On the Scene

Hong Kong “WENDING! . . . Tongyi!” The controlled press and radio of the People’s Republic of China constantly repeat the same words: “Stability! . . . Unity!”

That formula purports to describe the present condition of the last major country still governed by a Marxist-Leninist autocracy. In reality it is a propitiatory invocation: would-be absolute dictators may talk of stability and unity, but few Chinese are listening. Neither stability nor unity binds the vast expanse of China.