The Trial of a Counterrevolutionary
The Trial of a Counterrevolutionary
The Sentence
Twenty-four names, written in close-set characters, appear on an official poster of the regional Public Security office. Eight are the names of persons condemned to death. The others are the names of people sentenced to prison terms ranging from seven years to life. At the bottom of the poster is the oldfashioned symbol of power, the purple seal. The date is November—, 1970. At that time, the yi da san fan movement was at its apogee. The poster is written in lapidary style: a few characters suffice to trace the destiny of a man. Here is one example:
Teng K’ing-hsan. Age: 26. Sex: male. Family status: born of a family of bad elements. Individual status: student; lived, prior to his arrest, in the hsian [prefecture] of—, People’s Commune of —, Production Unit of —. The thinking of the prisoner Teng K’ing-hsan is reactionary on all counts. Extremely dissatisfied with the Party and with socialism,...
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