On the 35th Anniversary of Hu Yaobang’s Memorial Day, the Commemorative Articles by the Second Generation Red Are Deleted.

On April 15th, which marks the 35th anniversary of the passing of Hu Yaobang, as well as the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests in China, there have been reports of commemorative articles by retired high-ranking CCP officials being deleted domestically, along with citizens facing restrictions on their freedoms. Meanwhile, overseas, a high-profile international symposium titled “Commemorating the 35th Anniversary of the Movements for Hu Yaobang, Zhao Ziyang, and the 1989 Democracy Movement” is being held to discuss the future changes in Chinese society.

According to Beijing media veteran Ms. Gao Yu’s social media post, she questioned the restrictions on citizens’ freedoms in Beijing and nationwide on the anniversary of Hu Yaobang’s passing: “From last night until tonight, citizens are being monitored 24 hours a day. What kind of behavior is this?”

She sarcastically remarked, “This is ‘anti-party’ behavior,” recalling events from 35 years ago when the CCP held a grand memorial service for Hu Yaobang, attended even by Deng Xiaoping despite his wife Li Zhao’s polite refusal.

Gao Yu disclosed that during that time, Zhao Ziyang’s political fate was sealed when Premier Li Peng reported his comment questioning why students couldn’t commemorate Hu Yaobang if the Party could. This incident led to Zhao Ziyang’s downfall.

A mainland dissident using the pseudonym He Feng introduced to media outlet Epoch Times that a retired high official, Yan Huai, former Deputy Director of the Youth Division of the Central Organization Department and a member of the ‘second generation red’, wrote an 800-plus-word commemoration of Hu Yaobang titled “His Greatest Achievement is Liberating One Hundred Million Political ‘Trash'”, which was widely shared on social media platforms before being deleted.

In the article, Yan praised Hu Yaobang as a humanitarian who rectified miscarriages of justice and improved the lives of one hundred million politically marginalized individuals during his tenure as Minister of the Central Organization Department. He detailed the origins of these marginalized individuals, their struggles, and the discrimination they faced across various aspects of life in a society focused on class struggle.

He Feng expressed that with the 35th anniversary of Hu Yaobang’s passing, tensions have heightened, as authorities are always on edge during such significant anniversaries. He noted the ongoing commemoration of Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang by the public is due to them being among the few relatively good leaders within the CCP.

He emphasized that despite Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang’s involvement in past CCP misdeeds such as the Land Reform Movement, campaigns like the Four Cleanups, they also undertook positive actions in their later years that ordinary people couldn’t accomplish. He highlighted that Hu and Zhao were figures the authorities always feared.

He Feng underscored that the events of the Tiananmen Square protests were sparked by Hu Yaobang and ended by Zhao Ziyang’s opposition to the crackdown. He pointed out that their actions served as catalysts with lasting impacts.

Overseas, to mark the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests, the Hu Yaobang-Zhao Ziyang Foundation, the Club of New York Intellectuals, the National Academic Department of the China Democratic Party, the Tiananmen Memorial Museum, and the Boden Bookstore organized a two-day international academic symposium titled “Commemorating the 35th Anniversary of the Movements for Hu Yaobang, Zhao Ziyang, and the 1989 Democracy Movement.” The symposium featured thirty Chinese scholars across political and economic spheres sharing their research insights.

The organizers also invited several mainland Chinese scholars to participate in the symposium.

One of the speakers, Associate Professor Feng Chongyi from the University of Technology Sydney, lauded Hu Yaobang as a rare conscientious leader who initiated reforms, which many have benefited from. He mentioned the continuation of the legacies of figures like Li Rui, Zhu Houze, and Bao Tong who abandoned Marxist-Leninist ideologies in favor of liberal thought and embraced constitutional democracy, representing a significant ideological shift.

Feng criticized the current CCP leadership under Xi Jinping for reverting to authoritarian ways, betraying the reformist paths initiated by Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang. He highlighted the need for discussions on historical experiences and lessons, pondering on the pathways towards peaceful change or violent revolution, and the prospects of revolution in China.

He expressed hope for internal dissent within the CCP, suggesting a potential sequence of events involving civil unrest, official suppression, and potential defection within the military leading to political change, akin to the Xinhai Revolution, with the goal of ending one-party rule and communist tyranny.

The symposium concluded with discussions on various strategies for reform and the possibility of a future revolution in China, accentuating the need for a collective effort from various factions to bring about significant changes in the political landscape.

This article was originally published in the Epoch Times on April 15, 2024.