Partial excerpts from "Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s"

Chapter 26: Institutional Background of the Great Famine

Why is such a bizarre lie as the grain "high-yield satellite" not exposed? Why are tens of millions of hungry people dying without assistance? Why did the line and policy that caused starvation continue for three years? Why can grass-roots cadres in rural areas brutalize farmers so cruelly? Why do most of the people who starve to death are farmers who produce food? Why is the tragic tragedy of tens of millions of people who starved to death kept secret and kept hidden for half a century? These questions can only be answered in the system. The root cause of the Great Famine is the system. What kind of system did the great famine in China look like? A totalitarian system characterized by traditional Chinese royalism plus Stalin's despotism, that is, a system in which a full-scale dictatorship of the proletariat is implemented with the help of the framework of Qin Shihuang's political system. In Mao Zedong's own words, it is "Marx plus Qin Shihuang." system.

1. Mao Zedong was the last emperor of China

On August 5, 1973, Mao summoned Jiang Qing and ordered him to write down a poem called Qilu, a poem criticizing Guo Moruo's "Ten Batches". I advise you to stop scolding Qin Shihuang, the cause of burning pits is to be discussed; although Zulong's dead soul is still alive, Confucius' name is high and real. Baidai has the Qin political system, "Ten Batch" is not a good article; I am familiar with the Tang Dynasty's "Feudalism", and don't follow Zihou to return to King Wen. The history of China over the past few thousand years is the history of imperial autocracy. Mao Zedong did not get rid of the strong inertia of thousands of years of imperial autocracy. In his mind, the idea of kingship still has an important position. He said here that the author of "The Feudalism" "Tang people" refers to Liu Zongyuan of the Tang Dynasty, with the word zihou. In the pre-Qin feudal system, feudal lords had great independence in their fiefdoms, and the central government could not fully control them, and there was a situation where "the tail cannot be lost". Qin Shihuang abolished seals and established counties. In his article "On Feudalism", Liu Zongyuan believed that the county system first implemented by Qin Shihuang was superior to the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty. Liu Zongyuan judged the pros and cons from the perspective of power concentration. The prefecture system concentrated all power in the country in the hands of the emperor, the local officials were appointed by the emperor, and the departure and retention of local officials were entirely up to the emperor.

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

491

It was decided, "If you don't worship the right way, you will be reprimanded in the evening; if you accept it in the evening, you will be reprimanded by the court." The administrative system created by Qin Shihuang has been followed for more than 2,000 years. Over the years, people have used "feudal society" to describe China's political system for thousands of years. Historian Liu Zehua's book "China's Kingship" has further deepened this understanding: since Qin Shihuang, China has not been feudal, but royalism. In fact, what corresponds to Mao Zedong is not only monarchism, but totalitarianism. Totalitarianism (totalitarianism) has also been translated into totalitarianism. It is a political term that appeared in the 1920s and was first invented by Mussolini. Mussolini emphasized that "everything belongs to the state, and must not be separated from or opposed to the state." Totalitarianism is characterized by a strong central rule that seeks to control and direct all aspects of individual life through coercion and repression. Totalitarianism imprisons the entire society in the state apparatus and exercises pervasive domination over the entire life of the people. Totalitarianism in order to achieve the goals of the state (this goal is formulated according to the level of awareness and preferences of the leaders of the country, they believe that this goal is in the "best interests of the greatest number", and only he is "the greatest interests of the greatest number of people" "representatives), at all costs, and do everything in their power to achieve their goals. Large-scale, organized violence is permissible and sometimes necessary under totalitarian regimes, justified by infinite allegiance to the ideology of the state. In the dynastic era, due to the backwardness of transportation and communication, "in the world, there is no king's land; on the coast of the land, there is no king's ministers", it is only an ideal, and it is difficult for the power of the state to penetrate every point of the territory. In the Mao Zedong era, thanks to modern weapons, modern means of transportation, modern communication technology and organizational means, the power of the state penetrated into all remote villages, all corners of the mountains, into every aspect of the family life of every family, and into every person's life. brain and stomach. The expansion of administrative power has reached the extreme, it has reached the end, it has reached the point where it can no longer be added. The leaders of Mao Zedong's generation pursued communism. The ideal of the communists is to establish a system in which no one exploits or oppresses others. They paint a picture of humanity's best institutions. Why was the system they built so different from the original ideal? Hayek gave a profound answer to this question in his book The Road to Serfdom. I will not repeat the content of his book, I just want to say that I do not doubt the sincerity of the founder. Many of them may be people with lofty ideals who want to save people from misery. But when they preached the ideal of communism, when they started building the system with that ideal, they didn't know it would end up like this. Human knowledge is limited. The system is the relationship between people and the relationship between the individual and the whole. The activities of a single person are connected into a whole through the system. However, the result of the connection of the whole cannot be predicted by any individual with limited knowledge and observation. This is like the concepts of "finite" and "infinity" in mathematics, and the correct conclusion drawn in "finite" is sometimes incorrect in "infinity". this is one. The system is built by millions of people, but the construction process does not completely follow the wishes of the builders. It must inherit the legacy of the original system (called "path dependence" in modern language), and it is also subject to various external forces. influences. After an "ideal" system is built, the builders will be surprised to find that the results of the "Completion Acceptance" are quite different from the "design drawings". This is two. Third, in theory, institutions serve people. However, once the system is established, people are bound by the system. More importantly, the power of the system itself (the logical force of the system, the inertial force of the system) forces the executors of the system to do "what they have to do". The consequences of doing these things are sometimes contrary to the initial wishes of the institution builder. Hayek said: "While we do our best to consciously build our future according to some lofty ideals, we are in fact unknowingly creating results that are diametrically opposed to what we have been striving for." This is the case. After Mao Zedong was in high office, in the cultural tradition of Chinese imperial power, and in the framework of Lenin and Stalin's "dictatorship of the proletariat", he put the democracy that he had preached in his early years to the sky, and pretended to be an emperor. One day in 2000, Li Rui, a former secretary of Mao Zedong, was at a dinner table with his old friend (the author of this book was also at the dinner table at the time), and said that in Yan'an, Mao Zedong had jokingly asked his Russian translator. Zhe: What's the difference between the president and the emperor?

