Zhang Sizhi brave enough to speak out

On the 40th anniversary of the Cultural Revolution, The Guardian spoke to Zhang Sizhi (you may or may not find most of those links are blocked):

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 ...

"The key point was not to mention Mao in the courtroom," he recalled. "It is still very sensitive to talk about Mao's mistakes." His client had no such qualms. Jiang testified that she was "Mao's dog" who only bit on his orders. Such comments were censored from the televised highlights. The judge acknowledged Mao was partially responsible, but his comments were removed from the trial summary in the Chinese media. The four were convicted. Jiang killed herself in jail in 1991 ...

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."

Have a great Revolution Day everyone!