Historical Revisionism After Mao
After Mao's death, many of the convictions were revoked in 1979. At that time under paramount leader Deng Xiaoping the country needed talent and experience to get the country moving economically and subsequently the guilty verdicts of thousands of counterrevolutionary cases were overturned — affecting many of those accused of rightism and who had been persecuted for that crime the previous twenty two years. This came despite the fact that Deng Xiaoping had been one of the most enthusiastic prosecutors of the movement during the "First Wave" of 1957.
Read more about this topic: Anti-Rightist Movement
Famous quotes containing the word historical:
“Nature never rhymes her children, nor makes two men alike. When we see a great man, we fancy a resemblance to some historical person, and predict the sequel of his character and fortune, a result which he is sure to disappoint. None will ever solve the problem of his character according to our prejudice, but only in his high unprecedented way.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)