http://www.economist.com/news/china/21648705-criticising-founder-communist-china-still-considered-blasphemous-mao-taboo
An article on contemporary Chinese criticism of Mao Zedong was published in this week’s Economist magazine. An unknown individual secretly taped a very popular Chinese television personality, Bi Fujian, mockingly singing a Cultural Revolution era opera and calling Mao a son of a bitch. The video went viral and Mr. Bi was suspended from his job and apologized publically. Evidently, a certain amount of respectful criticism is permissible. According to the article, Deng Xiaoping said that Mao was “70% right and 30% wrong.” Mr. Bi’s comments crossed the line. This article raises many questions in light of what we have been learning. Were the founders of the China’s great dynasties similarly revered and considered beyond criticism? How does Mao stand up to the scrutiny of a Confucian critique of his leadership? What is the opportunity cost of government censorship for modern China? Certainly there must be tremendous resources dedicated to maintaining the “Great Firewall” and monitoring social media?
edited by cgao on 4/20/2015
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