BBC News: China Cultural Revolution murder trial sparks debate

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China Cultural Revolution murder trial sparks debate
The Cultural Revolution radicalised young Chinese into acts of violence against "elites"

The trial in China of an elderly man accused of murder during the Cultural Revolution has sparked online debate.
The man, reportedly in his 80s and surnamed Qiu, is accused of killing a doctor he believed was a spy.
The Cultural Revolution, launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, was an era of violence against intellectuals and other alleged bourgeois elements.
Some have questioned why one man is on trial so belatedly when so few officials have been brought to account.
Prosecutors say that in 1967 Mr Qiu, from Zhejiang province, strangled the doctor with a rope.
Charges were filed against him in the 1980s and he was arrested last year, Global Times reported.
Mao's 10-year Cultural Revolution was intended to produce massive social, economic and political upheaval to overthrow the old order.
Ordinary citizens - particularly the young - were encouraged to challenge the privileged, resulting in the persecution of hundreds of thousands of people who were considered intellectuals or otherwise enemies of the state.

[blockquote]Insults, abuse, maltreatment and homicide were common. The social order was in chaos”
[/blockquote]EditorialChina Youth DailyThe BBC's John Sudworth in Shanghai says the topic of what went on during the Cultural Revolution remains highly sensitive in China and public discussion of it is limited, but that the trial has caused fierce debate online.
One internet user said Mr Qui was a "pawn", saying the authorities "don't dare punish people who should be held accountable such as senior officials", AFP reports.
The South China Morning Postquoted one useras asking: "What about those big names who started the Cultural Revolution? "How come they never took any responsibility?"
The state-run China Youth Daily published an outspoken editorial comparing the excesses of the period to the Nazi atrocities in Europe.
"The most shocking thing about the Cultural Revolution was the assault on human dignity. Insults, abuse, maltreatment and homicide were common. The social order was in chaos," it said.
It suggested that unless the period was finally allowed to be openly reviewed there was a danger of the chaos and violence returning, warning that many people harbour nostalgic views of it.
Wang Shun'an, director of the Institute of Criminology at the China University of Political Science and Law, told theGlobal Times:"It's not right to put the blame on individuals during a period when the legal system was almost nonexistent. Both the culprits and the victims were sacrificed by the political factions of that era."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21529138

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A Zhejiang man in his 80s was tried at his home on Monday for allegedly killing a doctor in 1967 during the Cultural Revolution, the state-run China News Service reported on Tuesday.

The man, identified by his last name as Qiu, was accused of killing a doctor surnamed Hong, who was suspected of spying for a rival militia group.

Qiu told the mobile court in Ruian , Zhejiang, that he was ordered by members of a civilian militia group in 1967 to execute Hong, the news agency said in a short story.

Qiu strangled Hong with a piece of rope and chopped off his legs with a shovel before burying him, the report said.

Qiu was arrested in July last year after being on the run "for decades", the report added.

In an ironic turn of events, China News Service removed the story from its own website, Chinanews.com.cn, on Wednesday without giving any explanation. But the story had already been carried on many large news sites and Web portals including Xinhuanet.com and Sina.com.cn and sparked heated discussion on weibo, China's Twitter-like social media service.

"What about those big names who started the Cultural Revolution?" said one internet user. "How come they never took any responsibility?"

"How about the thousands of other murderers?" wrote another. And one said: "The murders and those who died are all victims of the Cultural Revolution."

The "Great Cultural Revolution", which was started by Mao Zedong in 1966 and ended after his death a decade later, remains a sensitive topic.

After a brief period of official soul-searching and semi-open discussion about the wrongs done to millions, the Communist Party tries to avoid mentioning the tumultuous period, and keeps tight control on discussion of it in the press.

Armed conflicts broke out between different factions of Red Guards, fanatic youths inspired by Mao to "continue the revolution", soon after the mass movement started in 1966.

Many believe the government fears an open debate could be used to undermine its official history of a period.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/a ... cultural-revolution