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It is the latter, of course Mao and true communism were the past China had transcended that era and become a capitalist dynamo That was the present And, in Wen’s eyes, Empire was the future
He passed the spot where Mao’s tanks had faht he could hold back themarked the man’s act No one even kneho he was or if he was still alive The moment lived only in people’s memories
At the western edge of the square, Wen reached his destination: a vast,He climbed a wide swath of triple-tiered steps, passed between towering marble columns and entered the Great Hall of the People
Thewas over a thousand feet in width and six hundred feet from front to back Its vaulted roof covered nearly two er by far than the Adoiant Ston, DC
Inside lay several full-sized auditoriuressional Hall of the National People’s Congress Hundreds of offices, conference rooms and work areas were spread about Wen’s official, Party-sanctioned office lay at the southern end
The guards stiffened at Wen Li’s approach and he was hustled through the checkpoint without a word He arrived at the end of the hall to find an old friend waiting outside his door
“Admiral,” he said, as he entered, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’ve co”
Wen had broad influence within the Party, but there were those who didn’t agree with his vision of China’s future, those who thought the current trajectory was sufficient They refused to see the limits put on them by American imperialism
“A warning?” Wen replied “Personal or otherwise?”
“Both,” the Admiral said “Perhaps we should talk inside”
Wen opened the door and the two h the outer office and entered Wen’s inner sanctu plants, stacks of old books and aged furniture of the most basic type
Wen offered the Admiral a seat in an overstuffed chair, as he saw to his plants “The heat is not healthy for them,” he said “It dries the leaves But the cold is no better”
“The saht be said for ht of stepping down?”
Wen put the watering can down “There is no retirement for us,” he said “We die at our postsone way or another”