New podcast #47 and this week's China news brief
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Podcast
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In this episode, we look at how Mao reversed the course of the Cultural Revolution, bringing in the army to end the violence and destruction caused by the factionalism between the Red Guards and other mass organisations. We discuss the much vaunted revolutionary committees, temporary governments made up of a triple alliance between the mass organisations, the Cultural Revolution Group, and the People's Liberation Army.
The original aim of the revolution to promote the masses to positions of power in place of corrupt cadres was replaced by the singular quest to restore the country to order. To do this, Mao relied heavily on the PLA, as well as the cadres who not too long ago were seen as public enemy #1.
Music clips are from "Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman" and "The People of the World Will Surely be Victorious"
00:00 Song "Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman"
00:25 Introduction
06:23 January Revolution
11:50 Song "The People of the World Will Surely be Victorious"
12:05 The Triple Alliance
14:10 The February adverse current
23:20 The Wuhan incident
26:24 The 516 purge
29:30 Resistance to demobilisation
38:10 The failure of the revolution
A few people have asked about Youtube uploads. I am working on them, but it’s taking me a while because of baby duties, work, etc. The Youtube channel will catch up slowly but surely!
News
I’m going to be talking about the Beijing Winter Olympics in next week’s newsletter, so instead of finding news stories, I thought I would share a few interesting long reads I’d come across over the past couple of weeks.
David Cowhig's Translation Blog, 2022: Chinese Law Prof’s Lament and Encouragement: A translation of a post by Tsinghua university law professor Lao Dongyan, which was quickly deleted from all Chinese sources. The post discussed the current start of society and the law in China. Very long, but very good!
NPR, Uyghur kids recall physical and mental torment at Chinese boarding schools in Xinjiang: A long read revealing more about the treatment of the Uyghur people in China’s Xinjiang province. Instead of focusing on adults in camps, this articles discusses what happens to their children from perspective of two kids who were sent to state run boarding schools.
Washington Post, Opinion: China isn’t just ‘authoritarian’ any more. It’s scarier.: Should China be considered fascist, authoritarian, or totalitarian? Or all three? This opinion piece by Melissa Chan explores these questions as she argues China's current rhetoric invokes memories of Nazi Germany.
What’s on Weibo, Mother of Eight Found Chained Up in Shed Next to Family Home in Xuzhou: Video of a mentally ill woman left chained in a doorless shack goes viral on Weibo. The woman has 8 children but was left in appalling conditions, leading online commenters to ask whether or not she was just used for breeding. This is another in a line of viral real life stories of Chinese people, such as the young man who committed suicide after his biological parents rejected him.