First Published: Workers Viewpoint, Vol. 5, No. 8, March 8, 1980.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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The “good” name of Liu Shaoqi has been restored in China today. Liu was the chief of state who was stripped of His position and kicked out of the Communist Party of China in the 60’s during the Cultural Revolution. At that time he was judged by the Communist Party and the Chinese people to be a “renegade, traitor and scab”. But recently the Central Committee of the Chinese Party, after a week-long meeting, announced that this verdict was totally unjustified. Liu was “a great Marxist” they said. They also reversed the previous Central Committee’s (under Chairman Mao) decision to take away Liu’s position.
Cleaning up Liu’s rotten name represents the clearest attack on Mao’s policies to date, especially the policies developed during and after the Cultural Revolution. The Central Committee’s decision is meant to officially discredit Mao and okay the revisionist policies today such as: each factory manager now has the right to hire and fire workers based only on which makes more money; enlarging the free market in the countryside and breaking up the communes and planned agricultural production.
The present Central Committee also recommended changing the Chinese Constitution to take away the Chinese people’s right to “speak out freely, air their views fully, hold great debates and write big character posters.” This right was adopted under Mao’s leadership during the 4th People’s Congress in 1974. The official reason for taking away these rights is to crack down on the “human rights” movement in China. But the real reason is that the revisionist leaders want to tighten their control over the Chinese people. Since the revisionist policies have failed to solve the economic crisis and joblessness among youth, there has been more resistance from the people. This decision is a step to end proletarian democracy and move toward a more fascist rule.