The Anti-Rightist Campaign

In 1957, the Party invited criticism under the slogan “let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend.” When the criticism came, a People’s Daily editorial answered: “Some say this was a plot. We say it was an open scheme (yangmou), because we told the enemy in advance. Only when poisonous weeds come out of the soil can they be easily hoed.”

By the Party’s own later count, about 550,000 people were labeled “rightists.” Figures cited from declassified central archives are far higher. The democratic parties, which had been told that “those who speak are not guilty,” no longer dared to speak in political life.

Li Wenliang’s Message

On December 30, 2019, Li Wenliang, an eye doctor at Wuhan Central Hospital, wrote in a WeChat group of his medical school classmates that seven cases of SARS had been confirmed from the Huanan seafood market. He wanted to warn colleagues to protect themselves.

On January 3, 2020, a local police station gave him a warning and a reprimand for “publishing untrue statements on the internet.” Li died of COVID-19 on February 7, at the age of 33. On March 19, an investigation team of the National Supervisory Commission recommended that the reprimand be withdrawn.

Going Over the Boss’s Head

The 2012 Regulations on the Handling of Official Documents of Party and Government Organs say that documents generally may not skip a level of the hierarchy (越级). When it cannot be avoided, the office that is skipped must receive a copy.

In 1629, the Ming commander Yuan Chonghuan used his imperial sword of authority to execute another general, Mao Wenlong. The Chongzhen Emperor was deeply displeased. Acting first and reporting later is called 先斩后奏, literally “behead first, report later.”

The SARS Dismissals

On April 3, 2003, Health Minister Zhang Wenkang said that SARS was under control and that Beijing had only 12 cases and 3 deaths. On April 20, Beijing’s reported number of cases jumped from 37 to 339. Hours after that press conference, the Party Center and the State Council removed Zhang and the mayor of Beijing, Meng Xuenong, from their Party posts.

Meng resigned as mayor, taking responsibility for the failure (引咎辞职). Five years later, as governor of Shanxi, he resigned again after a tailings dam collapse in Xiangfen.

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