On May 23rd a petition containing 10,000 people's names was delivered to a police station in Beijing. This petition demanded justice, accusing liberal economist Mao Yushi of slandering the late chairman Mao Zedong and attempting to overthrow the Communist Party. This is a relatively uncommon action taken by the Maoists because it is typically victims of government wrongdoings who make petitions. Lately, there has been some unrest between the two parties causing the authorities to increase the number of arrests and/or vanishings of government critics. Mr. Mao relayed his message through typical liberal outlets such as blogs and other websites. A similar situation also arose with the arrest of artist Ai Weiwei in April. The basis of Mr. Mao's criticism stems from the millions of deaths that can be attributed to Mao Zedong's time in office in the 1950's and Mr. Mao believes that now is the time to end the "idolization" surrounding Mao. The Communist Party is becoming increasingly aware of this "jasmine revolution" that has spread in China offering harsh words to those who disagree stating, “The whole nation is waiting for the dawn, the dawn of a day when Mao Yu-Shit (sic) and other anti-Mao reactionaries who vilify Mao are annihilated.” The future implications of this controversy could have some interesting outcomes. First, in the next few days the country will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party and Maoists do not want any revolutionists to dirty the name of the man that led them to power. Second, Bo Xilia, a Maoist favorite, is in position to take control of a powerful seat in the coming year. One such possibility is becoming the head of domestic security which would likely lead to even less tolerance of the liberal party. Time will tell.
By Tommy Walker
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