The daughter of a revolutionary has warned Communist Party leaders that organisers of a concert featuring Cultural Revolution-era “red songs” were laying a “political trap”. The organiser must “have some ambitions ... we should be alert”, Ma Xiaoli told Ifeng.com, suggesting the concert was an attempt to paint the leadership as a personality cult. She was referring to a show at the Great Hall of the People that featured songs praising the Communist revolution and Mao Zedong, performed against a backdrop of propaganda posters from the period. Ma’s father Ma Wenrui was persecuted alongside President Xi Jinping’s father Xi Zhongxun during the Cultural Revolution for leading an “anti-party clique”. The controversy over the concert comes at a sensitive time, as May 16 marks the 50th anniversary of the mass movement, responsible for some of the most violent upheaval since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949. Accusations fly thick and fast over Chinese cultural group’s Cultural Revolution ‘red songs’ concert Ma did not identify exactly who was laying the trap. “It’s not that simple. No one is allowed to enter a venue like the Great Hall without permission from top officials,” said Ma. “These organisers are the ones who manipulate … Even [disgraced official] Bo Xilai could not get into the Great Hall, how could they? Where did they get their approval? We must get to the bottom of this,” she added. Previously, in a letter that went viral online, Ma accused the show’s organisers of violating party discipline by honouring the Cultural Revolution. Referring to speculation the letter was addressed to Xi’s chief of staff Li Zhanshu, the director of the General Office of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, Ma said the letter was intended both for him and the top leadership. Ma said going on the record with her comments would help the top leadership speak openly about the show. After Ma’s letter, one of the organisers, the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre, said it had been deceived by its partner, which claimed to represent an office under the party’s Central Publicity Department.