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

492

same? Shi Zhe said one, two, three according to the book knowledge, Mao Zedong laughed and said, "It's actually the same!" Mao Zedong's understanding is not surprising. He grew up in China's agricultural society, and has not received the education of Western democracy and the rule of law. He has a soft spot for peasant uprisings and changing dynasties. In his eyes, the president and the emperor are both kings over the world and commanding the people. Of course, there is no difference. . On November 14, 1981, when discussing the draft of the "Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Issues Concerning the Party's History since the founding of the People's Republic of China", Zhu De's secretary Chen Youqun provided an information: In April 1950, the "May Day" drafted by the Central Propaganda Department "Long live the People's Republic of China!" "Long live the Communist Party of China!" In the slogan of the festival, Mao Zedong personally added "Long live Chairman Mao!" "Long live Chairman Mao!" This slogan that hundreds of millions of people have been shouting for decades turned out to be what Mao Zedong wanted others to shout. This incredible thing is actually easy to understand: in order to "rule over the world", someone has to shout long live, which is a logical thing in an autocratic society. The great French writer and philosopher André Malraux introduced Mao Zedong to Nixon, the US president, in 1972: "I once asked him if he saw himself as the heir to the last great emperors of China. Mao said, Of course, I am their heir." After decades of struggle, Mao Zedong's generation took advantage of the historical opportunity of "divided for a long time," and "long-term chaos must be ruled," and integrated the country after half a century of war. They built a pyramid-like power structure on the soil of Chinese imperial power culture. The Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, a highly centralized economic and political system, strong ideological control, and an isomorphic social structure all complement each other and form a very stable and highly centralized power pyramid. Mao Zedong was at the top of the pyramid, firmly grasping the handle of this power structure. This "handle" is the control of the army and the party. With this authority, he is stronger than anyone else, and he becomes the supreme political and ideological authority in the country. Individuals of the people are insignificant in this power structure, and they can only give everything for the only goal of the country - communism. This pyramid structure was first established by Qin Shihuang, and it was gradually perfected after more than 2,000 years. Although the Mao Zedong era was the end of China's imperial autocracy, this system's control over society and the people was more precise, detailed, and more extensive than the autocracy of previous dynasties. The last emperor of China was not Yuan Shikai, but Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong is actually the emperor of modern China, but he is more powerful and more tightly ruled than Qin Shi Huang and successive emperors. The emperors of the past dynasties could say "I am the country" like the French Emperor Louis XIV. Mao Zedong's authority far exceeded them, and he could say "I am the society". In the leading organs at all levels below Mao Zedong, the main leaders are all subordinates of Mao Zedong, but they exercise authority like Mao Zedong within the scope of his own leadership. They are also a local emperor.

2. The state monopolizes all economic resources and strictly controls all economic life

Hayek said: "There are various collectivisms, such as communism, fascism, etc., the difference between them is the nature of the goals they want to guide the social efforts to achieve. But they are different from liberalism and individualism, It is that they all want to organize the whole of society and its resources to achieve this single goal, while refusing to recognize the sphere of autonomy where individual ends are supreme." How to "organize the whole of society and its resources" to achieve "this single goal" of communism? This has to be done through a highly centralized planned economic system. It is this economic system that the Chinese Communists established. This system completely deprives the individual of his sphere of autonomy. In the countryside, the economy is collectivized, the means of production are brought into the collective, and all the grain, cotton, oilseeds and other products produced by farmers are purchased and sold by the state. The farmers and the cadres of the production team have no right to decide what crops to plant, how much area to plant, and how to plant them. After the implementation of the unified purchase and sale of grain, cotton and oil, the living materials of urban and rural residents are all supplied by the state with vouchers. In cities, industry and commerce are directly operated and managed by the state, and all kinds of materials are controlled by the state. By 1957 after the completion of the socialist transformation, industrial output value owned by the whole people accounted for 53.8% of the total industrial output value, collectively-owned industry accounted for 19%, public-private joint industry accounted for 26.3%, private industry accounted for 0.1%, and urban individual industry accounted for 0.8% . In the total retail sales of social goods,

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

493

Commerce owned by the whole people accounted for 62.1%, commerce owned by collectives 16.4%, public-private partnership commerce 16%, individual commerce only 2.7%, and retail sales of farmers to non-agricultural residents 2.8%. Under the planned economic system, the means of production are not commodities and cannot be bought and sold freely, and they are all allocated by the state plan. There is only a national plan, no market. It is impossible for individuals to buy any materials from channels other than "national distribution". What the factory produces, how much it produces, and how it is produced are all planned by the state. To build a toilet in a factory, you have to apply for approval layer by layer, and put dozens of stamps on it before you can start the construction. Financial revenue and expenditure are unified, products are purchased and underwritten, foreign trade is unified in and out, employees are recruited and allocated in a unified way, and wages are set nationally at a unified level and adjusted at a unified time. Major decisions on economic construction are centralized at the center. Among them, Mao Zedong's personal opinion has the heaviest weight. For example, many economic indicators in China were proposed by Mao Zedong. Under such an economic system, the entire national economic apparatus is a big machine, a machine that enables tens of millions of people to work according to the highest orders. In this big machine, the control center (the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China), on the one hand, concentrates the fruits of the people's labor and is dominated by the center, and on the other hand, implements various forms of rationing for the people's means of life. The Chinese system at the time not only deprived the people of the right to obtain food, but also deprived the people of the right to create food through their own labor. A highly centralized political system is necessary for the economic directives of the highest authorities to flow unhindered. To keep the orders of the highest authorities undisturbed, "noise" and "murmur" must be eliminated and public opinion unanimous.

3. The Communist Party of China leads all

Political and economic power in China is highly concentrated in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. The Communist Party of China is one of the world's largest and most sophisticated organizations. At the time of the "Great Leap Forward" in 1958, the Chinese Communist Party had 15 million members. Under the discipline of "individuals obey the organization, subordinates obey their superiors, and the whole party obeys the Central Committee", all party members must believe in one thought-Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought; all party members must implement one line-Chairman Mao's revolutionary line; All party members must honor one leader - Mao Zedong. Since China is a one-party dictatorship of the Communist Party, not only the Communist Party members do this, but the whole people are also required to do the same. The Communist Party of China was established in the way of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was a "well-organized, iron-disciplined party". The party adheres to the principle of "individuals obey the organization, subordinates obey superiors, and the whole party obeys the central committee". It is difficult to express dissent within the party, and the checks and balances on party leaders are weak. This "well-organized, iron-disciplined party", combined with the autocratic system established by Qin Shihuang, became a tool for the supreme leader to exercise arbitrariness and a tool for totalitarian politics. Organizations of the Communist Party of China at all levels are organized by departments or units in cities, and by territories in rural areas. These organizations are parallel to the governments at all levels (actually above the state administrative agencies at the same level), and have established party committees, with grass-roots organizations as party branches. Nominally, organizations at all levels of the Communist Party of China implement the system of congresses, and the highest leading organ of the party is the National Congress and its Central Committee. In effect, the party chairman is above the congress. His will is the will of the party, and party congresses at all levels are nothing more than deliberations and voting machines. Within the Central Committee, there is a Politburo, and within the Politburo there is a Standing Committee. The Politburo Standing Committee is a leading body that holds real power, and the Politburo Standing Committee is under the leadership of the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The chairman of the Party Central Committee has the final say. The party's local leading organs at all levels are nominally the party's local congresses at all levels and the committees generated by it. On all major issues such as the appointment of cadres, the top party leader has absolute power. Local party committees also have standing committees, who are in charge of day-to-day actual power. The characteristics of the organizational construction of the Communist Party of China are that, first, it has been in an independent ruling position since the founding of New China. According to the party's theory, the Communist Party will rule until the country withers away and communism is realized. The second is that all party institutions have been nationalized. The party's full-time cadres are state cadres, and their salaries are paid by the state finance, and the party's activities are also financed by the state finance. The founding principle of the Communist Party of China is "democratic centralism". But in fact, there is only centralism without democracy, and democracy is only a means of centralization. After the anti-rightist struggle in 1957, no one outside the party dared to criticize the Communist Party. In 1959, after the party's opposition to right opportunism, the party did not dare to criticize the leaders and the party's policies. All levels are unified, with one word,

