The Maoist Gang of Four
 |
I remember vaguely Chairman Mao Zedong and his cult of personality in China. I recall my disdain for Communism in general and I felt that as chairman of the Chinese Communist Party he was an evil entity on the face of the earth and shed no tears over his death on September 9, 1976.The wife of the chairman was a leader in her own right. She had cohorts, three of whom along with her were known as "The Gang of Four" and they were were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes after the heyday of the Cultural Revolution which saw them rise to prominence.
However, my young rural orientation was likely a factor in my attitudes and as such my evolution as a more internationally oriented character after the Navy has softened my attitudes toward political affiliations in general as long as you're in your own element and don't drag your stupid "take from the worker and give to the shirker" socialist agenda into the United States.
They were Jiang Qing, who was the last wife of Mao Zedong, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen. They fell from power October 6, 1976 which was a month after Mao's death.
The Gang of Four were tried in 1981 by the Supreme People's Court of China, Jiang Hua presiding, and convicted of anti-party activities.
| • | Jiang Qing in particular was extremely defiant and protested on her own behalf. |
| Her defense argument was that she obeyed the orders of Chairman Mao Zedong at all times. | |
| • | Zhang Chunqiao refused to admit any wrong doing. |
| • | Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen expressed repentance and confessed their alleged crimes. |
The prosecution separated political errors from actual crimes.
 |
Among the alleged actual crimes were the usurpation of state power and party leadership and the persecution of some 750,000 people, 34,375 of whom died during the period 1966–1976. Supporters of the Gang of Four also received sentences from the courts.
Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao received death sentences that were later commuted to life imprisonment, while Wang Hongwen was given life and Yao Wenyuan twenty years in prison.
All members of the Gang of Four have since died.
| • | Jiang Qing committed suicide by hanging in 1991 |
| • | Wang Hongwen died in 1992 |
| • | Yao Wenyuan released from prison in 1996 and died in 2005 |
| • | Zhang Chunqiao released from prison in 1998 and died in 2005 |
All in all the appearance is that of retribution taken against a fallen regime where little was available for defense of a group of leaders no longer in control. It is one thing to commit objective crimes. It is another to actually fall to the whims of a rising leadership.