China's Prosecution of Artist Gao Zhen Exposes CCP's Repressive Suppression of Mao's Historical Legacy
Source: https://www.facebook.com/americanspectator/. "In China You Go to Prison for ‘Slandering’ History’s Greatest Killer | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics." September 5, 2026. spectator.org
The Gist
An elderly Chinese-American artist was sentenced to prison in China for making satirical art mocking Mao Zedong—art he created decades ago, before the law he was convicted under even existed. The author argues this shows China, unlike other countries that buried their genocidal dictators' legacies, still worships Mao despite his responsibility for tens of millions of deaths, proving that Chinese citizens remain unfree even as their economy has opened up.
Conclusion
The Chinese Communist Party under Xi Jinping has become increasingly repressive, using laws like the 'heroes and martyrs' statute to suppress legitimate historical criticism of Mao Zedong—a mass murderer—revealing that the Chinese people remain politically and intellectually unfree despite economic liberalization.
Premises
- Gao Zhen, a U.S. permanent resident, was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for creating satirical sculptures of Mao decades before the law under which he was punished even existed.
- Mao Zedong was responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of Chinese people through policies like the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, making him arguably history's greatest killer.
- Unlike other 20th-century mass-murdering dictators (Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Ceaușescu) who were repudiated by successor governments, Mao's image and legacy are actively celebrated by the current Chinese state.
- The 2018 'heroes and martyrs' law was applied retroactively to criminalize speech/art created long before the law existed, demonstrating rule BY law rather than rule OF law.
- Under Xi Jinping, space for discussing Mao's legacy has closed compared to the post-Mao era when even the CCP admitted mistakes, indicating a regression toward Maoist-style repression.
- The severity of the state's response (30+ police officers, prolonged detention, restricting his wife and son from leaving China) is disproportionate to the alleged offense of artistic satire.
- China's economic liberalization (abandoning Marxism) has not been accompanied by political liberalization, as Leninist party control remains intact and even strengthened under Xi.
Assumptions
- Historical truth and open critical discourse about past atrocities are necessary conditions for genuine political freedom.
- The comparison to other dictators' posthumous treatment is a valid benchmark for judging whether a nation has reckoned with its past.
- Artistic satire/criticism of historical figures constitutes legitimate expression that should not be criminalized.
- Economic freedom and political freedom are separable, and China has achieved the former without the latter.
- The current CCP leadership's motives in prosecuting Gao are primarily about suppressing dissent rather than genuine concern for social harmony or national unity.
- Western liberal democratic norms around free expression and historical revisionism are the appropriate standard for evaluating China's actions.