Mao erred, says Hua

Press, 11 August 1980, Page 6

Mao erred, says Hua

NZPA-Reuter Hong Kong The Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (Mr Hua Guofeng) has said that his predecessor, Mao Tsetung, bore responsibility for grievous mistaken made in the last years of his rule.

In an interview with the Yugoslav newspaper, “Vjesnik,” Chairman Hua -also confirmed that the “Gang of Four” are still alive and will be tried in accordance with China’s legal procedures. “Comrade Mei Tse-tung was indeed the niost outstanding figure in Chinese history, whose. contributions to revolutionary theory arid practice surpassed those of any other Chinese leader,” Mr Hua said in a written reply to questions from the newspaper, released by the New China News Agency. “But he was a human being and not a god and therefore fallible,” he added. Mr Hua praised , Mao for the communist victories won between the time he took over the party leader-

ship in 1935 arid 1957, but said that between 1958 and the start of the Cultural Revolution the party committed some rather big mistakes in its work. “We were over-ambitious in our economic work, and in some cases we erroneously exaggerated the gravity of class struggle. Despite these mistakes, however, the party line, taken as a whole was correct,” the official news agency quoted ?him as saying. . ' ' ' However, during the decade of the Cultural Revolution, that is from late 1966 to late 1977, the party made grievous, serious mistakes, he continued. “As ■ chairman of the party, Comrade Mao of course bore responsibility for these mistakes/’ Mr Hua said. Mr Hua said that in Mao’s later years he was ill and in the period before his death it was difficult for him to speak or even move. The “Gang of Four” radical leaders, including Mao’s widow, Jiang Qing, took ad-

vantage of his illness to .de* ceive Mao and hide the truth from him while stepping up their conspiratorial activities, Mr Hua said.

Mao did, to some extent, perceive the gang’s ,con-'. spiracies and exposed and criticised them, Hua said. After confirming that, the . four were alive and would face trial, Mr Hua said that although they had usurped a portion: of the party leader-•' ship, arid State power during; the , Cultural Revolution, " they did not represent the ■ party or Mao. On two occasions May had made it clear that Jiang Qing<did. not represent hint, but only,herself, he added. ■' The “Gang .of Four” had seized on mistakes made by the party during the Cultur-. al Revolution and had attempted to change completely the socialist nature of China, Mr Hua said ; However, the mistakes made by the party and* the conspiratorial activities carried out by the gang were entirely different in nature, he concluded. . ‘