The former personal Secretary of Mao Zedong, and later critics of the Communist party of China, Li Rui, has died at the age of 101 years. As his daughter, the news Agency told AFP, died in Li on Saturday in Beijing to multiple organ failure due to pneumonia, which he had suffered already in the past year. Until recently, he campaigned for democratic reforms in China.
Li worked under Mao in the 50s, especially with the industrial development of China after the Revolution. After his sharp criticism of the disastrous balance sheet of Mao’s “Great leap”campaign, however, it fell out of favor and was expelled from the Communist party. During the cultural revolution, he spent eight years in the notorious Qincheng prison for political prisoners.
Only after the death of Mao and the cautious Opening up of China under the Reformer Deng Xiaoping, Li in 1979, was rehabilitated. He took a key role in the organization, – rich branch of the party, lost but a few years later.
Over the years, Li developed more and more to a fearless advocates of democratic reforms. In several articles he called on the KP in 2007, to transform itself into a socialist party on the European model. Three years later he attracted international attention when he lobbied together with other former high-ranking CP members and representatives of the media for political reforms and an end to the censorship.
in the past year, Li spoke out publicly against an Amendment to the Chinese Constitution, Xi Jinping has enabled the current President to remain indefinitely in Power. He wrote a number of books on Mao, some of which were banned according to his own specifications in China.
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According to his daughter, Li Nanyang, Li wrote to the last. His words have inspired to follow in his footsteps, wrote in an E-Mail to AFP. (AFP)
