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TWE was it true that Lin Biao sought to overthrow Mao Zedong? - Coggle…
TWE was it true that Lin Biao sought to overthrow Mao Zedong?
Official Account from the Chinese Government
Documents from the CCP Central Committee accuse Lin Biao of the following charges: he conspired to assassinate Mao, attempted to take over the party through a military coup, and tried to defect to the USSR and was killed along the way
However, Lin Biao did not seem to need to do so as he was already in a position to be handed over the power without needing to assassinate Mao. Was Mao’s “closest comrade-in-arms and successor” and his succession to the party chairmanship was already written in the party constitution.
His fleeing to the Soviet Union is also questioned as he despised the Soviet Union. E.g. he joined the 1942 Yanan Rectification Campaign aimed at students returning from the USSR known as the Internationalist Clique. As defence minister, he often criticized the Soviet Union openly, especially during the Sino-Soviet border tensions. Doesn't make sense for him to go to USSR, likely would have gone to South China instead where he had military support.
He was accused of being involved in Project 571 but the outline was badly planned. E.g. reliance on Air Force when Lin Biao had access to extensive ground forces too. Difficult to believe it was his plan considering Lin Biao was a reputable military man known for being an excellent strategist. Therefore suspected that the plan was actually drafted by Lin Biao’s son, Lin Liguo
What happened?
13 Sep 1971 - Lin Biao allegedly died in a plane crash in Mongolia along with some of his family members
He had apparently been fleeing to the Soviet Union having been accused of attempting to assassinate Mao and launching a military coup to seize power.
Still a mystery as to the true cause of his death
Highly sensitive issue within the CCP as they had to explain how Mao’s #2 and the “beloved Vice Chairman” of the people was denounced almost overnight
CCP is still reluctant to discuss the issue as if evidence proves Mao wrong, his reputation would be tarnished from whom the CCP still derives its legitim
Alternative perspective by Yao Ming-le in his book
Argues that the accusations of Lin Biao were actually fabricated by Mao and his bodyguard, Wang Dongxing. The increasing influence of Lin Biao and his generals annoyed Mao. However, in order to purge them, they had to accuse him of a heinous crime - an assassination attempt.
Claims that Project 571 was designed by Lin Liguo and his younger co-conspirators rather than Lin Biao and his generals. This explains the ineptness of the plans.
Still does suggest that Lin Biao planned a coup but a more carefully planned and organized one - Jade Tower Mountain Scheme
Planned to use Sino-Soviet border tensions to persuade Mao and Zhou to seek refuge in the Jade Tower Mountain underground installation where they could be gassed and Lin Biao can seize power.
However, this claim is also limited as people question if Lin Biao, being a genius military strategist, would risk an international war to assassinate Mao.
Yao also claims that Mao found out about Lin Biao’s plot and subsequently invited him and his wife to his villa for a dinner and then ordered for them to be attacked with rockets as they returned home. Instead, it was Lin Liguo and his colleagues whose plane crashed in Mongolia.
This too is questioned as plenty of evidence suggests that at the time, Lin Biao was instead in a resort at Beidaihe as reported in accounts by Lin Biao’s daughter and his son’s fiance. Yao’s book is also accused of containing uncorroborated and unverified information with inadequate references.
Conclusion
More and more evidence has been surfacing with regard to the Lin Biao incident.
For example, Mongolian officials have not found any hard evidence of Lin Biao’s presence in the plane wreck.
However, these have been largely overlooked and have gone unaddressed by the CCP as they intend to preserve their reputation. Acknowledging Mao’s mistakes may weaken the legitimacy and credibility of the CCP.
In recent years, accounts from those involved directly or indirectly have surfaced which would hopefully provide a clear picture of what truly happened with Lin Biao in 1971.