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

494

Party secretaries at all levels have become parents, and Mao Zedong is the biggest parent in the whole party. Party leaders at all levels lack both outside and inside-party oversight. From 1957 onwards, party privileges began to develop seriously. For a long time, different views within the Chinese Communist Party have been resolved by democratic centralism, that is, through consultation and discussion, the minority is subordinate to the majority. Under normal circumstances, different views rely on Mao Zedong's "final decision". Disputes over major issues are resolved by "line struggle". The so-called "line struggle" means that two parties with different opinions will not give in to each other, and in the end, one group of people will defeat another group of people. A group of people who implemented the "wrong line" stepped down, and a group of people who adhered to the "correct line" came to power. This kind of line struggle is cruel and sometimes "death and dead", because the line struggle is "a reflection of the class struggle within the party". Since Mao Zedong had absolute power, line struggle has often become a tool he used to fight against dissidents. The Communist Party of China is the only political group that leads China. Although there are other political parties in China, none of these parties aim to obtain a ruling position, and they all follow the principle of obeying the leadership of the Communist Party of China. They do not compete on equal terms with the Chinese Communist Party, but lead and be led. They are called "partisan parties". The top leaders of these democratic parties are members of the Communist Party of China sent by the Communist Party of China. In some democratic parties, a "Party Group" of the Communist Party of China has been established as the core of the party's leadership. Economically, it is supported by the Communist Party with state financial appropriations. The cadres of the democratic parties are also appointed by the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee. Therefore, strictly speaking, China's democratic parties are not political parties, but only a social group under the leadership of the Communist Party and serving the Communist Party. In imperial societies, peasant revolts overthrew an emperor and replaced it with a new emperor. In a party society, a one-party dictatorship is overthrown and a new one-party dictatorship takes its place. In "On Coalition Government", Mao Zedong proposed to "abolish the one-party dictatorship of the Kuomintang and establish a democratic coalition government". The results of it? Still a one-party dictatorship. It just replaced the one-party dictatorship of the Kuomintang with the one-party dictatorship of the Communist Party. At the beginning of their establishment, these two parties had received the help of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, learned organizational experience from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and both adhered to the principle of "one party, one doctrine, one leader".

4. Defend power with the barrel of the gun 4. Defend the power with the barrel of the gun 4. Defend the power with the barrel of the gun

The military is the backbone of this highly centralized state apparatus. The highly centralized system is maintained by the military. This army is the Chinese People's Liberation Army. From June 1946 to June 1950, this army annihilated a total of 8.07 million Kuomintang troops under Chiang Kai-shek's control, realizing "power emerges from the barrel of a gun". This is a huge army unparalleled in the world. At the end of the third year of the war of liberation, in June 1948, the Chinese People's Liberation Army numbered 4 million. By July 1950, it had increased to 5 million. In 1951, the number was the largest in history, 6.11 million. After the Korean War, the population has remained above 4 million. Until June 1985, Deng Xiaoping decided to cut 1 million troops, reducing the number to 3.3 million. In addition to this huge standing army, tens of millions of reservists can be called up at any time if the war requires. This is a powerful army composed of many arms. Not only the army, but also the air force, the navy, the artillery, the armored force, the engineering force, the railway force (removed in the 1980s), the chemical defense force and the strategic missile force. This multi-armed, highly integrated unit has strong firepower, protection, assault, mobility and quick response capabilities. This is a force supported by a huge military scientific research team. There are hundreds of national defense scientific research institutions, more than 100 military academies and national defense scientific research institutions across the country, including almost all outstanding talents from engineering colleges. This is an army backed by heavy industry throughout the country. Mao Zedong's policy of prioritizing the development of heavy industry was partly motivated by the need to prepare for war. The machinery industry, chemical industry, electronics industry, automobile and tractor industry can soon be transformed into military industries when needed. Many weapons and equipment in the Mao Zedong era were produced in civilian factories through "military mobilization". That is to mobilize the power of civilian factories and use the resources of civilian factories to produce weapons. The military expenditure in the Mao Zedong era did not include the cost of "military industry mobilization". This powerful military force is firmly in the hands of Mao Zedong. In Mao Zedong's empire, it was "the party commanding the gun". Party command and robbery is not an empty principle. It is not only guaranteed by officers' loyalty to the Party, but by a series of systems and means.

