Chiang Ching,'
62, a member of the party Po-
litburo; and her three radical
proteges, Wang Hung-wen,
about 40, the Shanghai boy won-
der raised by Mao from the
factory assembly line to a par-
ty vice - chairmanship for his
services in the 1966-69 Cultural
Revolution; Chang Chun-chiao,
about 58, first vice premier and
member of the Politburo Stand-
ing Committee, and Yao Wen-
yuan, about 51, critic and Po-
litburo member whose bitter
attacks on the establishment
touched off the cultural purgeI
in 1966.
The moderate candidates in-3
clde Yeh Chien-ving, 78, Chou's
old crony who is a party vice
chairman and defense minister,
and Li Hsien-nien, a vice pre-
mier. Yeh and Chen Hsi-lien,
commander of the Peking units
of the army, pres'imably would
have strong military backing'
but age and snoradic ill health
comnlicate Yeh's chances.
WHOvE VE wINS in the fight
for the party chairmanship, the
nation's recent policv of friend-;
Shin toward America appears
likely to survive, at least for
now, chiefly because China's
own suyrvival may be caught
un in it. The move toward ran-
nro-hement was dictated by Pe-
king's fear of what it calls
Soviet expansionism.
But in recent months, bemin-
ning with President Ford's visit
in December, the Chinese have
made it plain that they are im.-

patient to achieve full diplo-
piatic recognition, a move which
would result in a rupture of,
U.S. relations with the Repub-
lic of China on Taiwan.
The central committee an-
no'mcement emphasized that
Communist China would con-
tinue its policy for " what it
calls the liberation of Taiwan.
THE RUSSIANS HOPE that
in the post-Mao period new Chi-
nese leaders will reassess the
estrangement which began in
1956 and has continued un-
abated since. But both moder-
ates and radicals are commit-
ted to a policy of such deep
antagonism toward the Rus-
sians on ideological grounds
that the gap may never be
bridged.
The door always has been
open, however, for some kind
of accommodation on govern-
ment-to-government lines. Amer-
ican hesitation to draw closer
to Peking could result in initia-
tives toward Moscow intended
as a reminder that the Chinese
also can play the game of pow-
er politics.
The battle for succession may
also settle the other major ques-
tion raised by Mao's death -
wether his personal brand of
Communism will survive in
China.
A BELIEVER IN the masses
and permanent revolution, Mao
engaged in a constant struggle
to keepChina from "the capi-
talist road." to keep her self-
reliant and to maintain power
in the hands of peasants and
workers instead of China's cen-
t'iries-old elite of landlords, in-
tellectuals and officials.
Mao. born to a peasant fam-
ilv in H-inan province on Dec.
?6, 1893, was a teen-ager when
vears later, in 1921, he was one
Sun Yat-sen's revolution over-
threw China's monarchy. Ten
of the 13 founding members of
China's Commniist party.
He asslumed leadership of the
party in 1935 when it fled en-
-irclement by Chiang Kai
Shek's armies at Chingkangshan
in southeast China in the 8,000-
mile "Long March" to Yenan.
Of 120,000 Communist followers
that began the march, only 20,-
000 finished.

minutes.
JAPANESE and Yugoslav cor-
respondents said that after the
d e a t h announcement crowds
<>r-" gathered before a large floodlit
portrait of Mao in Peking's huge
Tien An Men square and near
Mao's residence. They reported!
'" "seeing elementary school pupils'
>led by teachers, with tears in
their eyes and heads lowered, in
Peking's major streets.'
Slf3Tens of thousands of Chinese-
each holding a white flower, theI
symbol of mourning-arrived at;
the portrait by bicycle. On
Chang An Boulevard police with'
black arm bands were standing1
every 50 to 100 yards.
AP Photo The road to a major Pekingi
hospital was closed to all but
CHAIRMAN MAO TSE-TUNG is shown sitting in the labrary of his home in the last photograph of him released be- official cars, the Japanese cor-
fore his death yesterday. Mao, 82, died after a long illness. respondents s a i d, indicating1

tioning "settling old scores"
and "armed struggles," other
recent editorials have caution-
ed against sabotage by "class
enemies." However, there has
been no specific report of trou-
ble.
There was no explanation of
the reason for the warnings,
which also included an admoni-
tion that railway communica-
tions must not be impeded.
These portions were excluded
when Hsinhua broadcast the
editorials in English.
MAO'S DEATH also comes
amid a call in the Chinese press
to step up the campaign to
criticize Teng Hsiao-ping, for-
mer vice premier, who was
ousted earlier this year. I
Some factional squabbles have
been reported recently, with:

