China: Waiting for the Big Verdict

The Gang of Four trial reflects uncertainty at the top

"We're all waiting to see if they will execute her or not." That comment last week, by a university professor who had been imprisoned during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, typified the growing curiosity of China's millions about the outcome of the show trial of Mao Tse-tung's widow Jiang Qing and nine other Chinese "evildoers" in Peking. Hearings ended nearly four weeks ago, after the prosecution demanded the death penalty for Jiang and her notorious Gang of Four. The sentences could finally come this...

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