At a retreat in suburban Taipei, the Republic of China's venerable President Chiang Kai-shek passed his 75th birthday in quiet seclusion. The still spry Gimo requested that there be no public celebrations, but 30,000 Formosans jammed into the Presidential Mansion grounds to sign traditional congratulatory scrolls; across the island there were youth rallies, mass choral concerts and, with an eye to the Reds across the strait, mass bayonet exercises. In lieu of birthday cake, all the guests at restaurants, public luncheons and dinner parties were served long, flat noodles, a Chinese symbol of...
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