for whom the "old regime" was dim history,
not reality. In the struggle between Mao and Liu Shao-ch'i, which became
increasingly apparent in 1966, Mao tried to retain his power by
mobilizing young people as "Red Guards" and by inciting them to make the
"Great Proletarian Revolution." The motives behind the struggle are
diverse. It is on the one hand a conflict of persons contending for
power, but there are also disagreements over theory: for example, should
China's present generation toil to make possible a better life only for
the next generation, or should it enjoy the fruits of its labor, after
its many years of suffering? Mao opposes such "weakening" and favours a
new generation willing to endure hardships, as he did in his youth.
There is also a question whether the Chinese Communist Party under the
banner of Maoism should replace the Russian party, establish Mao as the
fourth founder after Marx, Lenin, and Stalin, and become the leader of
world communism, or whether it should collaborate with the Russian
party, at least temporarily, and thus ensure China Russian support.
When, however, Chinese youth was summoned to take up the fight for Mao
and his group, forces were loosed which could not be controlled.
Following independent action by youth groups similar in nature to youth
revolts in Western countries, the power and prestige of older leaders
suffered. Even now (1969) it is impossible to re-establish unity and
order; the Mao and Liu groups still oppose each other, and local
factions have arisen. Violent confrontations, often resulting in
hundreds of deaths, occur in many provinces. The regime is no longer so
strong and unified as it was before 1966, although its end is not in
sight. Quite possibly far-reaching changes may occur in the future.

Three factors will probably influence the future of China. First, the
emergence of neo-communism, as in Czechoslovakia in 1968, in an attempt
to soften traditional communist practice. Second, the outcome of the war
in Vietnam. Will China be able to continue its eighteenth-century dream
of direct or indirect domination of South-east Asia? Will North Vietnam
detach itself from China and attach itself more closely to Russia? Will
Russia and China continue to create separate spheres of influence in
Asia, Africa, and South America? The first factor depends on
developments inside China, the second on events outside, and at least in
part on decisions in the United States, Japan, an