Political winds raise red flags over Cultural Revolution-style gala
Disingenuous officials try to distance themselves from the show after outcry over attempts to celebrate country’s dark past
The Great Hall of the People next to Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing has long been a national symbol of power and political importance.
It’s the place where top Chinese leaders meet to make policies, receive foreign heads of state, and attend galas singing the praises of the Communist Party on important occasions.
But it came as no surprise that a storm of public outcry erupted over the news that a gala show featuring “red songs” praising late leader Mao Zedong, staged in a style reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution, was held in the hall on May 2 during the May Day break.
The concert reportedly featured songs popular in the revolution’s heyday against the backdrop of propaganda posters from the period. One of the posters urged “the people of the world to unite to defeat the American invaders and their lackeys”, a phrase from a speech Mao gave during the Korean war in the 1950s.
It came at a very politically sensitive time ahead of the 50th anniversary of the political movement, which some analysts believe started on May 16.
The concert also staged several songs to praise President Xi Jinping and featured one signature tune of Peng Liyuan, Xi’s singer wife. That fuelled further concerns over attempts by the propaganda officials to promote a cult of personality around Xi, particularly after recent reports suggested the president’s office had ordered authorities to tone down efforts to praise him.
Accusations fly thick and fast over Chinese cultural group’s Cultural Revolution ‘red songs’ concert
According to the fliers for the show, the event had enough support from powerful backers to win permission to stage it in the hall. The concert was sponsored by an office to promote socialist core values under the Communist Party’s powerful propaganda department; an office under the Communist Youth League; the China International Culture Exchange Centre under the ministries of culture and civil affairs; and the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre, one of the country’s leading performance groups.
The public reaction was strong and swift after Ma Xiaoli, a daughter of a revolutionary cadre persecuted during the Cultural Revolution, first posted news of the event on social media on Thursday, calling it a throwback “to the culture of the Cultural Revolution” and accusing the organisers of “taking a step back in history”.
The decade-long Cultural Revolution started by Mao plunged the country into one of its darkest periods in modern history, and the party leadership has long banned public activities associated with the period.
The strength of the backlash forced some of the sponsors to try to distance themselves from the show – the propaganda department reportedly denied it had an office promoting socialist core values, and the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre and the regulator under the Beijing municipal government that approved the show released statements on Friday saying they were duped by a third-party promoter.
The promoter owns a newly formed pop group known as the 56 Flowers, comprising 56 young women singers. It’s billed as the world’s biggest singing group. According to the flier, the group was scheduled to perform in Hong Kong on July 1, and in Taiwan on July 7 but it’s not clear if the shows will go ahead after the outcry.
The head of the promoter also seemed to disavow any responsibility, saying “we are merely actors”, according to an interview posted on mainland websites on Friday and later deleted.
Indeed, officials’ attempts to distance themselves sound disingenuous as such a show involving hundreds of performers in such a politically sensitive place must have been pre-screened by censors and sponsors.
‘Whole world should unite to defeat the American invaders and their lackeys’: controversy sparked online by ‘red songs’ at concert in Beijing
The saga adds another interesting twist to the political manoeuvring playing out in the corridors of high power in Beijing as liberals and leftists wage an increasingly tense tussle to sway the leadership over the direction of the country.
Interestingly but perhaps by coincidence, the show was staged on the same day the party announced it had put Ren Zhiqiang, an outspoken property tycoon and party member, on one-year probation for online comments criticising Xi’s propaganda policies.
In February, Ren questioned Xi’s major policy announcement that all state media organisations must serve the party, inviting strong attacks from some media outlets which drew on language widely used in the Cultural Revolution to label him as “opposing the party” and calling for his expulsion from the party.
But the strong censure of
Ren caused its own backlash among intellectuals, forcing the authorities to delay their official judgment. The eventual one-year probation was considered a light punishment.
Now the authorities have reportedly launched an investigation into the saga involving the show and their assessment can hopefully give another sign to gauge which way the wind is blowing in the increasingly foggy world of mainland politics.
