ABSTRACT
Some people naturally overestimated the political role and influence of the Army in China's domestic politics. At a time when the People's Liberation Army has become the key to government In China, the formal doctrines of Communism, while acknowledging the merits of martial qualities, continue to suggest that events are shaped more by peasants and workers than by soldiers. Ever since its establishment in 1949, the People's Republic of China had been successively governed by the Army and the Party. Teng Rsiaoping's appointment as Chief of Staff is a shrewd device to further strengthen and tighten Party control over the army. The People's Liberation Army's possible role in the battle of succession and/or the army being utilized by an "ambitionist" to further Lin Piao own ends are matters of acute concern and a source of fear for the Party leadership.
