802 The China Quarterly since 1954 and formally confirm the altered political situation.Party Vice-chairman Lin Piao and his followers were,of course,eager to use the occasion to assure Lin's designation as Mao's successor and promote Lin's policies. Constitution-making in the 1970s The draft of a revised constitution that was approved by the Party Central Committee in 1970,but was not officially adopted,was a document radically different from the 1954 Constitution.It consisted of a mere 30 articles and 2,000 words,instead of the 106 articles and 15,000 words of its predecessor.24 Major internal changes occurred in China between 1970 and 1975, especially the death of Lin Piao,the purge of his followers,the rebuilding of Party,government and mass organizations under the increasingly powerful leadership of Premier Chou En-lai,and the rehabilitation of many veteran leaders,including Teng Hsiao-p'ing,who had been dismissed during the Cultural Revolution.Vast changes also occurred in China's foreign policy and international standing during that period.Yet the revised constitution that was finally adopted in January 1975 in many respects followed the 1970 draft.25 To be sure,a number of significant changes had been made.It is enough to note here,however,that the 1975 revised Constitution eliminated the 1970 draft's repeated references to "the great leader Chairman Mao Tse-tung"'and dropped any mention of the dead Lin Piao,whom the draft had identified as "Chairman Mao's close comrade-in-arms and successor.''26 It also replaced Mao Tse-tung Thought "with "Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought"as the nation's theoretical guide.It added to the emphasis upon the leadership of the Communist Party of China over the state.And,most important,it inserted the crucial and unique provision that the chairman of the Party Central Committee"commands the country's armed forces,''including the people's militia.27 24.For an English translation of the"Revised draft of the constitution of the PRC," approved by the Party Central Committee 6 September 1970,see Michael Lindsay (ed.), The New Constitution of Communist China:Comparative Analyses (Taipei:Institute of International Relations,1976),pp.312-20. 25.Some observers have stated that there was also a second revised draft adopted by the Party Central Committee in 1973.See,e.g.,Leonid Gudoshnikov,"Two constitutions of the People's Republic of China,"'Far Eastern Affairs,No.3 (Moscow,1975),p.72. Indeed,the Republic of China on Taiwan published an English translation of what purported to be such a document;see Background on China,B.74-13(New York:Chinese Information Service,26 September 1974)and also Lindsay,The New Constitution of Communist China,pp.321-27.Yet two knowledgeable commentators have questioned the authenticity of this document,which will not be discussed here.See Tao-tai Hsia and Kathryn A.Haun,The 1975 Revised Constitution of the People's Republic of China (Washington:Library of Congress,1975),p.2. 26.Article 2,p.314,Lindsay,The New Constitution of Communist China. 27.Article 15 (1975 Constitution).802 The China Quarterly since 1954 and formally confirm the altered political situation. Party Vice-chairman Lin Piao and his followers were, of course, eager to use the occasion to assure Lin's designation as Mao's successor and promote Lin's policies. Constitution-making in the 1970s The draft of a revised constitution that was approved by the Party Central Committee in 1970, but was not officially adopted, was a document radically different from the 1954 Constitution. It consisted of a mere 30 articles and 2,000 words, instead of the 106 articles and lS,000 words of its predecessor. 24 Major internal changes occurred in China between 1970 and 1975, especially the death of Lin Piao, the purge of his followers, the rebuilding of Party, government and mass organizations under the increasingly powerful leadership of Premier Chou En-lai, and the rehabilitation of many veteran leaders, including Teng Hsiao-p'ing, who had been dismissed during the Cultural Revolution. Vast changes also occurred in China's foreign policy and international standing during that period. Yet the revised constitution that was finally adopted in January 1975 in many respects followed the 1970 draft. 2 5 To be sure, a number of significant changes had been made. It is enough to note here, however, that the 1975 revised Constitution eliminated the 1970 draft's repeated references to " the great leader Chairman Mao Tse-tung " and dropped any mention of the dead Lin Piao, whom the draft had identified as " Chairman Mao's close comrade-in-arms and successor."26 It also replaced " Mao Tse-tung Thought " with " Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought " as the nation's theoretical guide. It added to the emphasis upon the leadership of the Communist Party of China over the state. And, most important, it inserted the crucial and unique provision that the chairman of the Party Central Committee " commands the country's armed forces," including the people's militia. 2 7 24. For an English translation of the " Revised draft of the constitution of the PRC," approved by the Party Central Committee 6 September 1970, see Michael Lindsay (ed.), The New Constitution of Communist China: Comparative Analyses (Taipei: Institule of International Relations, 1976), pp. 312-20. 25. Some observers hae stated that there was also a second revised draft adopted by the Party Central Committee in 1973. See, e.g., Leonid Gudoshnikov, " Two constitutions of the People's Republic of China," Far Eastern Affairs, No. 3 (Moscow, 1975), p. 72. Indeed, the Republic of China on Taiwan published an English translation of what purported to be such a document; see Background on China, B.74-13 (New York: Chinese Information Service, 26 September 1974) and also Lindsay, The New Constitution of Communist China, pp. 321-27. Yet two knowledgeable commentators have questioned the authenticity of this document, which will not be discussed here. See Tao-tai Hsia and Kathryn A. Haun, The 1975 Revised Constitution of the People's Republic of China (Washington: Library of Congress, 1975), p. 2. 26. Article 2, p. 314, Lindsay, The New Constitution of Communist China. 27. Article 15 (1975 Constitution)