A Man under Mao

            Totalitarianism isn’t just a word to Pun Choi. Born the year the Communists came to power, he was a native of Long Jiang, a farm community in southern China. His intellectual father was quickly branded a ‘rightist’ by the new regime, and exiled.

            A boy at the local primary school, Pun Choi was immersed in the politicised curriculum. His indoctrination continued in Business Administration College, an institution that interspersed accountancy lessons with military-style training. He went to work in the mid-60s as Mao’s personality cult went into overdrive.

Then came the Cultural Revolution. Pun Choi was caught up, finding himself transferred to the Security Team of his local commune and forced to participate in many terrible crimes. Three years later, he became a member of one of Mao’s so-called Propaganda Teams and was relocated to some of the poorest parts of the countryside, experiencing firsthand the hardships of peasant-life.

Only after Mao’s death did things quiet down. But even at peace, Pun Choi—and many like him—are forever shaped by life under Mao.