It is an anniversary that China wants to forget. It’s been 40 years since the start of the Cultural Revolution, one of the most insane episodes of the 20th century when children turned on parents, pupils tyrannised teachers and hundreds of thousands died in the name of class war.
The government held no commemoration. But for one survivor, at least, the lessons of those ”10 years of chaos” must be heeded if China is to develop a modern, law-governed society to match its economic progress.
Zhang Sizhi — the country’s most eminent lawyer — knows the horrors of that period. When the Cultural Revolution was launched on May 16 1966, he was already interned as a condemned ”rightist” in a reform-through-labour camp. And after it ended with Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, he was chosen to defend the chief scapegoats — the ”Gang of Four” — in China’s trial of the century.
In only his second interview in the three decades since, Zhang told The Guardian these experiences convinced him of the need for an independent legal system. Although President Hu Jintao says China is moving towards rule by law, political interference in judicial decision-making is the norm at all levels. ”It is ridiculous that party cadres who have no legal qualification are taking the place of the courts in administering justice,” said Zhang. ”But in the current environment, it has become almost a rule of the game.”
The official history of that period records the May 16 circular in which Mao called for a life-or-death struggle against bourgeois ideology. Textbooks recognise this was a mistake that led to political chaos, economic instability and social unrest as Red Guards publicly humiliated, and sometimes killed, professors, doctors and other ”counter-revolutionaries”.
But questions about responsibility and compensation remain largely unanswered. Although Mao drafted the circular, most of the blame for what followed is usually heaped upon the ”Gang of Four” led by Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing.
At their televised trial, the Gang of Four were accused of persecuting 700 000 people and held responsible for 35 000 deaths. The trial was billed as a resurrection of the rule of law, but it was anything but fair. Like the judge, Zhang was under orders about how to handle the case. ”The key point was not to mention Mao in the courtroom,” he recalled. ”It is still very sensitive to talk about Mao’s mistakes.”
Zhang says political interference is still the legal system’s biggest problem. In Beijing the mayor or the secretary general of the Communist Party often give detailed orders to judges. In big trials it comes in the form of written guidance. But instructions are also made by phone or face to face, which means no one can be held accountable.
International human rights groups say China executes 4 000 to 10 000 people every year. ”Sometimes people are given the death penalty without serious consideration of their crimes,” says Zhang.
Asked whether he had ever won a politically sensitive case in his 50 years as a defence lawyer, Zhang replied. ”No, not one.” But he had not given up. ”The court’s verdict is not the final result. History will be the judge.”
Zhang keeps pushing for legal reform. This year he was among a group of retired senior cadres who wrote an open letter attacking the propaganda department and calling for an end to censorship. Part of their motivation is to avoid a repeat of the past.
”Relationships changed as a result of the Cultural Revolution. The morality level of our country declined. If you want to talk about mistakes made by Mao, this was one of them,” said Zhang, before pausing again. ”I am too frank. That is why I usually deny interviews.”
Is it not better that such things are in the open? ”Yes, this should be talked about. But nowadays, it is not easy to tell the truth.”
That is not the only reason why he thinks there is never likely to be justice for victims of the Cultural Revolution. ”There are so many perpetrators it will never be possible to track them down. How can compensation be paid? So many bad things happened.” — Â