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The Forum > Article Comments > Mao Zedong: hero or villain? > Comments

Mao Zedong: hero or villain? : Comments

By Peter West, published 9/9/2016

There are many people living here from Malaysia, Taiwan, and other places whose people identify as Chinese or as Chinese-Australians. Should they be celebrating Mao's anniversary?

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A bit of hypocrisy popped up today on ABC NewsRadio. Big stink about a kid who dressed up as Adolf Hitler for a fancy dress competition (he was judged best dressed) but it's OK for a bunch of Chinese, who supposedly came here for our way of life, to celebrate a monster who actually murdered at least 50 million of them - Chinese people in their own country. I imagine that there would be other Chinese living in Australia who would be just as offended by clearly fascist Chinese celebrating Mao, as other Australians would be offended by a look-alike Hitler.

Personally, I am offended that our own elites allow such people to immigrate here, let alone allow them to laud one of the vilest monsters of modern times. The Hitler kid can be excused because of immaturity; he is not likely to do it again. The Chinese cannot be excused. I would like to say that MORE screening of prospective immigrants is needed, but I'm not sure that there has been ANY worthwhile screening in the past, or now. Our elites have not just decided that we should not be a majority in our own country, they are importing people who are totally opposed to our ways, and these people are not just Muslims.
Posted by ttbn, Friday, 9 September 2016 5:43:27 PM
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Mao himself took official responsibility for 800,000 execution deaths under his rule, due to the civil war aftermath and social unrest.

However, much of the multi-multi-multi-million death figures are heavily anti-communist biased, mostly emanating from the US, and tend to rely on population extrapolations and anecdotal accounts by anti-communist exiles rather than actual records. For example, many of the anecdotally reported atrocities were committed by regional officials overdosing on their petty power fiefdoms (which also happened frequently under the Emperors) not on Mao's or official CCP orders.

By way of comparison, under the Emperors, brutal mass killings and grotesque tortures were the order of the day - especially during the Teiping and Boxer rebellions.

As for the Great Leap Forward famine, Mao also took responsibility for the lives lost, which he admitted was due to disastrous planning. However, this needs to be balanced against past famines - in fact, famine was endemic to China until the 1950s, but there hasn't been a famine since the GLF. Well over 100 million people starved in famines during the 19th century and about 10 million between 1900 and 1949.

Yet, according to Western propaganda, you'd think that famines only came to China under the communists.

Also, a little-known fact about the GLF is that China imported grain from Canada and Australia (about 6 million tons per year, from 1959 to 1962) and wanted to import many times more, but the US put pressure on both countries to limit their sales to China. So, one could also argue that the US administration murdered millions of Chinese people during the GLF.

For what it's worth. During his 40 years of rule Mao doubled China’s population, life-expectancy and calorie intake, and quadrupled its GDP and literacy. Chinese people the world over have a right to celebrate that if they so choose.
Posted by Killarney, Friday, 9 September 2016 8:47:00 PM
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Sure Killarney

And your best mates, Stalin? Lenin? were misunderstood social workers..."It was zee Americans who forced them to sign the Kill-a-million-liquidation documents..."

Whats a million dead Chinese to you?
Posted by plantagenet, Friday, 9 September 2016 9:48:33 PM
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Mao started out as a hero and turned into a villain. Has anyone anywhere in the world ever been more corrupted by power than he was?
Posted by Aidan, Saturday, 10 September 2016 12:31:50 AM
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Killarney, Friday, 9 September 2016 8:47:00 PM.

From time immemorial, great movers and shakers have attracted the praise and odium of historians and commentators. Chinese history is one of dynastic decay and renewal. Such history is measured over a period many times longer than that of the upstart powers that exist today.

It behoves the current clutch of "China experts" to remember this when rushing to judgement with figures so easily at hand as Wikipedia's. This source is a prime example of presenting the victor's version in a consensus of views that are unlikely to be challenged by a majority of Western PC opinion. That view is equally unlikely to find favour with the Chinese or to harmonise with how the Chinese view themselves.

It is futile to deny the elephant in the room. How the Chinese see themselves in the 21st century has a millennia-long process of historical development.

Mao, like all great leaders, was a controversial figure, a mixture of visionary, ruthless messianic revolutionary and indefatigable political survivor in the mold of the creators of new dynasties through China's history each change accompanied by vast blood-letting and destruction. Some inter-regnums lasted hundreds of years but not often, each interval was a period of lawlessness, savagery and social chaos in which millions perished. The Taiping and Boxer rebellions and the civil war that followed the close of WW2 are the most recent examples. But possibly we might include Chiang kai-Shek's contribution......it is not inconsiderable. It is impossible to give a reliable figure for the number of deaths caused by foreign invasion. The Mongols and the Manchus might also vie for a place each at the grisley table.

We are indebted to Killarney for putting the picture better into focus. Mao's vision for his country has been vindicated and his own contribution is considerable. Very few national leaders accomplished so much in their life-time as he did. It is to pervert history not to remember that.

I should point out that attributing 50m deaths to Mao's particular actions and decisions has little support among reputable historians of China.
Posted by Pogi, Saturday, 10 September 2016 6:23:34 AM
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I don't think this is even the tip of the iceberg.

Anything we set up to stop foreign donations will be fine. Then the Chinese will work out how to get around it.

Some of the richest Chinese businessmen are already Australian citizens.

Poor Fellow, My Country!

The world's will be China's. Better face up to it now and teach our kids Mandarin.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/in-time-this-world-will-be-china's-business-anticipates-profound-power-shift-20160909-grcgas.html
Posted by Waverley, Saturday, 10 September 2016 8:39:20 AM
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