Liberal economist Mao Yushi cancels talk under pressure from leftists
Liberal Mao Yushi pulls out of business forum amid pressure from leftist conservatives
Liberal economist Mao Yushi has cancelled a talk in a bustling Zhejiang city next week amid mounting pressure from leftist conservatives.
Mao, 84, said yesterday that he had decided not to attend the business forum in Xiaoshan because he did not want to see a repeat of the chaotic scenes that have followed him in recent weeks.
Mao, a prominent advocate of free-market economics, has been forced to either cancel or scale back several talks amid an apparent escalation in the feud between the leftist conservatives and liberals.
The liberals have come under fire from leftists and conservative media outlets affiliated to the Communist Party for promoting constitutionalism over one-party rule, with the People's Daily dismissing constitutionalism as a facet of capitalism.
Mao, a staunch critic of Mao Zedong , was disrupted by a leftist historian who was removed by security during a speech at a symposium in Shenyang , Liaoning province, on April 25.
Hundreds of leftists held portraits of Mao Zedong and banners and placards denouncing the economist at a rally in Changsha , Hunan , to protest against a talk the economist planned to give at a local bookstore on May 4.