Well, being the resident Dean/Wellstone pundit, I would like to point out that during the period, the Chinese government was in a state of civil war, brought about by the clash between the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) under the control of Mao Tse-tung and the Red Guard units under General Lin Biao. After the failed assassination attempt on Mao Tse-tung failed in 1976, General Lin Biao was rumored to have seized control of several nuclear bases in Tibet, along with hijacked several major weapons shipments that had been planned for Vietnam and Laos. Apparently both sides were also afraid overt signs of civil war would cause a Soviet invasion....