The thousands of forgotten innocent victims—the massacre of Shaoyang County, Hunan 1968

I grew up in the cradle of revolution—the province of Hunan and received “red” education since I was little. Everything I saw, everything I heard, made me revere and long for “revolution”. When the Cultural Revolution began, I welcomed it with the pure passion of a child.

That passion lasted until 1968, the year two massacres occurred in succession in Daoxian and Shaoyang of Hunan province. From then on, I came to have my own understanding of the nature of the Cultural Revolution.

Mao Zedong: the Giant Shadow over the Contemporary Politics of China

Written by He Qinglian
(translated by krizcpec)

In recent years, the clouds over China's future is thickening. Whether as an alternative political model for future China or as a historic question that cannot be sidestepped, Mao Zedong and his governing approach is getting more frequently into the view of the public. 

On August 27 this year, over a hundred liberals inside the Communist Party of China and intellectuals attended a seminar marking the 30th anniversary of "The Resolution on certain historical problems of the Party since the founding of the People's Republic" (关于建国以来党的若干历史问题的决议), and again they stated that a correct understanding of the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong is crucial for present politics of  China. 

Perspectives to understanding the historic roles of Mao Zedong
Beijing's reluctance to face the history and its use of various propaganda machine to deliberately magnify the bright side of Mao Zedong's political carrier would result not only in the misunderstanding of Mao among the young generation, but also profound confusion in the political thinking of the Chinese people.

From Revolutionary to Dictator, who does Muammar Gaddafi resemble the most?


By He Qinglian on August 24, 2011
(translated by krizcpec)

After the 2011 “Jasmine Revolutions” in MENA, the “Club of Tyranny” formed by the world's dictators has lost several of its members.

“Dictators” typically mean those leaders who obtain the highest power in authoritarian or totalitarian regimes. Looking back at the way they rose to power, one would find something interesting: although some became leaders of their countries through democratic elections first and realized dictatorship after their cabinets were formed; even more of them, however, headed for dictatorship through the revolutionary road. From revolution leaders to dictators, these people didn't seem to need any change in the way they thought and acted. The only difference was whether or not they had powers in their hands.
 

How would clashes of civilizations take place from now on?

Written by He Qinglian on September 8, 2011
(translated by krizcpec)

The year 2011 will be an important one in world history. Because in this year, the outbreak of “Jasmine Revolutions” in MENA make it clear that—
One) The main impetus of these revolutions is the awakening rights consciousness of the people. Given that rights consciousness is something unique to Western civilization, thus the so-called “clash of civilizations” has changed from wars between countries as well as the war on terror into confrontations between the people requesting their rights and the leader holding onto their powers inside totalitarian states;
Two) The clash between Western and Muslim civilizations has relegated to secondary status while the clash between the pseudo-Chinese civilization—a combination of Oriental despotism and Communism—and the Western civilization will become increasingly sharpened in the form of internal confrontations. 

Why would the wealth of dictators end up evaporated? (Two)

Written by He Qinglian on August 29, 2011
(translated by krizcpec)

In “Why would the wealth of dictators end up evaporated? (One)” I went through the background of the Swiss Dictator Assets Law. In this article I would write about the legal basis for Britain, the United States and other countries to freeze assets of MENA dictators.

This round of actions by Western countries like Britain and the United States to freeze assets of dictators based on UN Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973, which drew their legitimacy from Article 41 of the UN Charter: “The Security Council may decide what measures not involving the use of armed force...” so that international peace and security can be maintained. The freezing of assets belonging to the dictator is of course a measure that does not involve the use of armed force.

Why would the wealth of dictators end up evaporated? (one)


Written by He Qinglian on August 26, 2011
(translated by krizcpec)

After revolutions broke out in MENA, a striking phenomenon appeared. Britain, U.S. and Switzerland, one after another, announced a freeze on the huge wealth that Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak, and Muammar Gaddafi have accumulated and deposited in Western Democracies.

These democracies unanimously pledged that once the new governments in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have completed relevant legal procedures, the assets of the above mentioned dictators will be returned to the countries concerned.