World Notes CHINA

Despite his 75 years, Hu Qiaomu, the chief guardian of Maoist doctrine and a leading Communist Party theorist, climbed the four flights of stairs as if he relished the task. His destination: the Peking apartment of Playwright Wu Zuguang, 70, an outspoken critic of conservatism in the party and a strong advocate of free speech. Once inside, Hu recited a litany of Wu's ideological sins. The message was clear: leave the party or be expelled. Wu quit on the spot.

The incident was fresh evidence that China's seesaw struggle between doctrinaire Communist hard-liners and pragmatic reformists had taken yet another swing. In recent months, the reformists had been gaining greater control over the economy. Now, however, the ideologues have apparently persuaded Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping that the party cannot afford to shelter those who snipe at its authority. Though Wu was the only intellectual whose departure has been confirmed, as many as four other liberal theoreticians and journalists have reportedly been asked to quit the party.