One hundred years after his birth, the late leader should be remembered for his tolerance and not repurposed for the party’s benefit, scholars say
South China Morning Post
Verna Yu
November 20, 2015
A woman from Hunan province pays her respects to late leader Hu Yaobang at the Fuhua Mountain Yaobang Memorial Park in Gongqingcheng, Jiangxi province. Photo: Simon Song
The centenary on Friday of the birth of Hu Yaobang is a time for the present regime to remember the late leader’s spirit of liberalism and tolerance and not just play up the legacy that benefits the Communist Party, analysts say.
The late party chief, whose death in 1989 sparked the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests, was born 100 years ago to a poor family in Hunan province. Known for his liberal and undogmatic style, Hu was in charge of China’s economic and political reform efforts in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, but was purged in 1987 for tolerating “bourgeois liberalisation”. He was also accused of being too lenient with students protesting in 1986 for democracy and freedoms.
Hu died on April 15, 1989, from a heart attack. People saw him as a victim of oppression from the conservative leaders and hundreds of thousands turned out on the streets to mourn him. The mourning later transformed into the Tiananmen pro-democracy movement, which ended in the June 4 crackdown.
A formal commemorative ceremony is expected to be held today, and other remembrance activities will take place in his hometown in Liuyang on Monday.
The official People’s Publishing House released a collection of his essays and speeches on Thursday, Xinhua reported. His son, Hu Deping, said at the Central Party School this week it was published with the permission of the Central Committee’s document research office headed by President Xi Jinping . A five-part documentary on Hu’s life would also be broadcast on state television from Friday, news portal Sohu reported.
Hu Yaobang (left) and Deng Xiaoping in the 5th National People’s Congress in 1978. Photo: China News Service
Son Hu Dehua earlier declined to say if the ceremony would be similar to one held in 2005 at the Great Hall of the People to mark the 90th anniversary of his father’s birth. That event was attended by then-premier Wen Jiabao and former vice-president Zeng Qinghong.
In the run-up to the centenary, a number of articles on Hu’s legacy have appeared in state media, most focusing on his role as a loyal party member, determination to crackdown on corruption, concern for the people and economic reform efforts.
But analysts say the official media have avoided mentioning his democratic leanings and his tolerance for different opinions, even those critical of the government. The media have also avoided any mention of his death and the pro-democracy movement it inspired.
Analysts say the official narratives should not selectively ignore Hu’s liberal side, including his courage to free Chinese people from the strictures of Maoist dogma and his respect for intellectuals. As deputy head of the Central Party School and later the party’s propaganda chief, Hu encouraged independent thinking and rejection of the worship of Mao.
Hu Dehua said last year he was proud of his father’s advocacy of democracy and the rule of law, his opposition to repressive rule and his campaign to rehabilitate political victims.
Hu’s liberal approach is in stark contrast to President Xi Jinping’s style. Xi’s rule has overseen a revival of Maoism, a tightening of ideology and an escalation of crackdowns on government critics.
Yuan Weishi, a retired history professor formerly with Zhongshan University in Guangzhou, said Hu should be remembered for his spirit of political liberalism, adding that he “possessed the qualities of a modern leader” in his respect for citizens’ rights and opposition to the oppression of intellectuals. “It shouldn’t be about form but the inheritance of his spirit. [It should be about] carrying forward his righteous attitude,” Yuan said, noting that although China is open economically, “it is still severely restricted in politics and thought”.
Hu Dehua, poses with a photo of his late father Hu Yaobang. Photo: Simon Song
Hu Yaobang maintained that political reform should go hand in hand with economic reform. In 1986, he was planning a draft law to safeguard press freedoms, but he was purged in 1987 before it could be enacted. Political reforms were stalled after the 1989 crackdown.
For Chen Daoyin, a political scientist at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, Hu is “a landmark figure” in history as he helped restore the party’s political legitimacy after the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). With paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s blessing, Hu embarked on a series of economic and political reform measures and rehabilitated millions of people wrongly persecuted in the 10 years of tumult.
“He was a symbol of China’s transition,” Chen said. “Hu reversed the verdicts [against those wrongly accused] and played a crucial role in winning people’s hearts and minds.”
Now, through commemorating Hu, the authorities want to profit from his popularity, scholars say.
Chen said that by hosting official commemorations of Hu’s birth, the authorities were trying to control the perception of the late popular leader, excluding references to his more human, tolerant reputation.
Instead of letting ordinary people interpret [his legacy], the authorities prefer to grasp the right to interpret it themselvesCHEN DAOYIN
“Instead of letting ordinary people interpret [his legacy], the authorities prefer to grasp the right to interpret it themselves,” Chen said. “History is to serve their political needs”.
He Fang, 93, a former senior foreign ministry official who was purged in the Cultural Revolution but later rehabilitated thanks to Hu, said the authorities wanted to capitalise on Hu’s symbolism, but the democratic spirit and other liberal values he stood for were not important to them.
Analysts noted that Xi’s conservative ideology and heavy-handed approach towards government critics differed not only from Hu, but his own father, who was a Hu ally. Xi Zhongxun, a reformist party elder who suffered in the Cultural Revolution, pushed publicly for protection of different opinions. Last month, the party banned its members from making “inappropriate comments” on its key policies, vilifying party leaders and distorting party history.
Veteran China watcher Ching Cheong said the party had selectively played up the parts of Hu’s legacy “to dress itself up as [Hu’s] legitimate heir” but “it is afraid of his other side, which is liberalism and tolerance”.
“Hu’s real value is not just his righteousness and his anti-corruption stand, but his political liberalism, his liberation of ordinary people from the shackles of Maoist thoughts and his rehabilitation of those wrong accused in Cultural Revolution,” Ching said.
