by Alex Dhaliwal
Between 40 million and 80 million people died under Mao, although estimates of the death toll vary among historians.
Conservative MPs are blasting CBC/Radio-Canada for giving Mao Zedong the nostalgia treatment following the state broadcaster’s decision to run an AFP feature on admirers celebrating the communist dictator 50 years after his death.
The French-language arm of CBC published the wire story under the headline “Long live Mao! 50 years after his death, the father of Communist China still inspires,” chronicling admirers who gathered in Mao’s hometown of Shaoshan to mark the anniversary.
The AFP report describes supporters carrying portraits and flags, laying wreaths and chanting “Long live Chairman Mao!”, while others praised him as a visionary leader.
“I have deep respect for him, and I was marked by his spirit,” a 28-year-old visitor told AFP.
Another admirer described Mao as “someone selfless who opened a new era for China.”
But the story also acknowledges that Mao’s rule from 1949 until his death in 1976 was marked by mass starvation and tens of millions of deaths, particularly during the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. Estimates of the overall death toll vary substantially due to the poor tracking of the regime.
The article says nostalgia for Mao’s egalitarian ideals is growing as China grapples with economic pressures and inequality.