On this episode of China Uncensored:
Oh oh! It’s a party!
A Communist Party!
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,
I’m your host Chris Chappell.
Today is the 50th anniversary
of China’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
Just how great was it?
Well, it was such a disaster that
even the state-run Global Times called it,
“painful,”
“chaotic,”
and “a devastating decade of political turmoil.”
Even the Communist Party itself admits that
the Great Helmsman Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution was
“a serious mistake,” and that
Mao was “70 percent right and 30 percent wrong.”
Part of that 30 percent wrong is
presumably killing two million people during that time.
Mao began the Cultural Revolution in May 1966
to purge his enemies and restore ideological purity to the Communist Party.
The revolution raged out of control,
only coming to an end because Mao died in 1976.
Not only was it a period of good old fashioned book burning,
temple smashing,
and people yelling—
but also pure political chaos.
You could be a model member of the Communist Party one day,
and the next—purged—
only to later find yourself back on top.
In fact, that’s what happened
to Mao’s eventual successor, Deng Xiaoping.
Twice.
The human cost of the Cultural Revolution was immense.
Groups of violent young people known as the Red Guards
denounced, beat, and even killed people
who were branded "counter-revolutionaries."
In some areas the political frenzy was so insane
that people literally ate these so-called enemies.
People were encouraged to report their neighbors,
friends, even family members.
In 1970, 16-year-old Zhang Hongbing
heard his mother criticize Mao for starting the Cultural Revolution.
He reported her to the police and recommended that she should be shot.
She was beaten and executed.
Now Zhang is trying to tell his story
in hopes that the Cultural Revolution will never happen again.
It's not so easy,
because the Communist Party,
while acknowledging that the Cultural Revolution was a mistake,
doesn't really want people talking about what happened.
So it was a little surprising to suddenly see this:
A massive "patriotic" concert
featuring songs and imagery from the Cultural Revolution.
Complete with slogans like
“People of the world unite and defeat the American invaders and their running dogs.”
Which kind of raises the question:
Who’s idea was this concert?
Amazingly, no one really seems to know.
The performance was put on by the patriotic girl band 56 Flowers
and the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre.
According to the South China Morning Post,
the second group said,
“It had been deceived by its partner,
which claimed to be from an office under the Party’s Central Publicity ­Department.”
That would be “the Central Propaganda Department Office
for the Promotion of Socialist Core Values,”
which apparently does not exist.
State-run Global Times said,
“We do not believe the show has any official backing.”
But it was held in the Great Hall of the People.
That would be like saying a concert at the US Capitol building
had no official backing.
Plus, several officials from the
Central Propaganda Department were in the audience.
And state-run media published articles about the concert.
Until they were deleted.
But here’s a hint at what’s behind it:
Giant picture of Mao Zedong,
giant picture of Xi Jinping.
Giant picture of Mao Zedong,
giant picture of Xi Jinping.
Hmm, if I didn’t know any better,
I’d say someone is trying to make a comparison.
And for Xi Jinping,
that’s a dangerous comparison for people to make.
Ever since Mao,
the Party has been terrified of the thrall of a personality cult.
Remember the last guy that tried to start one?
Bo Xilai.
He’s now in jail for life.
And yet it seems like the same kind of cult
is being built up around Xi Jinping.
From memorabilia,
to songs and dance,
to totally impromptu praise from foreign students put out by Chinese media.
"A very humble leader."
"Powerful Chinese leader."
"A wise and resolute president."
"Handsome, yah!"
So this concert can’t actually be good for Xi, right?
Well, that may be the point.
The day after the Cultural Revolution concert,
Xi just so happened to give a speech warning
about “cabals and cliques” within the Communist Party.
He said, “There are careerists and conspirators
existing in our Party and undermining the Party’s governance.”
And by governance he most likely means himself.
Since Xi stepped onto the stage in 2012,
there’s been a constant power struggle between Xi
and the people who used to hold the reins within the Communist Party:
a faction—or “cabal”, if you will—
affiliated with former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin.
And it just so happens that many of the most powerful members of
Jiang’s old guard have been purged in Xi’s so-called anti-corruption campaign.
But hey, as Xi said,
the “fight against corruption is...not a ‘House of Cards’ power struggle.”
So I was right!
Xi Jinping does watch House of Cards.
Anyway, Xi has been amassing power and titles.
He just appointed himself as China’s first ever Commander-in-Chief.
So is he the next Mao?
Well, as Roderick MacFarquhar,
an expert in elite Communist Party politics, put it,
“Chairman Mao never needed titles.
Everyone knew who was in charge.”
So was this Cultural Revolution concert
just a way for Xi’s rivals to compare him to Mao,
so they could criticize him and take him down?
Might not be as far fetched as it sounds.
Liu Yunshan—the official in charge of China’s propaganda—
is one of Xi Jinping’s big rivals.
So, there’s a mysterious concert
at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
It appears to have been approved in some way
by the Propaganda Department.
And it could make Xi Jinping look like a dangerous leader
of a personality cult on the anniversary of the Cultural Revolution.
Then, outrage over the concert,
people blame a fake propaganda agency,
censorship ensues.
Evidence of a power struggle?
Or inept political blundering?
Leave your comments below.
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Oh, and if you're interested in learning more about the Cultural Revolution,
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Once again I’m Chris Chappell.
See you next time.