Togetherness in Peking

The mood at the 25th anniversary of the People's Republic was almost unpolitical, by Peking's standards. Unlike past celebrations of Chairman Mao Tse-tung's triumph, which were usually dominated by purposive displays of military muscle, this year's holiday had an air of festive gaiety.

In Peking's splendidly decorated parks, acrobats, singers and dancers performed for the crowds. There were spectacular fireworks, the ever-popular lion dance, and elaborate fairground games. At one game, youngsters could take part in simulated shoot-downs of enemy aircraft; at another, engineering students could test their skills at a mock-up oil-drilling station. If they correctly manipulated the levers and buttons, a dark liquid gushed into the air.

Conspicuously present at the celebration were some of China's new national heroes. Among them: a militiaman from Sinkiang who helped capture a Soviet helicopter that strayed--or intruded--across the Chinese border last March. China's insouciant mood in fact contrasted markedly with the tone of Soviet pronouncements; just before Peking's silver anniversary, the Moscow press had let fly the ultimate in ideological insults, for the first time terming Peking's policy "anti-Communist." The Chinese scarcely seemed to pay attention. Their purpose was to establish an every thing-as-normal mood.

The main propaganda theme of the anniversary was the need for unity--understandable in light of the uncertainties facing China. Chairman Mao did not show up for any of the proceedings, feeding speculation that the 81-year-old leader was too frail to withstand the strains of a public appearance.

That did not come as a surprise, but the failure of Premier Chou En-lai to appear on Oct. 1 did. The night before, Chou had presided triumphantly at a banquet in Peking's Great Hall of the People. While 1,500 Chinese viPs and 4,500 foreign guests thunderously applauded, Chou had drunk a toast to unity "on behalf of Great Leader Chairman Mao, of the Party's Central Committee and of the Chinese government." After his 45-minute appearance, Chou, 76, apparently returned to a Peking hospital to continue treatment for what most analysts believe is a serious heart ailment.

Display of Unity. Chou's effort to get off his sickbed for the showpiece banquet was the high point of an impressive display of togetherness in Peking. Most of the 21-member Politburo also showed up at the affair. It marked the first time that they have been seen together since the current Politburo was formed 13 months ago. Equally important, some 60 officials whose names had not been mentioned in public since the great purges of the Cultural Revolution took their place alongside such radical firebrands as Madame Mao and her close associate in the Politburo, Yao Wenyuan.

It was a major step in Premier Chou's efforts to create a stable party hierarchy for the future. But his fading health endangers his carefully engineered display of unity. Many experts last week were predicting a quick return to political infighting and jockeying for position, once the bloom of the 25th anniversary has faded.

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