Editing Hua Guofeng (section)

==Removing the Gang of Four==
Mao died on 9 September 1976 and Hua, as both the second highest-ranking member of the CCP and premier, led the national commemorations in Beijing in his honor in the days that followed, and was the keynote speaker during the national memorial observance in the capital's [[Tiananmen Square]]. At the time, the highest power organ of the country, the Politburo Standing Committee, consisted of Hua, Marshal [[Ye Jianying]], [[Zhang Chunqiao]], and [[Wang Hongwen]]; Ye was in semi-retirement, and Zhang and Wang were part of the [[Gang of Four]].<ref name="koushu"/>

Hua knew that in the post-Mao power vacuum, his position vis-a-vis the Gang of Four's would be a zero-sum game. That is, if the Gang of Four were not removed through use of force, the Gang might attempt to oust him pre-emptively.<ref name="koushu">{{cite news|script-title=zh:华国锋口述：怀仁堂事变真实经过|url=http://culture.dwnews.com/history/news/2016-11-03/59779675.html|work=Duowei|date=3 November 2016|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-date=8 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608222937/http://culture.dwnews.com/history/news/2016-11-03/59779675.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hua made contact with Ye days after Mao's death to discuss plans about the Gang of Four. Ye had grown disillusioned with the Gang before Mao's death, so he and Hua came to a quick agreement to act  against the Gang.<ref name="koushu"/>

Hua crucially enjoyed the support of Mao's loyal security chief, [[Wang Dongxing]], who had command of the elite [[8341 Special Regiment]], as well as other leading figures on the Politburo, including Vice Premier [[Li Xiannian]] and General [[Chen Xilian]], Commander of the [[Beijing Military Region]], as well as [[Luo Qingchang]], chief of the intelligence services.<ref name="koushu"/><ref name="bio1"/> The group discussed ways to remove the Gang, including holding a Politburo or Central Committee meeting to oust them through established party procedure, but the idea was shot down because the Central Committee was, at the time, composed of many of the Gang's supporters. Eventually, the group decided to use force.

The members of the Gang were arrested on 6 October, soon after midnight.<ref name="hsü">{{Citation |last=Hsü |first=Immanuel Chung-yueh |title=China Without Mao: the Search for a New Order |page=18 |year=1990 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19536-303-5}}</ref> Hua had summoned Zhang Chunqiao, Wang Hongwen, and Yao Wenyuan to a meeting at [[Zhongnanhai]], ostensibly to discuss the fifth volume of Mao's "Selected Works". They were arrested while walking into the meeting at [[Huairen Hall]]. According to Hua's own recollection of events, he and Marshal Ye Jianying were the only two leaders present at the "meeting", awaiting the arrival of the members of the Gang. Upon the arrest of each of the three, Hua personally announced to them the reasons for their detention. Hua said that they had engaged in "anti-party and anti-socialist" acts and "conspired to usurp power". Jiang Qing and [[Mao Yuanxin]] were arrested at their respective residences.<ref>Hsin, Chi. ''The Case of the Gang of Four.'' Revised ed. Hong Kong: Cosmo, 1978. Print.</ref>

A task force led by [[Geng Biao]] occupied the headquarters of the party's main propaganda organs, which were considered a part of the Gang's turf at the time.  Another group was dispatched to stabilize [[Shanghai]], the Gang's main regional power base. At an emergency Politburo meeting the next day, Hua Guofeng was appointed as [[Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party|chairman of the CCP]] and the [[Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China)|chairman]] of the [[Central Military Commission (China)|Central Military Commission]] (CMC), the governing body of [[People's Liberation Army]] (PLA).{{Sfn|Li-Ogawa|2022|p=126}} Hua's accession to the top leadership was legitimized by a quote from Mao saying "With you in charge, I am at ease", published afterwards of the purge of the Gang, used as an evidence of Mao's "boundless trust" on Hua.{{Sfn|Li-Ogawa|2022|p=131}} The PLA had been critical to Hua's appointment.{{Sfn|Lampton|2024|p=68}}