C.21 The Cultural Revolution Is Coming Back?

Chairman Jiang Zemin, Premier Zhu Rongji, and all members of the central government:

We would like each of you to ask yourself: "How did I live through the Cultural Revolution?" and "How do I think and feel about it after the ten-year disaster?" Then, please look again at the situation in China after July 22, 1999. What have you seen and what have you heard? The time of thirty years ago has come back. It was a time without a distinction between right and wrong. Now everyone has to be checked. Lies are everywhere in the news media. Neighbors, colleagues and families are against one another blindly. No one avoids the crises. Each person has to write a self-criticism letter. We have seen physical punishments, salary suspensions, job dismissals, the use of brutal force, and personal attacks. The tragedy of history is repeated and spread all over China. It was this period that people feel frightened to think back on. It was a chaotic time that people are scared to death of. Chairman Jiang Zemin, Premier Zhu Rongji and all members of the central government, isn't it true that each of you experienced this kind of darkness at that period of time? Have you forgotten this so quickly? Why do you want to reinforce the things that you have once hated so much to your innocent people?

A survivor of the Cultural Revolution

July 30, 1999