Mao Tse-tung may be dead, but the survival of his legacy remains important to the "pragmatic" rulers of China. This presumably is why they banned the June issue of our sister publication, The Far Eastern Economic Review, for carrying a review of a book that reveals the extent of Mao's crimes during his 1949-76 rule.
"Mao: The Unknown Story" is by Jung Chang, author of "Wild Swans," the 1990s best seller that introduced readers world-wide to the horrors of Mao's 1967-76 Cultural Revolution. Her new book is co-written with her husband, the historian Jon Halliday. It was reviewed for the Review by Jonathan Mirsky, whose reporting in his days as East Asia editor for the Times of London is well remembered in Beijing.
For all the pandering to China that is fashionable in the west (and very much so in Ireland), it pays to remember that China is still a police state, where the government chooses to hide much from the public, and lie frequently as well. I have had quite a few Chinese explain to me their concern about a Taiwanese invasion of China.Posted by sjostrom on July 03, 2005 12:46 PM
