Controversial mainland writer Yu Jie did something extraordinarily brave recently. In an article published in Hong Kong's Kai Fang magazine last month, he and several colleagues called for the removal of Mao Zedong's corpse from the Mao Mausoleum in Tiananmen Square. The action could easily be labelled a 'counter-revolutionary' crime on the mainland but thus far, neither Yu, 30, nor his five colleagues have been arrested. The article has been circulating on the internet in the mainland, causing significant controversy. Hundreds of young Mao worshippers have launched spam attacks on Yu's email address. Officials, however, have not done a thing.
The article says: 'The newly established communist regime was, in fact, the personal dictatorship of Mao Zedong ... Once Mao had become supreme leader, not only did he fail to promote economic reconstruction vigorously and deliver on the promises of constitutional government made before the communists seized power, but he conducted political suppression on a huge scale within and outside the party under the slogan of 'permanent revolution'. Finally, he launched the Great Cultural Revolution, known to posterity as 'the 10-year calamity'.'
Although Mao wanted to be cremated, his corpse was preserved after his death in 1976 and a mausoleum built. The writers said that they oppose 'corpse worship', which they called a 'feature of slave societies'. 'We believe the time is ripe to resolve the sense of national grief of the Chinese people,' they wrote. 'The bitterness and hatred fostered during Mao's years in power require such a process of reconciliation.' As a first step, they advocate taking down Mao's image from Tiananmen Gate and transporting his corpse to his native Shaoshan. 'Such a move would elevate the status of Beijing into that of a civilised capital, and make it fit to stage a 'civilised Olympics' in 2008.'
I recently met Yu and asked him if he felt endangered after such a bold appeal, given that the party still officially worships Mao and millions across China are still enamoured by his propaganda.
His answer signifies that the government - although far from benevolent - is starting to tolerate dissent and allow differing opinions to be aired. 'I'm just a writer, a critic, but not an active political activist,' he said, referring to the recent arrest of fellow critic He Depu. 'He was a spokesman of the China Democratic Party. He was arrested for his party activities.'
Yu admitted that his mobile phone is tapped and agents track his every move, but so far he has been left alone. If anything, his non-party related criticism of officials points the way forward for democratisation on the mainland: it is fine to criticise publicly, and even come up with suggestions, but you cannot organise a movement.
