Past Tense
At the 11th Chinese Communist Party plenary in June 1981, it was admitted that 'the Great Cultural Revolution is Mao's far-Left mistake which inflicted the most serious desperation and losses on the party, the country and the people since the foundation of China.'
The Gang of Four -- all of them were tried, sentenced to either death or imprisonment, and later released (two others accused of involvement died before the trial) -- was said to have 'exploited' the Great Leader for their own nefarious ends. Mao, realising his mistake, had actually turned against them in the final year of his life, went the party line.
All four have since died. Mao's widow Jiang Qing died soon after her release from jail in May 1991, though some reports says she killed herself.
Wang Hongwen, the youngest member of the gang, died of liver cancer in 1992. He was 56.
Zhang Chunqiao, who was freed from prison in 2002, died in April 2005, again due to cancer. He was 88.
Yao Wenyuan, 74, died in December that year.
The revolution was a 'mistake.' But that is about as far as the Communist Party is prepared to go, with the plenary barring all further discussion on the subject.
Today, victims of the Cultural Revolution cannot speak about it for fear of offending the party.
The current leadership of President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao cannot take down Mao's picture from Tiananmen Square and openly condemn the Cultural Revolution.
Because to do so would be to question the legitimacy of the Communist regime.
Mao Zedong smiles while holidaying in the Lushan mountains in 1961. The Chinese official agency distributed this picture after Mao's death in September 1976. 'Great leader Chairman Mao will live forever in our hearts,' said the caption.
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