-___________-___________-_ ______________i

Panel approves tax
reform proposal

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FOR INFORMATION AND
RESERVA TIONS CALL:

WASHINGTON (/P) - Senate-
House conferees approved a
far - reaching bill last night
that assures tax relief to indi-
viduals and businesses through
1977 but sharply raises the tax'
on wealthy investors.
The basic individual tax-cut:
extension would be worth about
$180 a year to a typical family
of four.
IN ADDITION, the measure
would completely overhaul the
gift and estate tax laws; pro-
vide special tax benefits to
working parents, the elderly
and a host of industries and sim-
plify the tax-filing process.
The bill, three years in the
making, now goes to the House
and Senate for final considera-
tion.

all types of income for those
over 65; authorize a first step
that could lead to tax - defer-
red pensions for many house-
wives, and allow tax-free treat-
ment of group legal - service
plans.
Despite their impact and cost,
there was little controversy
over these benefits. Most fight-
ing was over how to raise
taxes on the wealthy.
The conference voted to do
this in three ways:
-RAISE THE revenue from
the minimum tax on the rich by
about $1 billion a year. This tax
was enacted seven years ago in
an effort to ensure that ,some
tax is paid, no matter how many
big deductions a high - income
taxpayer uses.

The compromise measure, -Tighten the maximum tax
when extension of the individ- by about $50 million a year.
ual and business tax cuts is This tax actually is a lid on
disregarded, would raise fed- the regular income tax im-
eral revenues by $1.6 billion in posed on earned income, gen-
1977, dropping to $984 million by erally salaries, at the $50,800-
1981. annual - income level and high-
er.
THUS, the bill easily meets ' -Limit the amount of tax de-
congressional budget targets ductions that an investor may
for the 12-month period that be- take for investing in such tax-
gins on Oct. 1. shelter operations as movie-
The individual tax cuts would making, farming, real estate,
cost the Treasury about $15 bil- I oil and gas. eouioment leasing
lion a year and would be ex- and professional sports.

tended through Dec. 31, 1977.
Without extension of the cuts,
which technically expired on"
July 1, a family of four earn-
ing $6,000 would lose $445 a
year. A single person earning
$8,000 would face a $182 tax:
hike while a couple making
$10,000 would have to pay $204
more..
THE KEY hart of the individ-
ual tax cut is a $35-per-person
credit, subtracted from taxes
owed. Or, a taxpayer could sub-,
tract 2 per cent of his first
$9,000 of txable income, for a
top credit of $180.
Another provision, increasing,
the minimum and maximum
standard deductions to $1,700
and $2,400 for single personsI
j and $2,100 and $2,800 for cou-
ples, anlies only to the 60 per,
cent of taxpayers who do not
itemize deductions.
The third portion of the indi-
vidual cut is a credit of uu
to $400 for working families
with children. t is designed to

Generally, the deduction
would be limited to the amount
of cash that the investor risked.
On the other hand, some of
the nation's wealthiest families
will benefit most from the broad
changes in the gift and estate
taxes.
THE NET EFFECT of the
changes would be to exemppt
from inheritance taxes all but
the wealthiest 2 per cent of
U. S. estates.
For all practical purposes, no
estates worth under $525,000
would pay the tax.
Current law taxes the estates
of about 127,000 persons, or 7
per cent of those who die each
year. The compromise would
cut that number to 50,000.
THE NEW provisions would
cost the Treasury $1.4 billion a
year by 1981 in lost revenue.
The changes are aimed pri-
marily at ensuring that family
farms and small businesses do
not have to be sold to pay taxes

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