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

495

The Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China commands the entire army. The chairman of the Military Commission is concurrently held by the chairman of the Party Central Committee. The chairman of the Military Commission has the final say on major issues. The main leaders of the Party Central Committee are all members of the Central Military Commission. The main cadres of the army are appointed by the Central Military Commission. There are party organizations in the military at all levels, with branches built on companies. Military cadres are all members of party committees at the same level. All major matters of the army are discussed and approved by the party committee. From top to bottom, party organizations are everywhere, and everywhere they play a leading role. These are important organizational guarantees for "party command guns". At the same time, strengthen ideological and political work, so that every soldier knows the principle of "the party directs the gun". In addition, Mao Zedong also absorbed the experience of China's military supervision system in past dynasties, and perfected it, thus forming a set of strict military supervision methods: 1. Officers are frequently transferred. In this way, it is impossible to establish a deep personal relationship between a superior officer and a subordinate officer, and between an officer and a soldier. This prevents the army from becoming the private army of individual officers. Conspiracy against the center is also impossible within an army. 2. Those who lead troops cannot transfer troops, and those who transfer troops cannot lead troops. The army commander and officers leading troops at all levels below the army commander cannot lead their own troops to move. The movement of a battalion of combat troops requires the approval of the Central Military Commission. The movement of a regiment of the production and operation force is subject to the approval of the General Staff. On the other hand, those who have the power to transfer troops cannot lead troops in a unit without approval. The separation of the power to deploy troops and the power to lead troops allows each army to operate only within the designated garrison range, and it is impossible to carry out military operations other than those given by the central government. 3. One cannot mobilize troops alone, and the mobilization of troops is decided by the collective. The deployment of troops by the Central Military Commission is not determined by one person alone, but by collective research and collective decision. Of course, the chairman of the Central Military Commission has the final say. Fourth, military salaries and equipment are provided by the central government, and cannot be collected on the spot. In the past, one of the reasons for the separatist rule of warlords was that the warlords collected salaries in the territory under their jurisdiction. He could become a self-sufficient independent kingdom within the territory under his jurisdiction. If the territory was large, the army was sufficiently paid to further expand the army. Therefore, there is warlord melee between warlords fighting for territory. The salaries of the Chinese People's Liberation Army are uniformly provided by the General Logistics Department, and all "eat the imperial food". The army itself cannot pay on the spot. 5. The garrison is separated from the local government where it is located, and the local administrator and the military commander are separated. In the era of warlords, the local military and government were unified, and the military chief was the chief executive. They not only rely on their military strength to compete with the Central Chamber, but also rely on their administrative positions to issue orders to the people. In the Mao Zedong era, local chiefs had no military power and could only obey the central government; military chiefs had no administrative power and could not give orders to the people. The central government has separate control over the military chief and the chief executive, and allows the two to supervise each other. In this way, it is impossible to implement military separatism at the local level. Although the main person in charge of the local party committee also serves as the political commissar of the local garrison, and the main person in charge of the local garrison participates in the local party committee, this is only a form of mutual communication, and military work and local work are still clearly distinguished. 6. "Double Chief System", that is, the same army has two top leaders. Both the army commander and the political commissar are in command. The two sat on an equal footing. Both are accountable to the higher party committee. The two have a check and balance effect on each other. It is difficult for them to work together to rebel. 7. The division, administration, and rear division are separated, and the operational command, cadre and evaluation appointment and dismissal, and logistical support in the army are respectively responsible for the headquarters, the political department, and the logistics department. All three obey the leadership of the party committee at the same level and accept the business guidance of the counterpart department at the higher level. Eight, strong stems and weak branches. In terms of military deployment, the military strength near the capital is greater than that in any one region. In the event of a problem elsewhere, the central government can crusade against the rebels with the overwhelming military power of the capital. Forces (including military chiefs) stationed outside the capital are subject to approval to bring a gun into the capital. Air and naval aircraft cannot fly over the capital. Since the Chairman of the Military Commission has the final say, it is said that the Party directs the gun. In fact, the Chairman of the Military Commission directs the gun, that is, Mao Zedong commands the gun. In the final analysis, Mao Zedong commands the Party with the gun, and then controls the whole people through the Party. In the past, Mao Zedong relied on "power from the barrel of a gun". Now, Mao Zedong uses the barrel of a gun to defend his power.

5. Democracy is actually an autocratic regime

October 1, 1949 at 3 pm. 300,000 people in Beijing gathered in Tiananmen Square. Standing on the Tianan City Tower, Mao Zedong announced to the world that the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China was established. What kind of political system is practiced in the republic? Mao Zedong repeatedly raised the issue of his struggle against Chiang Kai-shek

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

496

Over the slogan of democratic politics, he has repeatedly proposed to build a democratic country. However, his attitude towards democracy on the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China was different than in the past. In August 1949, Mao Zedong said at the Politburo meeting: "We adopt democratic centralism, not the bourgeois parliamentary system... There is no need for the bourgeois parliamentary system and the confrontation of the three powers." He put the modern political system created by human beings. ——The "parliamentary system" and the "separation of powers" of checks and balances are said to be bourgeois and fundamentally denied. Mao Zedong divided the composition of the state into two issues: the state system and the political system. He said, "The state system is the class nature of the state. The state system issue is a question of the status of various social classes in the state, that is, the issue of class domination of state power." Which class should be the dictator in China? In February 1940, he advocated a "joint dictatorship of all classes". By June 1949, he proposed the "people's democratic dictatorship", that is, "democratic dictatorship over the people and dictatorship over the enemy". In his later years, he proposed the "dictatorship of the proletariat". Of course, these three formulations have their consistent aspects. The key lies in the interpretation of "people". If the "people" is interpreted as "the union of the working class, the peasant class, the urban petty bourgeoisie, and the national bourgeoisie", the people's democratic dictatorship is the united dictatorship of all classes. If the leading role of the proletariat in this alliance is emphasized, the people's democratic dictatorship is the dictatorship of the proletariat. However, the scope of the "people" is getting smaller and smaller. In addition to the land, the rich, the rebels, the bad and the right, the intellectuals are regarded as the bourgeoisie in the cities, and even the well-to-do middle peasants are attacked in the countryside. In fact, it is still a dictatorship of the minority over the majority. Mao Zedong once proposed to "correctly handle the contradictions among the people", but there is no strict and clear legal definition of "people" and "enemies". From Mao Zedong to a village branch secretary, anyone who opposes them can be described as "enemies" and thus become objects of dictatorship. The People's Congress is the basic political system of the People's Republic of China. This is its "government". According to the Constitution, the National People's Congress is the highest organ of state power and the highest organ exercising the legislative power of the state. In addition to the power to amend the Constitution, formulate laws, and exercise legislative power, the National People's Congress has the power to select and supervise leading state officials. The President and Vice-Chairmen are elected by the National People's Congress. The Premier of the State Council, nominated by the President of the State, is decided by the National People's Congress. The National People's Congress also elects the President of the Supreme People's Court and the Chief Procurator of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. According to the Constitution, the National People's Congress also has the power to decide various major issues in the life of the country, such as reviewing and approving the national economic plan and the report on the implementation of the national economic plan, reviewing and approving the state budget and budget implementation Report, approve the division of provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, and decide on war and peace. Under the system of people's congresses, there is the system of heads of state. According to the 1954 "Constitution", the President of the People's Republic of China represents the People's Republic of China to the outside world, accepts foreign envoys, commands the national armed forces, serves as the chairman of the National Defense Commission, convenes the Supreme State Council, and serves as the chairman of the Supreme Council of State. But at the same time, the President of the People's Republic of China must be combined with the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in order to exercise certain functions and powers of the head of state. Therefore, in this case, the head of state is actually a collective composed of the president of the state and the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. After the expiry of the first National People's Congress, Mao Zedong was no longer willing to be the President of the state. In 1958, at the first session of the Second National People's Congress, Liu Shaoqi served as the state President. After Liu Shaoqi was "overthrown" during the Cultural Revolution, there was no president. Later, because Mao Zedong himself was unwilling to be the president of the state, and he did not allow others to be the president of the state, the Constitutions of 1975 and 1978 stipulated that there would be no president of the state. The articles of the Constitution also had to obey Mao Zedong's personal wishes. The People's Republic of China has the word "Republic" in its name. Montesquieu divided states into three types: republic, monarchy, and autocracy. He believes that a republic is a government in which the whole people or a part of the people hold the highest power; a monarchy is a government in which a single person follows the law; an autocracy has neither laws nor regulations, and is governed by a single person according to his own will. to govern the government. Judging from the provisions of the "Constitution", the People's Republic of China is a "republic", not an autocracy. There were only two laws in China at that time, one was the Constitution and the other was the Marriage Law. Mao Zedong (especially in his later years) could ignore the Constitution and act according to his own will. On the afternoon of August 21, 1958, Mao Zedong said at the Beidaihe Conference: It is not good if there is no such thing as law, but we have our own set, and Ma Qingtian's set is better. . . . (Liu Shaoqi interjected: Is it the rule of law or the rule of man? It seems that it actually depends on people, and the law can only be used as a reference for handling affairs. The Nanning Conference, the Second Conference of the Eighth National Congress, and the Beidaihe Conference are all decisions made by everyone. ", as soon as it appeared in the newspaper, it spread across the country.) No

