The World: Last Respects for Chairman Mao

Only six American journalists, among them TIME Diplomatic Editor Jerrold Schecter, witnessed the official mourning for Mao Tse-tung. Schecter, who was accompanying former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger on his trip to China, last week filed this report on the scene at the Great Hall of the People, where Mao's body lay in state:

An honor guard of workers, peasants and students stood at attention along our route from the Peking Hotel to the Great Hall. The broad T'ien An Men Square, where Mao had once reviewed well-drilled throngs, was empty of traffic except for a line of diplomatic cars. Dominating the scene...