An examination of the brutality running through Chinese history and contemporary politics, drawing on an extensive essay by Seki Hei.
Through concrete examples, it presents the power struggles under Mao Zedong’s regime, the realities of the Cultural Revolution, and a structure of thought devoid of “human rights,” sounding a warning to Japan and the world.
2017-07-26
Seki Hei was born in China.
I was born in Japan.
I have always held him in very high regard.
It was during last year’s autumn foliage season.
Seki Hei, who had, so to speak, attained the “Treasury of the True Dharma Eye” in Arashiyama, and I, who am by an overwhelming margin the world’s most frequent visitor to Kyoto among those who do not live there, encountered each other at Tofukuji Temple on the very day the autumn foliage reached its peak, as though brought together by God.
The issue of the monthly magazine WiLL released today contains his essay entitled “No ‘Human Rights’ in China’s Dictionary,” spanning twelve pages in a three-column layout.
It is essential reading for the people of Japan and everyone around the world.
In particular, every resident of Tokyo and Sendai should immediately head to the nearest bookstore and purchase a copy.
For people around the world, I will convey as much of it as I can.
The brutality of the Chinese is nothing new.
As evidence…
“Abduction” in Broad Daylight
Please purchase a copy at your nearest bookstore or newsstand to read the full text.
The price is just 840 yen.
The following is from Seki Hei’s essay entitled “No ‘Human Rights’ in China’s Dictionary,” published across twelve pages in a three-column layout in the issue of the monthly magazine WiLL released yesterday.
The preceding text has been omitted.
The passages between ＊ and ＊ are mine.
Mao Zedong’s “Era of Homicidal Mania”
Toward the end of Mao Zedong’s rule, Zhou Enlai developed cancer, but Mao Zedong refused to allow him medical treatment.
That was because he feared dying before Zhou Enlai.
Zhou controlled the secret police and had many trusted associates in both the government and the military.
Therefore, Mao could not afford to die before Zhou Enlai.
He feared that his own subordinates would be eliminated by Zhou and that Zhou would take supreme power.
Zhou himself understood this.
That is why, in the end, he gave up on receiving treatment.
He knew that he had to die before Mao Zedong.
Zhou Enlai finally died in January 1976, and Mao Zedong died in September with peace of mind.
Had Mao Zedong himself instead been gravely ill, he would have eliminated Zhou Enlai.
Only the ruthless dynamics of political power operate here.
This extraordinary homicidal maniac had no regard whatsoever for human life when it came to protecting his own power.
What they were doing was beneath even the level at which human rights could be discussed.
What took place during the political movement called the “Cultural Revolution,” launched fifty years ago by China’s rulers?
To restore the authority he had lost through the failure of the “Great Leap Forward,” which caused tens of millions of people to starve to death, Mao Zedong subjected the entire Chinese population to a reign of terror for ten years.
He used the ambitious military figure Lin Biao to take control of the armed forces, installed the Gang of Four at the center of the Party, and incited ignorant students to organize the Red Guards.
In addition, he turned thugs from the lower strata of society into rebels and unleashed a raging torrent of rebellion across the whole of China.
＊All discerning people in Japan must surely recognize that what Communist Party leaders do is exactly the same in the Japanese Communist Party.
They must recognize that SEALDs, the student political organization that the Japanese Communist Party organized to oppose the Abe administration’s policies and that the Asahi Shimbun turned into heroes through extensive newspaper coverage, is exactly the same as Mao Zedong’s Red Guards.＊