Former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Zhao Ziyang’s memorial ceremony was held at Beijing Babaoshan Public Cemetery on the morning of January 29. Xinhua News Agency briefly outlined Zhao Ziyang’s appraisal. The report did not mention that Zhao was once the State Council premier or the party general secretary, nor did it mention his significant contributions to Chinese economic reform and opening up. Instead, the report called special attention to the “grave mistake” that he made at the Tiananmen protests in 1989. Epoch Times reporter Xin Fei interviewed Mr. Liu Binyan, a renowned Chinese author, who currently resides in the United States, on this topic.

CCP’s Appraisal of Zhao Ziyang Was Certainly Not a Coincidence

Liu Bingyan said, “Zhao Ziyang’s memorial ceremony and Xinhua News Agency’s report do not sound like a coincidence, because our current political powers or so-called “management” have displayed behavior proving they do not want progress and have plans to regress. In the mid-1980s, some of the documentary literature that I wrote was allowed to be published and some was not. A few famous writers at the time all wrote some good works. Most of what we wrote in the 1980s was published and didn’t encounter too many attacks or interference.

“If these same works were written today, under the regime of our present 21st century China, they would never be published- it wouldn’t be allowed. Isn’t that ridiculous? I thought freedom back then was limited, and we struggled to express our views and expand our freedom. Isn’t it absurd that 20 years after reform there is less freedom?

“[I can’t believe] Hu Jintao actually dares to do this? For example, his so-called issue of maintaining the communist party’s advancing nature and praising how good North Korea, Kim II Sung, and Cuba are, and criticizing Gorbachev as a rebel of the communist party. These behaviors are too obvious and show that he does not want to make any progress. Everyone recognizes that he is worse than Jiang Zemin.

“ This is all related to the issue of Zhang Ziyang. One is left wondering why, if Zhao was innocent, did he spend 16 years under house arrest? If Zhao made many remarkable contributions to the Chinese nation during his career, why was he forcibly excommunicated from politics?

“Though these attitudes disappoint us, to Hu Jintao they seem logical. He is on a path of regression, and has gone even further down the path than Jiang Zemin. None of us understand his actions, and we find ourselves in conversations and debates, attempting to figure it out. Why is he doing what he’s doing? Does he really think this system can work in China? Does he think this will bring a good future? We can see it clearly from the outside, that no matter what, China is not the China of the 1980’s and is definitely not the China of the Mao Zedong Era.

China Will Inevitably Head Towards Turmoil

“Hu Jintao is still clinging to Mao Zedong’s leg and wants to drag China back to the Era of Mao. The Chinese people will not agree to this obviously perverse course of action. Even if the plan makes a few Chinese wealthy in the short run, in the long run it will have a widespread negative effect on China’s economic reform.

“The well-off will definitely not stay that way for long, and all of China will be in turmoil- Hu Jintao will absolutely not have a good future. I believe there are not that many people in the CCP who agree with Hu’s method. Hu’s handling of Zhao’s death was based on fear and negative anticipation, and on the irrational logic of the president.

The Economy Is Unstable; Foreign Capital May Withdraw At Any Moment

“European communist parties throughout history did not have this situation of obvious regression. Hu is overly dependant on the quick development of the Chinese economy, as if China were a wealthy country. Other countries have changed their views of China, etc. His reliance on these notions is completely self-serving.

“Actually, at present, the economy doesn’t even look very stable. If the domestic economy were to show the slightest sign of trouble, foreign capital would have to withdraw immediately. The financial crisis in Asia of 1997 and 1998 was caused by the withdrawal of foreign capital, which immediately caused inflation, depreciation of currency and a series of other such problems. China is different from middle South Asia in one respect: the Chinese people are dissatisfied with the person in power and present situation. The situation may intensify and the Chinese people may prove that they dare [to do] much.

The Chinese People Will Not Accept Hu Jintao

“The present workers and farmers’ democracy movement is fiercer than the past and gets more powerful each year. This seems to threaten Hu Jintao’s power, but will he resort to the violent suppression of the citizens? Will they dare to fire on the crowds? In fact, these methods are never excusable- they weren’t in Deng Xiaoping’s time, and they certainly aren’t now. To use these tactics now would prove very costly. I absolutely believe that the Chinese people would never stand for it. This person has a high and respected position, yet he doesn’t read books or the newspaper, instead, he is always getting checked for illnesses and mumbles and waits in the corner to take over – it’s been like this for over ten years. Therefore, he may not even really understand the Chinese society, and he does not have many talented staff or a good advice group. The Chinese people will not accept him, even now, he seems a bit crazy.”