對拙著《紅太陽》一書批評的總回應

This reply deals with three issues raised by critics in regard to my book: first, the charge of one-sidedness, or that I only discuss the power struggle among the Communist Party leaders trying to outwit each other and not the high degree of trust and openness among party leaders; second, that I should not be saying that the entire CCP completely lacked the values of democratic liberalism and humanism; and third, that there is a contradiction between my sympathy for the communist revolution and my rejection of it. My reply considers each of these issues, particularly in regard to the points of the ”old Yanan hand” He Fang. I believe that contemporaries do not fully know what was happening at the time. He Fang was led to misread my book due to his pride in being an old Yanan hand, but his fixed views did not allow him to accept different opinions. Hong Taiyang was not allowed to be published in China, but pirated editions became very popular, showing that it could pass a certain kind of test; and indeed, newly discovered sources have supported its main arguments. The second edition of Hong Taiyang will correct obvious mistakes but maintain its basic framework. In particular, I emphasize the background of the Yanan ”rectification movement” and how, after the victory 1949, ”rectification” was made into a governing strategy. This led to disaster. Coming to power, Deng Xiaoping proclaimed the need to keep pace with the times and abandoned rectification, but it was too late.