Cultural Revolution: still no-go area - Zhang Lijia

Zhang Lijia

The 50-year anniversary of the Cultural Revolution has passed mostly in silence. China media mentioned briefly the event was with hindsight not a good idea, much of the families of Chinese leader - including the Xi family - suffered from it, but talking to victims is not easy discovered the Globe&Mail. Author Zhang Lijia comments.

The Globe&Mail:

Three people contacted by The Globe and Mail for this article declined to talk, citing worries about surveillance. One person postponed an interview by two days, after authorities told him to stay home. Police physically blocked another couple from leaving their home to meet friends for a regular monthly meeting this week. They met The Globe and Mail at a tea house instead, and frequently looked out the window to uniformed police standing outside. 

“What the government is doing is disgraceful, trying to silence people,” said Zhang Lijia, a Beijing-based author and cultural observer. 

“It’s such a major event which has shaped China, and they don’t allow people to discuss it because they don’t want open discussion of anything negative associated with the Chinese Communist Party.” 

That has cut off most avenues of discussion outside the home.

More in the Globe&Mail.

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