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

497

The majority of people can be governed by the law, and the majority of people must rely on the formation of habits. The army relies on military law to govern people, but it can't govern people. In fact, a 1,400-member assembly (referring to the enlarged meeting of the Military Commission in 1958) governs people. Who remembers the civil law and criminal law. The constitution was written by me, and I can't remember. Han Feizi taught the rule of law, and later Confucianism taught the rule of man. Every resolution we make is a law, and so is a meeting. Public security regulations can only be abided by if they become habit, become public opinion, and if you are conscious, you can enter communism. Most, 90% of our various rules and regulations are handled by the bureaus. We basically do not rely on those, but mainly rely on resolutions, meetings, and four times a year. We do not rely on civil law and criminal law to maintain order. The People's Congress and the State Council have their own way of meeting, and we still rely on our own. The "our way" he said refers to the Chinese Communist Party's way, and the "our way" negates the "their way". "Resolution" refers to the resolutions of organizations at all levels of the Communist Party of China. The "resolutions" of the Chinese Communist Party are greater than the laws of the People's Republic of China. Party or State? Party big. Liu Shaoqi opposed the rule of law and favored the rule of man. In the end, he was murdered by the rule of man: as President of the People's Republic of China, he was put to death without any legal measure. This is something. Western modern countries are parliamentary politics, while China is "conference politics". The so-called "meeting politics" means that all major matters are decided through meetings, and the "resolutions" of the CPC meeting are higher than the law. However, when the meeting will be held, what will be discussed at the meeting, what form will be discussed, and how long the meeting will be held, no one has the right to decide. The meeting is a tool to implement the will of the supreme leader, and the "resolution" of the meeting is actually the written expression of the will of the supreme leader. Conference politics is unprogrammed and illegal politics, with a lot of randomness. Although "parliamentary politics" and "meeting politics" have only changed the order of one word, they have undergone essential changes: "parliamentary politics" is democratic politics, and "meeting politics" is autocratic politics. Thousands of Party branches of the Chinese Communist Party have penetrated into every factory, workshop, field, corner, and all organs, schools, and residents' committees. In every grass-roots unit and political institution at all levels, the party organization is above the administrative leadership, above the people's congress, and implements absolute leadership. "Workers, peasants, businessmen, students, soldiers, southeast, northwest, middle school, the party leads everything." And the party organizations at all levels, the number one leader is above the organization. The secretary is in charge, and the committee members treat the secretary like stars and moons. The executive leaders can only bow their heads to the secretary. Nominally it is a people's congress system, but in reality, the party and the government are not divided, and the party is the government. Power is highly concentrated in the party, and party power is highly concentrated in the hands of the main leaders. In this way, the people's congresses at all levels are in vain. The powers vested in the People's Congress by the Constitution are also dead letter. The Constitution stipulates that the National People's Congress is the highest organ of power, but in fact the highest power rests in the hands of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The Constitution stipulates that the National People's Congress elects the president and vice-chairman, the president of the Supreme People's Court and the chief procurator of the People's Procuratorate. The Constitution stipulates that the National People's Congress shall review the national economic plan, which has been repeatedly discussed within the Chinese Communist Party in advance; the Constitution stipulates the establishment of the National Defense Commission, which is actually a fictitious institution, and the military is under the control of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China The "Constitution" stipulates that the President of the People's Republic of China shall command the national armed forces, in fact, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China shall command the national armed forces. . . . The National People's Congress is nothing more than a rubber stamp. The Lenin and Stalin systems were grafted onto the foundation of Qin Shihuang's system, and they were called "revolutionary regimes", and those who opposed this regime were of course "counter-revolutionaries." "Counter-revolutionaries" should be severely punished.

6. Extremely Tight Thought Control 6. Extremely Tight Thought Control 6. Extremely Tight Thought Control

In line with the high concentration of party power, political power, military power, and economic power, public opinion is highly centralized and highly unified. The Chinese Communist Party has always emphasized that it should grasp the "two poles": the barrel of the gun and the barrel of the pen. To conquer the world and to rule the world must rely on these two poles. "Pen-holders" are all tools of public opinion, and grasping "pen-holders" means mastering and mobilizing resources and controlling thoughts. Juxtaposing the "pen barrel" with the gun barrel, we can see how much importance it attaches to mind control. Soon after the founding of the People's Republic of China, communist ideology was adopted as the unifying ideology of the whole country, and the people of the whole country were required to obey the goal of communism completely and forever. Let everyone know that for the realization of the highest ideal of all mankind, sacrifice

