How the Cultural Revolution sculpts China's new leaders.
- 12 years ago
PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
The long march of Chinese politics -- From Mao Zedong to Deng Xiaoping; Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao.
Now a fifth generation of leaders headed by Xi Jinping.
The generation perhaps most marked by the Cultural Revolution.
As teenagers they were torn from their families and sent to the countryside to toil as farmers, some for nearly a decade. So what kind of leaders are born from that experience?
Yin Hongbiao is a Cultural Revolution historian of the same generation.
(SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) PROFESSOR, PEKING UNIVERSITY, YIN HONGBIAO, SAYING:
"Their school education was weaker but they have strong real life experience among the lowest level of society and have seen the results of the Communist Party policies. They will have thought about how to relieve rural poverty."
Does that mean China's rural poor can expect more support?
Sidney Rittenberg was a translator for Mao Zedong who lived through the Cultural Revolution in a Chinese prison.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER TRANSLATOR FOR MAO ZEDONG, SIDNEY RITTENBERG, SAYING:
"I think they'll try to. I'm not sure the wealth gap is going to narrow though. I think the bottom will continue to rise which is the main thing. They will continue to increase purchasing power which is the foundation for economic growth but I think we'll see riches continue to pile up at the top."
(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, JANE LANHEE LEE, SAYING:
"But well over three decades have passed since the end of the Cultural Revolution. Since then China's enjoyed a period of rapid economic growth."
Robert Lawrence Kuhn is a long-time advisor to Chinese leaders - and he believes the current generation is shaped equally by China's rush to prosperity.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) AUTHOR, "HOW CHINA'S LEADERS THINK", ROBERT LAWRENCE KUHN SAYING:
"I would say to understand this generation you have to understand both parts of the spectrum. They have come of age in their great flourishing of their careers when they ran major provinces or major cities in which they would deal primarily with western first class companies coming to China."
So China's challenges will be tackled by new leaders who know the perks development can bring, as well as the high cost of social turmoil.
The long march of Chinese politics -- From Mao Zedong to Deng Xiaoping; Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao.
Now a fifth generation of leaders headed by Xi Jinping.
The generation perhaps most marked by the Cultural Revolution.
As teenagers they were torn from their families and sent to the countryside to toil as farmers, some for nearly a decade. So what kind of leaders are born from that experience?
Yin Hongbiao is a Cultural Revolution historian of the same generation.
(SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) PROFESSOR, PEKING UNIVERSITY, YIN HONGBIAO, SAYING:
"Their school education was weaker but they have strong real life experience among the lowest level of society and have seen the results of the Communist Party policies. They will have thought about how to relieve rural poverty."
Does that mean China's rural poor can expect more support?
Sidney Rittenberg was a translator for Mao Zedong who lived through the Cultural Revolution in a Chinese prison.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER TRANSLATOR FOR MAO ZEDONG, SIDNEY RITTENBERG, SAYING:
"I think they'll try to. I'm not sure the wealth gap is going to narrow though. I think the bottom will continue to rise which is the main thing. They will continue to increase purchasing power which is the foundation for economic growth but I think we'll see riches continue to pile up at the top."
(SOUNDBITE) (English) REUTERS REPORTER, JANE LANHEE LEE, SAYING:
"But well over three decades have passed since the end of the Cultural Revolution. Since then China's enjoyed a period of rapid economic growth."
Robert Lawrence Kuhn is a long-time advisor to Chinese leaders - and he believes the current generation is shaped equally by China's rush to prosperity.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) AUTHOR, "HOW CHINA'S LEADERS THINK", ROBERT LAWRENCE KUHN SAYING:
"I would say to understand this generation you have to understand both parts of the spectrum. They have come of age in their great flourishing of their careers when they ran major provinces or major cities in which they would deal primarily with western first class companies coming to China."
So China's challenges will be tackled by new leaders who know the perks development can bring, as well as the high cost of social turmoil.