Letter: The Mao Syndrome

Taipei Times: I find it unfortunate that Mao’s 30^th death anniversary was not celebrated this time around. Don’t be mistaken—I’m not one of those nostalgic Mao worshipers. Au contraire, with China emerging as the new economic powerhouse of Asia, I think it is crucial for the free world to remember China’s history and learning not to take things at face value is important. Mao’s anniversary did just that, by keeping us in touch with the true nature of the beast in the midst of this chaotic race towards world domination. It is clear that selective amnesia, being the prime syndrome of just about anyone doing business with China these days, has not only hit the majority but has become second nature for most. Too many people deliberately ignore the fact that the Cultural Revolution never really died--it was merely extended as what we know today to be the persecution of Falun Gong whose members are being butchered for their organs all across China.

"They (the leaders) are still using Mao's class struggle method to attack rights activists and lawyers -- his shadow lingers on," said Gao Yu, a veteran journalist jailed for seven years for writing about sensitive political issues.

China's leaders today forbid criticism of Mao's legacy, fearing public debate will lead to scrutiny of the current regime and threaten its survival, analysts say.

"They are holding onto Mao's corpse and no one is allowed to speak freely about him... otherwise it would be the end (of the regime)," Gao said.

Mao's myth continues to be propagated to legitimize the sovereignty of the regime, said Wu Guoguang, a former aide of late reformist leader Zhao Ziyang" (more)

But all is not lost--kudos to the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party for exposing the CCP’s shocking uncensored history which has spread far and wide in China today. So far 13 million Chinese people reacting to this truth have quit the Party. While the dictators are making some headway with cleaning up the undesirables before the 2008 Olympics, one can only wonder how many more Mao worshipers will follow suit. With the red wall slowly crumbling down, the dictators can no longer divorce themselves from their own miserable gory history of bloodlust and merciless killings leaving them to feel threatened and haunted by their own shadows. I’m sure this is enough to have Chairman Mao turn in his grave while others are digging their own.

“Mao-backed movements like the Great Leap Forward -- a disastrous attempt at speedy industrialization -- and the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution -- a desperate means he used to hold on to power -- led to tens of millions of deaths.

"When you talk about Mao, you cannot avoid mentioning the Cultural Revolution -- you cannot avoid the fact that tens of millions of people were starved to death," said Li Datong, a veteran Chinese journalist." (more)

Nine Commentaries #7: In the most serious famines in China's history prior to the CCP, there were cases in which families exchanged one another's children to eat, but nobody ever ate his own children. Under the CCP's reign, however, people were driven to eat those who died, cannibalize those who fled from other regions, and even kill and eat their own children. The writer Sha Qing depicted this scene in his book Yi Xi Da Di Wan ( An Obscure Land of Bayou ): In a peasant's family, a father was left with only his son and daughter during the Great Famine. One day, the daughter was driven out of the house by her father. When she came back, she could not find her younger brother, but saw white oil floating in the cauldron and a pile of bones next to the stove. Several days later, the father added more water to the pot, and called his daughter to come closer. The girl was frightened, and pleaded with her father from outside the door, "Daddy, please don't eat me. I can collect firewood and cook food for you. If you eat me, nobody else will do this for you."