For Hua to provide overall national leadership for a new era, he needed to convene a party congress, much as Mao had done in 1956 (the 8th Party Congress); Lin Biao had done in 1969 (the 9th Party Congress); and Mao had done yet again in 1973, after Lin Biao's demise (the 10th Party Congress). It takes many months to formulate economic plans, achieve consensus on policies in major spheres, and prepare the documents needed for a party congress. Hua began the work almost immediately after Mao's death and convened the 11th Party Congress on August 12–18, 1977. The Fifth National People's Congress
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