Chinese officer admits part in Mao death plot

Press, 28 November 1980, Page 7

Chinese officer admits part in Mao death plot

NZPA-Reuter Hong Kong One of five senior military officers on trial in Peking charged with plotting to kill Mao Tse-tung in 1971, has admitted his involvement in the attempt, the New China News Agency has reported. Jiang Teng jiao, aged 61, pleaded guilty to plotting to assassinate Mao when a second tribunal under the special court hearing charges against the officers crossexamined him, the agency said. • ' The special court is also trying the "Gang of Four” radical . leaders, Including Mao’s widow, Jiang Qing, and; Mao’s former political secretary, Chen Boda. Giving his account yesterday of his involvement in the .plot by the former Defence Minister, Lin Biao, to topple Mao. Jiang Tengjiao V said: “We discussed three plans. One. to attack Chairman Mao’s train with flame throwers and 40mm bazookas; two, to attack Chairman .Mao’s train by firing 100 mm anti-aircraft guns point-blank at it; three, to havjß Wang Weiguo carry

out the murder with a pistol when being received by Chairman Mao on the train.” According. to the indictment, Lin Biao’s plan was to attack a train on which Mao was travelling in September, 1971, with flame-throwers, bazookas, guided missiles, and to bomb it from the air. There were also plans to blow up a bridge and, if necessary, set fire to an oil depot in Shanghai near where the train was expected to stop. The plot failed when Mao changed his travel plans at the last minute. Lin Biao, his wife, and his son were killed when their, plane crashed in Mongolia on September 13, 1971, while they were trying to flee to the Soviet Union. Earlier Mao’s widow, Jiang Qing, pleaded ignorance when questioned in court for the first time on charges that she conspired against China’s current strongman, Deng Xiaoping and other moderate Communist leaders in 1974.,

Television viewers saw her., refuse to give direct answers to questions put to her.

At one point she was seen

to lean sideways against the iron bars of the dock in apparent disdain for the proceedings of the special court. When she answered. “1 don’t know,” to a number of questions the judge ordered that her replies be recorded as denials. The charge against Mao’s widow is one of a total of 48 contained in the indictment against the total of 10 defendants. Yesterday a Canton newspaper said that Jiang Qing had been kept in a padded cell after her arrest to prevent her from killing herself and was forced to wear a prison uniform to teach her humility. When the “gang” were first sent to Qin Cheng prison, 40km north of Peking, they were very arrogant, “so the first thing that was done was to strip off their fine robes and exchange them for convicts’ uniforms which are the same for men and women and are all black,” the caper said. “After the ‘Gang of Four’ put on their black convicts’ uniforms, , their expressions became mournful and Jiang Qing bowed her head,” the paper added. -