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

498

The ego is necessary, honorable, and noble, and the unwillingness to make sacrifices is shameful. The theory of the "five stages" of social development (slave society, feudal society, capitalist society, socialist society, and communist society, the latter one is more advanced than the former, and the latter will inevitably replace the former, which is an irresistible historical law ) was written into the textbooks of primary and secondary schools, realizing communism is an inevitable law of the development of human society, and personal interests and personal lives are insignificant in the face of historical laws. To this end, on the one hand, intellectuals are not allowed to make speeches different from those of communism, and on the other hand, they forcefully instill communism on the masses. All tools of public opinion, all books, all forums, all conferences, instill the ideal of communism and criticize ideas that are different from it. The broad masses, especially the ignorant youth, can only hear one voice and know only one theory, which makes their thoughts very "pure" and their "likes and dislikes" clear and strong. These "pure" youths are actually communist "fundamentalists", and they are sincere, firm, and powerful forces that reject and combat non-communist ideology. They are fanatics in political movements and the main force behind excessive behavior. . The communist ideal is the most convincing and legal tool for the "big self" to eliminate the "small self" and to deprive the individuality by force. Why the "communist wind" blew one after another during the three-year famine is the result of years of communism indoctrination. At that time, there were only two major newspapers distributed nationwide, one was the People's Daily sponsored by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the other was the Guangming Daily, with intellectuals as its main readers. The guiding ideology of these two newspapers is exactly the same except for a slight difference in style. Each province has a newspaper under the direct leadership of the provincial party committee. Except for the local news approved by the provincial party committee, the other content is no different from the People's Daily. The presidents and editors-in-chief of each newspaper are all appointed by the higher-level party committees. What to publish or not to publish is entirely up to the higher-level party organization to decide. The editors and reporters of party newspapers must abide by the party's propaganda discipline. In order to avoid making mistakes, the night shift editors of the provincial newspapers have to call the "People's Daily" night shift editor to "check the table" every night when determining the layout, in order to agree on the "layout language". In quite a few cases, the manuscripts, headlines, and layout of the first pages of all newspapers in the country on the same day are almost identical. The Central People's Broadcasting Station and Xinhua News Agency are definitely the mouthpieces of the CCP Central Committee. Although the topic of important manuscripts is determined by the superior, the manuscript must be submitted for review. Although there are many aspects to be considered by reviewers, whether to strengthen or weaken people's communist beliefs, whether to strengthen or weaken people's loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, and whether to lower or improve the prestige of leaders is the most important factor in determining whether a manuscript can be published. fundamental principle. The real situation in foreign countries and the negative situation at work should not be known to the common people. The common people could not listen to the broadcasts of overseas radio stations. In addition to the powerful interfering radio stations set up by the state, they were also arrested and sentenced on the charge of "eavesdropping on enemy stations". Eavesdropping on "Voice of America" is a terrible crime. At that time, the common people rarely had radios, and radios were not allowed to have shortwave. At that time, there were also social science research institutions in China, such as the Department of Social Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (referred to as "Faculty" - the predecessor of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), but the selection of research topics, the guiding ideology of research, and the publication of research results were all decided by party officials. . The researcher cannot think freely, cannot study independently, cannot conduct inquiries into truth. Annotation, argumentation of official opinions, and defense of official errors are the only goals of social science research. There were also some academic journals at that time, such as Philosophical Research, Economic Research, etc., but these journals were firmly controlled in the hands of party and government officials and were the theoretical propaganda tools of the Chinese Communist Party. In libraries across the country, some books and periodicals that disagree with the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China have taken down their shelves, some are sealed, and some are destroyed. Culture and art are regarded as "cogs and screws" in the great machine of revolutionary cause. At that time, most of the literary and artistic works praised the Chinese Communist Party and Mao Zedong. Deifying leaders, whitewashing peace, and extolling virtues are the main tasks of literary and art workers. If the press mobilizes people to be loyal to the Chinese Communist Party in terms of public opinion and social science theoretically, then literature and art mobilize people to be loyal to the Chinese Communist Party emotionally, and to Mao Zedong. Chinese literature and art have played an unparalleled role in the deification of leaders, which is incomparable with other tools of public opinion. In his later years, Mao Zedong repeatedly spoke of Qin Shihuang's "burning books and pitting Confucianists" in a positive manner, believing that Qin Shihuang only "pitted" a few hundred people, while "we" were much more than Qin Shihuang. This is the truth. Therefore, at the beginning of the founding of New China, almost all Kochi Confucian scholars, scholars and experts consciously or forced to give up their free thoughts and independent personalities, reformed their minds, and started anew. Only Liang Shuming, Chen Yinke and other very few people did not do this and saved their lives. During the anti-rightist struggle from 1956 to 1957, the ideological circle was purged again, and nearly 600,000 intellectuals who did not obey the unified ideology were labeled as "rightists". A political struggle against intellectuals has strengthened the "unity" of ideas.

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

499

In that era, all the propaganda machines and all the cultural education in the country served the same goal and concentrated on influencing everyone in one direction. The whole country has truly achieved the same level of public opinion. All views that are different from those of the Communist Party have been "formatted", thus realizing the "integration" of all the people's thoughts and "unanimously laughing and scolding". At that time, there was only one thinker and one theoretical authority in the whole country, and he was Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong Thought is the guiding ideology of the whole nation. Mao Zedong not only held the military and political power of the country, but also the highest ideological authority of the country, that is, the highest authority to educate the whole people. This achieves "the unity of politics and religion". In the case of the unity of state and religion, the center of power is the center of truth. Whoever has the most power is the embodiment of truth. No one dared to express a different opinion, or even to think independently. A large number of ignorant believe that Mao Zedong will lead people to the communist paradise. A large number of cadres believe that they have the responsibility of "fighting for the best ideals of mankind" and that they are doing things for heaven. When they are too busy to persuade, it is natural for them to abuse those who do not obey. In a country with deep roots in the idea of imperial power, people regard Mao Zedong's thought as the authority. The Chinese Communist Party uses the "artifact" of the central government to instill a single value to the whole people, and has created many sincere believers. Therefore, during the three-year famine, the peasants thought that Chairman Mao was wise and the Central Committee was correct, but the cadres at the lower levels did not do a good job.

7. The social structure of the isomorphism 7. The social structure of the isomorphism

In the era of emperors, there was a saying in China that "under the whole world, there is no king's land; on the shore of the land, there is no king's officials." In the Mao Zedong era, with the help of modern transportation and communication, the dreams of the emperors of the past were truly realized. All parts of the country have the same organizations and implement the same policies; everyone in the country lives in a certain organization under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, shouts the same slogans, and popularizes the same political discourse; Officials everywhere are holding meetings with the same content at the same time. Since the whole society is in the same situation, once a political disaster occurs, it must be nationwide, and the victims cannot find a place to escape. This book describes the situation in some provinces during the three years of famine, and the reader will see that this is why the situation is so similar everywhere. At that time, Chinese society was a pyramidal social structure of isomorphism. In the city, it is the city-district-sub-district office-neighborhood committee-resident group-resident. In any city you can find the same structure and corresponding levels and roles as another city. In the countryside, it is the province - the prefecture - the county - the commune - the brigade - the team - the commune. In any village one can find a level character that corresponds to another faraway village. A production team in Guangdong Province is similar to a production team in Heilongjiang Province, which is thousands of miles away. The way of life of a people's commune member in Guangdong province is not much different from that of a people's commune member in Heilongjiang province. The social structure of isomorphism makes the social structure stable, the roles of social members are simple, and the behavioral characteristics of social members are the same. The government agency pyramid, the urban structure pyramid, and the rural structure pyramid are intertwined into a network to form a pyramid system. Each member of society is confined to a mesh at a different level of this network. Social members cannot flow, and there is no exchange relationship between social members. This social structure facilitates a high degree of centralized management. It excludes not only democracy, but also commodity production and commodity exchange, and the individual freedom of members of society has completely disappeared. In this social structure, wrong policies will be unimpeded. Not only will they not be resisted and corrected, but their wrong effects will be amplified layer by layer. In the social structure of isomorphism, there are no "foreign" people. When the famous female writer Zhang Yihe was beaten as a counter-revolutionary in Sichuan, her father Zhang Bojun said to her: "You must live, even if you fall for the grass and become a bandit!" Zhang Yihe said sadly: "There is no grass. Ah!" In such a social structure, the hungry have nowhere to go.

