The likelihood of those ill-treated during the Cultural Revolution in China having children who could hold jobs like hotel concierge or school teacher
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 November 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | CHN2420 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, The likelihood of those ill-treated during the Cultural Revolution in China having children who could hold jobs like hotel concierge or school teacher, 1 November 1989, CHN2420, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab9128.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
As the attached documentation indicates, there have been attempts at rehabilitation of those who were victims of the excesses committed by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. This rehabilitation began before Mao's death and was strengthened by the rise to power of Deng Xiaoping, who along with many other members of the current Chinese leadership, was disgraced by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. [Tang Tsou, The Cultural Revolution and Post-Mao Reforms (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1986). pp. 149-150.] At present, no further corroborating information in publicly available sources is is available to the IRBDC.
The above information was verbally corroborated, however, by a noted Canadian expert on China, Professor Jan Walls of Simon Fraser University. Professor Walls mentioned that if the person's father suffered ill treatment for "purely political reasons", as did many people in the Cultural Revolution, this would not necessarily have a negative effect on the life or career of said person's offspring. There were hundreds of thousands of "unjust persecutions" in this period. By the early 1980s, most of the "unjustly persecuted" had had their Cultural Revolution verdicts reversed. Professor Walls added, that in fact, by the time Deng Xiaoping's reform movement got into high gear in 1985, many people were able to boast about their poor treatment during the Cultural Revolution. It was said, however, that there were some people ill treated during the Cultural Revolution who were not rehabilitated because their actions were of a sufficient anti-Party magnitude to be remembered by the Party as a threat. According to the Professor, though it is extremely difficult to generalize in the Chinese case, those in charge of hiring for jobs such as hotel concierge or English teacher in most cases would not place much weight on the Cultural Revolution record of the employee's father.
The information provided by Professor Walls was corroborated in most part by Robin Munroe, a researcher for the human rights group called Asia Watch. Mr. Munroe stated that the Cultural Revolution was officially repudiated in the October National Day Speech of 1979 and many of those ill-treated were later vindicated. Mr. Munroe also stated, as did Professor Walls, that having a parent who was ill-treated during the Cultural Revolution was, for a while, an advantage in university entrance. However, the attitude toward that Cultural Revolution has gone through phases, corresponding with the "Spiritual Pollution" and "Anti-Bourgeois-Liberalism" campaigns of 1983 and 1987 respectively, in which the events of the era were not denigrated as much as they usually were.
According to Professor Munroe, this changed with the events of June 1989. Since then, values similar to those promoted during the Cultural Revolution have been voiced by certain sectors of the Chinese leadership. These values are not yet enforced, however, with the same ruthlessness as was seen during the Cultural Revolution. Mr. Munroe cautioned against generalizing in the Chinese case, as did Professor Walls, but stated that the effect of a parent's Cultural Revolution record would depend upon the personality and political leaning of the prospective employer. For example, a person loyal to the hard-line anti-reform factions of the Party would be more inclined to take the parents record into account. And if there is a trend towards a more favourable view of the Cultural Revolution, then a person who has a family member with a political record could possibly be considered as unreliable.
The information provided by Professor Walls and Mr. Munroe cannot be corroborated in published sources by the IRBDC at the present time.
ATTACHMENTS
Chang, Parris "Political Rehabilitation of Cadres in China: A Traveller's View", The China Quarterly April/June 1973, 331-340.
Tsou, Tang. The Cultural Revolution and Post-Mao Reforms. Chicago: The University Chicago Press, 1986, 159-165.
Nathan, Andrew. Chinese Democracy. London: I.B. Tauris and Co. Ltd., 1986, 7.