Legacy of Hu Yaobang remembered by history

This coming Friday marks the 100th anniversary of Hu Yaobang's birth, who was a former general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. China's central government has decided to hold grand commemorative events on that very day. Related activities have already begun in the Party School of the CPC Central Committee as well as among citizens. These warm-ups and voices mirror the public's respect for Hu. On the 90th anniversary of Hu's birth in 2005, the CPC paid high compliments to his contribution to China's revolution and construction. Over the years, the Chinese media has increasingly discussed Hu's positive contributions. Hu left his post as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in January 1987 along with the controversies over him. The communiqué at that time briefly mentioned his "mistakes on major issues of political principles." History is clearly downplaying the incident's influence on assessing Hu's legacy. Many believe that the trend does not mean that the details are forgotten, nor indicate a contrary intention. But the downplaying is real, and it has formed a historical attitude. The leadership of Hu's generation had to face enormous problems. In the meantime, they were also at a turning point in the tide of history. It was therefore hard for them to make every decision correctly. However, history attaches more significance to China's development, and will increasingly value each leader's loyalty to the party, country and people. Nevertheless, public opinion still differs widely over Hu. The political decision about his position as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and officials' not mentioning it nowadays have both been politicized in current public debate. Yet others have constantly brought up the controversies over his specific policies and work to denounce him. Those people are actually using the topic of Hu to make ideological arguments. The solemn commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Hu's birth that will be held by the CPC will be bound to inspire the party and society at large via Hu's great achievements and glorious personality. As an outstanding leader as well as an example who dedicated his life to the party, he will also play a role in building social consensus today. Certain individuals and forces tend to twist the meaning of the nation's event to memorialize him. They obviously have particular political ends, and it is thus easy to tell them apart from Chinese mainstream society. The discussion of Hu's legacy has gone through the overall process of China's reform and opening up, as well as the thick and thin of China's development. He deserves our respect.