New | Cultural Revolution was wrong and it will never be allowed to recur: party mouthpiece breaks Chinese media silence over 50th anniversary
People’s Daily editorial warns against allowing discussions to overturn party history as it urges readers to rally around Xi Jinping’s leadership
China must learn from the mistakes of the Cultural Revolution and rally around the leadership of President Xi Jinping, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece said as it broke the domestic media’s silence surrounding the event’s 50th anniversary.
A People’s Daily editorial published on Tuesday offered reassurances that the party would not permit such a revolution to happen again, even as it warned against allowing discussions of the turmoil to be used to deny the party’s legitimacy.
“History has spoken that the Cultural Revolution was wrongfully started by the leadership and used by counter-revolutionary clans. It was a serious catastrophe to the party, the country and people,” the editorial said, quoting the party’s official verdict on the event issued in 1981. “The revolution is not, and could not, possibly be a revolution or social progress in any sense,” it said. “The mistakes of the Cultural Revolution will not be allowed again.”
The rare reference to the social and political upheaval came after a day of studied silence among Chinese media outlets despite extensive coverage by international news organisations to mark the event. The Global Times, a hawkish tabloid affiliated with People’s Daily, and prominent financial news outlet Caixin also published articles on the Cultural Revolution.