Scattered applause rippled through Peking's Great Hall of the People last week as the solemn figure in the gray business suit nervously took a seat at the podium. The surprise arrival was none other than the recently disgraced Hu Yaobang, 71, who was purged in January as Communist Party chief and heir apparent to Chinese Leader Deng Xiaoping. Hu's unexpected reappearance at the annual National People's Congress, China's largest policymaking body, marked the latest twist in the protracted power struggle that has shaken the country in recent months and threatened Deng's sweeping economic reforms. Said one of the nearly 3,000 congress...
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