Repression of China's Public Intellectuals in the Post-Mao Era

• Autores: Merle Goldman
• Localización: Social research: An international quarterly of the social sciences, ISSN 0037-783X, Nº. 2, 2009 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Free Inquiry at Risk: Universities in Dangerous Times, Part I), págs. 659-686
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • After Mao Zedong's death in 1976, China was no longer governed by a totalitarian political system. As China moved to a market economy and opened up to the outside world, the Chinese people enjoyed increasing freedom in their personal, economic, cultural and intellectual lives. However, the Chinese Communist Party still controlled the political system, which meant that when a number of China's intellectuals in the post-Mao period publicly criticized or deviated from party policies, they lost their positions, were ostracized from society and were sometimes imprisoned. Thus, while the post-Mao government allows more artistic and personal freedom, intellectuals who criticize the party's policies and seek fundamental political reforms are demoted, isolated and sometimes imprisoned. Nevertheless, despite the threat of punishment, a small number of them continue to comment on public policies and call for political reforms.