8. The invisible system that restrains people's behavior

Institutions can be divided into tangible institutions and intangible institutions. All of the above are tangible systems. Intangible system refers to two parties

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

500

One is the value system formed by ideological indoctrination; the other is Chinese cultural traditions, especially political and cultural traditions. These two aspects combine to regulate people's behavior, often more than tangible institutions. The value system established by Mao Zedong is composed of a series of ideological concepts, such as the ideal of communism, the theory of class struggle, the philosophy of never-ending struggle, the overemphasis on human subjective initiative, and the morality of sacrificing the individual to ensure the collective. Faith, philosophy, politics, economics, morality, etc. constitute a whole set of value systems. This value system is long-term instilled into everyone's heart through all the tools of public opinion. Become the standard for judging right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness. The cultural tradition characterized by the idea of kingship, formed over thousands of years, has a deeper accumulation than the newly formed value system. In the Chinese political and cultural tradition, the monarch is supreme. Although there was a saying in ancient China that "the people are the most precious and the ruler is light", fundamentally speaking, valuing the people and loving the people is not the goal, it is a means to maintain the monarchy, and the monarch is the goal. The monarch is the patriarchal patriarch of the whole society, the embodiment of law and order, the determinant of the rise and fall of chaos, the highest educator (the unity of politics and religion) in the whole society, and the highest judge of knowledge. The ruler is the father, the father is the ruler, the ruler respects the subject and the subordinate, and the unity of loyalty and filial piety. Subjects must consciously identify with the humble status and instrumental attributes of being a son as a subject, abide by their duties, and do their best. Kingship is opposed to equality of personality, personal dignity, and individuality independence. Dependence, blind obedience, and servility are the products of royalism. This cultural tradition characterized by royal power, after thousands of years of practice, has penetrated deep into the Chinese folk and people's minds, and it is at work anytime, anywhere. Some content in traditional culture communicates with the value system of the Communist Party and becomes the ideological foundation of collectivism. For example, in the traditional thought of "kill oneself to be benevolent, sacrifice one's life for righteousness", understanding "benevolence" as "sacrificing one's self for the greater self" and "righteousness" as "communism" will generate great spiritual power. People are superstitious in leaders, advocating power, conforming to trends, and accepting adversity. When persecution is approaching, people resort to deception to protect themselves, and to betray their friends for their own safety. People on each rung of the power ladder have two sides: minions to those above and masters to those below. On this pyramid of power, the will of the top is amplified and the voice of the bottom is suppressed. This is the condition for the creation and smooth implementation of wrong policies. "If there are good people in the top, there will be more in the bottom." The mistakes above will be "creative play" level after level, and the wrong policy will be "amplified". There is only positive feedback, no error correction mechanism. The whip of power combined with the temptation of heaven makes the cadres lose their minds and turn into lunatics, liars, and thugs who drive slaves with a whip. The invisible system not only constrains everyone's behavior, but also forms a broad social psychology. This social psychology is one of the social roots of totalitarian systems. Former Czech President and famous scholar Havel once deeply reflected: "When I talk about the moral environment of collapse, I mean each of us. Because we all obey the system and regard it as an unchangeable fact. , thus keeping it going. In other words, each of us is responsible for the existence of this system to varying degrees, and no one is just a victim. We all made the machine.”

9. Hyper-stability of the totalitarian system

The autocratic system first suppresses local tyrants and socially capable people. In this way, the tyrants cannot oppress the common people, and the capable cannot gather wealth. Under the autocratic system, the few people at the top of the society can consume and dispose of national wealth arbitrarily, but those below senior officials can share benefits according to the administrative level, but no tyrants other than officials are allowed, and no one outside the government is allowed. Rich people exist. In this way, social justice other than high-ranking officials can be achieved. The privileges of high-ranking officials are state secrets, and the common people do not know about it. On the contrary, the government-controlled public opinion constantly promotes how officials are "honest and honest." Although the common people are under the pressure of tyranny, they have very few feelings of injustice in their hearts. In an autocratic system, deprivation and security coexist. The central government deprives the people of the fruits of their labor, but provides them with a minimum living guarantee. Although the majority of the masses are half-starved and ragged, they can sustain life. If you are sick, you can also get simple medical treatment. If the year is good and the economic situation is better, people's lives can be slightly improved. Due to the lack of information, the common people do not know the situation abroad and believe that the common people in capitalist society are in "distress". Although their living standards are extremely low, they are still emotionally satisfied and have no more extravagant demands. Without greater oppression, there would be no demand for rebellion. Some liberals in Western countries have overestimated the resistance of the masses under the autocracy. During the 2003 U.S.-Iraq war, the Americans thought that as soon as their soldiers arrived, the Iraqi people would welcome the liberators. reality and beauty

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

501

Contrary to the expectations of the Chinese people, not only did there not be a large number of mutineers, but also there were no refugees who fled, and the mutineers were precisely the upper-level figures close to Saddam. A totalitarian system harms the interests of the majority, but it is difficult for anyone to come out and challenge the authorities for the interests of the majority. Olson's The Logic of Collective Action demonstrates this idea: if individual actions increase the benefit of the group as a whole, it can be assumed that individual costs are equivalent to collective benefits. But the individuals who pay this cost receive only a tiny share of the collective benefit. The interests of the group belong to all people, and the larger the group, the more members tend to free-rider and enjoy the benefits. As a result, "economic people" will not act for the common interests of the group, resulting in "the dilemma of collective action". Because of persecution, so-called "reasonable people" dare not criticize tyranny. Thus, an unprecedented powerful autocracy appeared. Everyone submits to the will of power, no doubt stronger than any previous regime. The hyper-stability of a totalitarian system is due to the difficulty of overthrowing it by civil forces other than the regime, as explained in the chapter "Social Vibration and Social Control in the Age of the Great Famine" in this book.

