Jiang Zemin

For Hong Kong, the Monday hand-over ceremonies meant the end of history, in more ways than one. They marked the effective end of a remarkable age, a half-century from 1947 to 1997 during which the world's European powers divested themselves of virtually all the colonies they seized in the 19th century. The hoopla also marked the end of China's ability to blame history for what happens in the present day.

Attempting to shake up China's mammoth military establishment, President Jiang Zemin has ordered the armed forces to pull out of the commercial ventures that have enriched them for years through ownership of everything from five-star hotels to taxi companies, state-run media reported Wednesday.

If you want to understand the larger underlying meaning of next week's summit between President Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin, consider for a moment the heretofore untold story of the White House tent. When the administration began making plans for the state dinner that Clinton will host for Jiang next week, American officials suggested to their Chinese counterparts that a tent could be pitched on the White House's South Lawn.

For Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Tuesday's summit with President Clinton in New York is the latest rite of passage in his quest to replace 91-year-old Deng Xiaoping at the helm of Chinese power. Like the labors of Hercules, Jiang must meet a series of tests to stake his claim as the true leader of China's 1.2 billion people.

People remember Chairman Mao Tse-tung for this famous dictum: "Power comes from the barrel of a gun." Mostly forgotten, however, is the second part of the quotation: "The party commands the guns. It is unacceptable that the guns command the party." It is an axiom of modern Chinese history that controlling the nearly 3-million-strong People's Liberation Army is key to holding power in the Communist state.

In the final years of his life, Deng Xiaoping, following the ancient tradition of the emperors, ruled China indirectly. After resigning his chairmanship of the powerful Military Affairs Commission in 1989, Deng's only remaining official titles were honorary chairman of the Soong Ching-ling Foundation, a charity group, and most honorary chairman of the China Bridge Assn. Yet until his death he continued to be the preeminent power in China, the "paramount leader" of 1.

It's hard to create a cult of personality when so many people think you don't have one. That's the tough lesson China's No. 1 leader, President Jiang Zemin, has learned, despite a media offensive by his handlers that would put many U.S. politicians to shame. He kisses babies, sings at state banquets and hires pollsters to tell him how he's doing. His face is plastered on billboards and book covers.

Taiwan's top envoy to the mainland met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Sunday, capping the highest-level talks to be held in China between the rival governments in nearly 50 years. While neither side claimed any breakthroughs, the meeting signaled a cautious rapprochement between Taipei and Beijing after both sides agreed last week in Shanghai to resume formal talks. China broke off their dialogue in 1995 in anger over a visit to the United States by Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui.

Soon to be found on bookshelves across China: the Bill Clinton-Jiang Zemin story. Although not nearly as titillating as some of the sagas now circulating in Washington, this 237-page glossy paperback with smiling Presidents Clinton and Jiang on the cover is still something of a political milestone. For one thing, few other government-authorized books in recent memory have offered such a positive spin on the United States. Besides eight pages of color photographs from Jiang's Oct. 26-Nov.

Chinese caught in waves of arrests after the army's suppression of the pro-democracy movement are emerging from prisons with descriptions of overcrowded prison cells, beatings and brutal interrogations, foreign diplomats said Sunday. At least 5,000 people have been arrested in Beijing alone, the diplomats added, quoting informed Chinese sources. The Chinese capital has been under martial law since May 20. Arrests are often made at night by plainclothes police in unmarked cars.