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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.
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