Committee--the body of which Lin Piao had been "in charge"
 since 1960.
 34. Another directive was issued by the Military
 Affairs Committee on 28 January concerning the conduct
 of the Cultural Revolution within the armed forces. Orders
 were reportedly issued that soldiers, "especially
 commanders," were not to be arrested or physically
 harmed, although they might be "ridiculed." Attacks
 against individuals were to be permitted but it was
 forbidden to "criticize the command" itself. The
 implied guarantee of immunity to most senior officers
 may reflect a successful attempt to reassure PLA leaders,
 which brought the weight of the armed forces behind
 the authorities in Peking.
 The Army Gets in Line
 35. With the armed forces no longer on the sidelines,
 provincial resistance began to collapse
 during the last week in January. On 27 January a radiobroadcast
 from the capital of Anhwei Province announced
 the dismissal of provincial first secretary Li Pao-hua
 and four other local party and government figures. Li
 was also third secretary of the headless East China
 Bureau and was probably a client of Tao Chu.
 36. A new type of government organization began
 to appear in the provinces based on a three-way alliance
 between military, party, and "revolutionary" elements.
 The first of these alliances appeared in Heilungkiang
 around 1 February, a second in Fukien on 11 February,
 and a third was announced in Kweichow on 14 February.
 Propaganda broadcasts concerning all of these new organizations
 stressed the key role of the armed forces
 in setting them up. A representative of the PLA was
 the featured speaker in the inaugural rally in Heilungkiang.
 In Fukien, Han Hsien-chu, the ranking professional
 military figure in the Foochow Military Region,
 and Wei Chin-shui, who is governor and a party secretary,
 were the principal speakers. Military men and "revolutionary
 leading cadres"--the term Peking began to use
 to describe acceptable party leaders in the provinces-took
 the leading roles, with "revolutionary elements"
 taking a subordinate position.
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