Mao - The Face of Evil
RJ Rummel is a scholar who has devoted himself to researching deaths caused by governments throughout history. He has a large amount of his research on his 'Powerkills' website. As a man who has spent decades researching the issue and who has put forward the idea that democracies almost never make war on each other I sit up and take notice when he is suprised by new information about just how evil and murderous Mao was. From his reading of the biography of Mao by Jung Chiang and Jon Halliday and 'Wild Swans' he has been convinced that Mao is responsible for far more death and machinations than previously thought. From his post Rummel highlights that
- The Long March of 1933-34 was pure propoganda and lies
- Mao had moles and spies in the Nationalist army that he used to manipulate battles and force the Nationalist government into war with Japan
- The nationalist government had all but defeated Mao's communist army, until US President Truman intervened to create a cease-fire that gave Mao the time he needed to reinforce his army with soviet help. (Yes. You read that right. A US president helped Mao become the dictator of China. The success of Mao's propaganda and Truman's falling for it turned things around at a critical moment for Mao)
- Mao persuaded North Korea to invade South Korea to tie up US forces and help decrease US troop strength
- Mao's brainwashing and propaganda was so effective on his own people that everything bad was attributed to his enemies and he was viewed as almost god like.
- Mao directed Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) and exerted significant influence and control over him
- Mao encouraged Pol Pot's revolution and murderous methods, not discouraged them.
- US President Nixon also helped Mao when he tried to use China as a balance against Soviet power. This gave Mao and China a lot of international prestige at a time when it was at an all time low. Nixon and Kissenger extolled Mao's virtues and even got the US's allies to provide arms to China.

Rummel concludes with the final paragraph from the biography

Today, Mao's portrait and his corpse still dominate Tiananmen Square in the heart of the Chinese capital. The current Communist regime declares itself to be Mao's heir and fiercely perpetuates the myth of Mao.

Remember that unless there is freedom of speech and the press, no information you get out of a country is credible. Mao was worse than Lenin, Stalin, Hitler or any other leader. Yet some still admire him.
- posted by Alan Grey @ Friday, November 25, 2005