Foreign News: China's Stumbling Leap

Four months ago Peking boasted that true Communism would be achieved in as little as "three to six years." Last week the Chinese Reds sang a different tune: it might take "15 or 20 years" to do the job. And in the midst of these signs of strain, Red Boss Mao Tse-tung stepped down from the prestigious but not crucial position of head of state, which he has held ever since 1949. He remained as party chairman—the key job in Communist China.

These decisions were made at Wuchang in central China, where every prominent Communist in the nation, save one,* gathered for...

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