China must face up to its own history

[FT_news]

Beijing cannot expect to gain genuine international respect unless its leaders achieve political reconciliation with their people, many of them victims of the party's failures during the Maoist era, writes Minxin Pei.

The 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China is an occasion for celebration and reflection. Indeed, there is much to celebrate. The transformation of China from a weak, impoverished and war-torn country into a relatively stable and prosperous power is an achievement that has made the world a better place overall. But the ruling Communist party’s six decades in power have not exactly been an uninterrupted period of economic growth and political stability. Two of those decades (1957-1976) are known for the worst human suffering, brutality and fanaticism in Chinese history.

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