Internal Section

February 26-March 5

Beijing, First Session of Fifth National People's Congress: Hua Guofeng reports on future work for nation; underestimating economic dislocation, he proposes 120 large-scale projects, and shortages of state funds and economic disruption ensue.

March 18-31

Beijing, national science conference: Hua Guofeng delivers his report Raise Scientific and Cultural Level of Whole Nation. Deng Xiaoping emphasizes that intellectual laborers who serve socialist construction are part of toiling people, and necessity of training large contingent of scientific and technical personnel.

April 5

CPC work to remove label rightist, completed in November. (By end of 1980, those wrongly charged as rightists are rehabilitated.

May 11

Guangming Daily. Initiates national debate with its article Practice is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth. Article warmly welcomed, and debate encouraged by Deng Xiaoping, Ye Jianying, Li Xiannian, Chen Yun, Hu Yaobang, discouraged by Hua Guofeng and Wang Dongxing. Debate spearheads nationwide campaign to emancipate the mind, in preparation for convocation of Third Plenary Session of 11th Party Central Committee.

November 14

Party committee of Beijing Municipality, with approval of CPC Politic bureau, reverses previous position and declares Tiananmen incident thoroughly revolutionary; rehabilitates all those who had been persecuted for their connection with it.

December 18-22

Beijing, Third Plenary Session of 1lth Party Central Committee. concentrates on shift of emphasis in Party's Work, criticizes two whatever's and affirms necessity of correctly understanding Mao Zedong Thought.

Meeting praises sole criterion discussion, defines guidelines for new historical period as emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and looking ahead in unity.

Session ends use of slogans Take class struggle as the key link, Continue revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat. Decides systematically to correct past leftist mistakes.

Endorses decision to concentrate on drive for socialist modernization from 1979 on:

reform over-centralized economic structure

readjust national economy to overcome imbalance and dislocation

develop agriculture

expand Party rules and regulations

improve democratic centralism

strengthen, systematize and legalize socialist democracy.

Elects Chen Yun Party vice-chairman, Deng Yingchao, Hu Yaobang and Wang Zhen additional Politic bureau members; elects the Central Commission for Inspecting Discipline headed by Chen Yun.

¡¡ Foerign Relations

January 26-February 6

Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping visits Burma and Nepal.

May 5-10

Hua Guofeng, chairman of Central Committee of CPC and premier of the State Council, visits Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

May 25

Diplomatic relations established with Oman.

June 9

China protests Vietnam's expulsion and persecution of ethnic Chinese residents. By the end of May, more than 100,000 expelled from Vietnam entered China. China and Vietnam hold talks in Hanoi on August & at deputy foreign minister level concerning Chinese residents in Vietnam. Until September 26, after & rounds of talks, the meeting announced its adjournment without results.

August 9

Diplomatic relations established with Libya.

August 12

Beijing. China and Japan sign Peace and Friendship Treaty. The second article stipulates: ``The contracting parties declare that neither of them seek hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region or in any other region and that each is opposed to efforts by any other country or group of countries to establish such hegemony.''

August 16-Septemher 1

Hua Guofeng visits Romania, Yugoslavia and Iran.

September 8-13

Chinese Party and government delegation with Vice-Chairman of CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of State Council Deng Xiaoping as its head takes part in 30th anniversary of founding of Democratic People's Republic of Korea and visits Korea. Deng Xiaoping holds talks with Kim 11 Sung, general secretary of Workers' Party of Korea and President of Korea.

October 22-29

Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping visits Japan and attends ceremony held to exchange instruments of ratification of China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Thus, the treaty goes into effect.

November 5-14

Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping visits Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

December 16

(Washington time. December 15) In Beijing and Washington, China and the United States respectively issue in advance Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations Between the People's . Republic of China and the United States of America. At the same time, the two countries issue their own statements. Joint communique announces that China and the United States will establish diplomatic relations on January 1, 1979. In the joint communique, the United States recognizes ``the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China'' and that ``there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.'' Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.

The Chinese government in its statement reaffirms that Taiwan is part of China and that it is entirely China's internal affair to work out the way of bringing Taiwan back into the embrace of the motherland and reunifying the country.

The US government in its statement says that on January 1, 1979 the United States of America will notify Taiwan that it terminates diplomatic relations with it and that the mutual defense treaty between the United States and Taiwan is to be terminated in accordance with the provisions of the treaty. The United States also states that it will withdraw the remaining US military personnel from Taiwan within four months.