10. This system lacks error correction mechanism 10. This system lacks error correction mechanism 10. This system lacks error correction mechanism 10. This system lacks error correction mechanism

Under a totalitarian system, even if the supreme ruler has the most perfect personality, it is difficult to avoid making mistakes. The first is that he cannot hear different voices. He couldn't concentrate the wisdom of more people to get things done. One person's head replaces the heads of millions of people, and it is inevitable that decision-making mistakes will occur. After he made a mistake, not only did no one dare to criticize him, but he also flattered him. Small mistakes would turn into big mistakes, and local mistakes would turn into global mistakes. What's more, top leaders in authoritarian regimes are often deceived. Much of the information they get is false. Using fake information to make decisions, how can you not make mistakes? Under a totalitarian system, the supreme ruler monopolizes all information and controls all public opinion. He subjectively wanted to control the eyes and ears of the common people, but he also blocked his own eyes and ears objectively. Under this system, information can only be disseminated vertically. Due to the induction of interests, subordinates always reflect information that is beneficial to their own promotion, and only reflect information that superiors like to hear. Top leaders base their decisions on this false information. In 1958, the false information of "satellite distribution" of grain made Mao Zedong consider the problem of "what to do if there is too much grain", and put forward the guiding ideology of "less planting, high yield, and more harvest", which made large areas of arable land fall into disrepair.

From the winter of 1958 to the beginning of 1960, a large number of people starved to death in rural areas. Due to incomplete and accurate information, Mao Zedong believed that such situations were individual and temporary difficulties that should not hinder the continued leap forward of the national economy. The Lushan Conference continued to oppose the right deviation and pushed the leftist policy further to the left. Under Mao's full push, the enlarged meeting of the Shanghai Political Bureau in January 1960 called for the completion of the 40-point Agricultural Development Outline in three years, catching up with the United Kingdom in five years, and deploying people's communes in large cities. In March, the Hangzhou meeting called for the realization of "universalization of public canteens in urban and rural areas", followed by the establishment of people's communes in major cities across the country. In the spring and summer of 1960, when the famine was further intensified, Mao Zedong received good news from the provincial party secretary. On February 24, 1960, there was a serious phenomenon of starvation in Guizhou, but the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China reported to Mao that the canteens in the province were well-run and relatively good, accounting for 80% of the total. Mao praised again, saying that Guizhou's experience "is a scientific summary". The experience of running public canteens in Guizhou Province has been promoted nationwide. In March 1960, the Hunan Provincial Party Committee, with Zhang Pinghua as the first secretary, reported a lot of good news to Mao and the Central Committee on the construction of water conservancy and farmland renovation, and also said that "the welfare and health of the masses are generally better." February 27, March 21 In a report to the Central Committee of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee, with Shu Tong serving as the first secretary, it said that "remarkable achievements have been made in terms of the living arrangements of the commune members." But the bad things are reported as good things. The report believes that the province's "current situation is infinitely good", and also summarizes several major performances of the infinitely good situation. On March 5th, the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee reported that "Most canteens are well run, generally have vegetable gardens, most of them raise pigs, and some raise chickens..." On March 5th, Wu Zhipu was appointed as the first secretary. The Henan Provincial Party Committee reported good news to Mao Zedong: 88% of the Henan province's population has entered the canteen, and well-run canteens account for 66% of the total. Wu Zhipu also claimed that the third-level secretary canteen created by the province, and the measures of "experimental field", consolidated the socialist canteen position. During this period, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

Tombstone: Documentary of the Great Famine in China in the 1960s

502

The report compiled by the eight provinces and cities of Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Gansu, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang said: "Most canteens are running well at present." Why can't the top leaders hear different voices? Zhu Houze, the former head of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, once said to me: You stand in the center of the circle of the Temple of Heaven and shout, and after a while you hear echoes from all sides. The voice you hear is still your own voice. The Temple of Heaven is a symbol of our political system, in which the voice of the supreme ruler is his own echo. In other words, whatever information he sends out, the same kind of information will be sent below. It was impossible for him to hear voices that were inconsistent with his will. Mao Zedong sometimes believed some lies, and sometimes he doubted some lies, but there was nothing he could do. According to the recollection of Mao's secretary, Ye Zilong, at first, Mao Zedong believed the "satellite" report. Regarding the exaggerated report on the grain "satellite", Mao Zedong read it carefully one by one, and in some places he used a red pencil to draw a bar. Later, Mao Zedong saw many problems in the Great Leap Forward. He inspected many places, and despite the "preparations" made by local cadres in advance, Mao Zedong was aware of some satellites and lies. On August 13, 1958, Mao Zedong visited the rice fields in Xinli Village, Tianjin. The leaders of the commune said that the yield of this land was 100,000 catties per mu. Mao Zedong didn't believe it. He pointed to a city leader and said, "You are bragging. This is impossible. You are using a cannon. I have cultivated land, but you have never cultivated land. This is unreliable. Can't pile it up?" The leader said: "They use electric lights to illuminate the rice and blowers to blow it in. They let children stand on the rice." Mao Zedong said: "Baby, don't go up. The higher you stand, The heavier the fall!" Mao Zedong was also very distressed that he could not hear the truth. He once said to himself in front of Ye Zilong: "Why don't they tell the truth? Why?" According to Ye Zilong's recollection: "As early as the Nanning Conference in January 1958, Mao Zedong had He said that he should be an honest person, tell the truth, and do honest things. However, in actual work, what Mao Zedong heard was not entirely the truth." Mao Zedong asked someone to understand the situation, but what he heard was good and no one told the truth. question. In 1961, Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun, and Deng Xiaoping conducted investigations and researches in order to get rid of the trouble of falsehoods. Mao asked Hu Qiaomu, Tian Jiaying, and Chen Boda to conduct investigations in three groups. Tian went to Sichuan, Hu went to Hunan, and Chen went to Zhejiang. Liu Shaoqi went back to his hometown, Ningxiang, Hunan, for more than 40 days. Zhou Enlai went to Hebei, Chen Yun went to Qingpu, and Zhu went to Sichuan. The decision to dismantle the public canteen would not have been possible without these investigations. Leaders in this system are not only prone to mistakes, but also lack error correction mechanisms. A system without error correction mechanism is the most dangerous system, and democracy is the best error correction mechanism. When the totalitarian system makes mistakes, only the supreme ruler can correct the mistakes; Institutions are far more important than the individual qualities of a leader in terms of whether mistakes are made and correcting them. Good people in a bad system can reduce losses, but overall losses are difficult to detect and correct. During the Great Famine, due to the different qualities of the leaders in charge, the severity of the deaths in each province was different, but the whole country still starved to death by tens of millions. On the contrary, under a good system, the bad guys will also cause losses, but they are easy to find and correct. Bad guys will lose power very quickly.