Of Tolerance

In Nanking last week China's first National Assembly convened; its 3,000 members will elect the nation's President and Vice President. The occasion, which marked China's precarious transition from one-party regime to parliamentary government, was not without incident. Ten Kuomintang dissenters who were under party censure for getting themselves elected as "independents" staged a hunger strike in the gold-&-cream Assembly hall. Cunning officials placed trays of tea, cakes and dumplings before them, to no avail. The "irregulars'" spokesman bought a white coffin with black stripes, threatened to bring it into the Assembly as a token of protest.

After 19 hours the hunger strikers finally permitted themselves to be taken home by policemen. Tired-looking Chiang Kai-shek welcomed the delegates and then, in a mildly tolerant gesture, returned to his residence to have tea with the "irregulars." The day before, the Generalissimo had attended the last meeting of the People's Political Council (which for ten years had functioned as China's provisional Parliament). In his farewell address, Chiang had some significant things to say about tolerance: "I have committed many blunders during these past ten years, but the worst was my tolerance toward the Communists. I allowed them to take part in the People's Political Council and gave them other privileges which resulted in our present civil war. However, I am confident that we will not repeat this mistake."

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