OTL, a few days before Richard Nixon was scheduled to arrive for his monumental talk with Mao, the Chairman passed out and nearly died. To quote from the excellent Penguin History of Modern China (Jonathan Fenby):
"Finally, on February 1 1972... there was a major scare. Mao began coughing and was so weak that he could not expel the phlegm in his throat. Unable to breathe, he collapsed. Li (Mao's doctor) ran to get emergency equipment, put an oxygen mask on the Chairman, and fitted an intravenous tube into his arm to pump medicine into the bloodstream. When he came round, Mao tried to pull the tube out. The doctor stopped him, explaining that it was keeping him alive..."
Clearly, having him die here is not at all implausible. So, what happens next? It seems a safe bet that Nixon's trip to China will be cancelled, but what effects will this have on the PRC's politics? Zhou Enlai is in Beijing at the time, so it seems safe to say he'd try to claim the succession- but would he be successful? The Gang of Four are still quite strong and always enjoyed the Chairman's backing; might we see them attempt a coup d'etat, possibly even a civil war in the PRC? How would the Americans react to such a thing? What would be the effects on the Sino-Soviet split (obviously, these points depend greatly on whether Zhou can grab power successfully.)
Thoughts?
"Finally, on February 1 1972... there was a major scare. Mao began coughing and was so weak that he could not expel the phlegm in his throat. Unable to breathe, he collapsed. Li (Mao's doctor) ran to get emergency equipment, put an oxygen mask on the Chairman, and fitted an intravenous tube into his arm to pump medicine into the bloodstream. When he came round, Mao tried to pull the tube out. The doctor stopped him, explaining that it was keeping him alive..."
Clearly, having him die here is not at all implausible. So, what happens next? It seems a safe bet that Nixon's trip to China will be cancelled, but what effects will this have on the PRC's politics? Zhou Enlai is in Beijing at the time, so it seems safe to say he'd try to claim the succession- but would he be successful? The Gang of Four are still quite strong and always enjoyed the Chairman's backing; might we see them attempt a coup d'etat, possibly even a civil war in the PRC? How would the Americans react to such a thing? What would be the effects on the Sino-Soviet split (obviously, these points depend greatly on whether Zhou can grab power successfully.)
Thoughts?