Source:
https://scmp.com/article/977880/they-dare-not-tell-people-truth

'They dare not tell people the truth'

'The worst mistake of the reform and opening-up is [that the Communist Party] has embarked on the capitalist path of development, but dare not tell people the truth.' Zhang Musheng, legal scholar

'Reform remains just empty talk as long as we have yet to figure out whether it should be controlled by the government or driven by market forces.' Gao Shangquan, economist and veteran government adviser

'Cult of personality, [especially Maoist idolatry] has been embedded in the political system and that's something we have yet to thoroughly re-examine.' He Fang, historian

'How come the pro-democracy forces [within the party] have always been sidelined like a housemaid while those favouring centralisation of power are always in the dominant position?' Hu Deping, son of deposed leader Hu Yaobang

'A party which had championed universal values and new democratic constitutional government went exactly the opposite direction after it took power.' Zhang Lifan, historian

'I am over 60 but there are still a lot of historical [facts about the Cultural Revolution] I don't know yet.' Li Dun, sociology professor, Tsinghua University

'There were two negative consequences of the resolution [denouncing the Cultural Revolution]: while surviving supporters of the Cultural Revolution have used it to advocate the comeback of the Maoist era, it has also been used by party conservatives to resist the reappraisal of Mao and political reform.' Guo Daohui, former editor, China Legal Science Magazine

'Many goals set in the resolution regarding political restructuring, such as grass-roots democracy and reform of the National People's Congress' [rubber-stamp] role, have yet to be realised.' Wu Si, editor, Yanghuang Chunqiu magazine

'What a party that has an inglorious past in so many ways and has grown accustomed to twisting history to fool its own people ... fears the most is truth.' Yang Jisheng, former journalist

'Going back to the days of the Cultural Revolution will come to the same disastrous end as Muammar Gaddafi.' Professor Ding Xueliang, China expert, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

'Political reform should kick-start with judicial reform by setting up an independent judiciary system and foster an environment in which politicians and the people respect the law.' Chen Youxi, lawyer

'The authorities control history and attempt to wipe out historical memories. We must stay alert and preserve historical memories from oblivion.' Lei Yi, historian, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences