According to the Chinese Cultural Revolution Library (third edition), on April 20, 1968, Lu Hongen and 14 other detainees in the cell were called to the guidance room and they sat on the floor. Behind the desk sat the guiding officer, the interrogator, and another government agent sent by the higher authorities.
The guiding officer ridiculed Lu Hongen and warned: “Openly slandering the great leader Chairman Mao is a heinous crime that deserves death!”
The interrogator asked viciously: “Prisoner 1598, do you want to die, or do you want to live? Make a stand today!”
Heroic and righteous stand against tyranny
After a brief moment of silence, Lu Hongen perked up and said solemly: “I want to live, but not as a soulless walking corpse. Better to die than to live without freedom. The Cultural Revolution is tyranny, catastrophe, and disaster. I don’t want to live in tyranny, catastrophe, and disaster.”
“Since the Italian Renaissance in the 14th century and the British Industrial Revolution in the 18th century,” he continued, “human society has begun to move from agricultural civilization to industrial civilization. While the humanities and natural sciences blossomed in the West, leading to wealthy citizens and strong nations, why does our country remain impoverished and weak? The West thrived with industrial advancements, education, and economic growth, while we were mired in class struggles, political movements, internal conflicts, uprisings, and halted education and industry. They advocate for democracy, freedom, rule of law, and civilization. In contrast, we’ve been governed by dictatorship, ignorance, personal cults, brutal struggles, and relentless crackdowns.”
He went on to say: “I am not afraid of death, nor do I want to die, but if the Cultural Revolution means living in fear and chaos, if socialism represents this kind of ruthless model, then I’d rather be called a counter-revolutionary, an anti-socialist!
His bold words left the interrogators speechless. Regaining composure, one angrily slammed the table, yelling: “Your end is near!”
He determined his own destiny
On April 27, 1968, the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee held a public trial in “Cultural Revolution Square.” Broadcast live by Shanghai Television and Shanghai People’s Radio, a man with graying hair, emaciated body, and stumbling steps, who appeared much older than his years, was presented. Many could scarcely believe that this frail figure was the elegant 49-year-old Lu Hongen they once knew.
In this so-called “public trial” with no prosecutors, no judges, and no defense lawyers, Lu and other “counter-revolutionaries” were sentenced to death and promptly executed. Wang Youqin, a professor at the University of Chicago and a scholar on the Cultural Revolution, wrote in The Death of Lu Hongen that this wasn’t a trial, but an act to force the public to accept and endorse this cruel “dictatorship.”
Redemption and remembrance
In 1979, after repeated appeals from Lu Hongen’s wife and brother Hu Guoding, Lu Hongen’s wrongful case was finally rehabilitated, and his son Lu Yuwei was able to return to Shanghai.
On September 26 of the same year, Lu Yuwei attended his father’s memorial service with an urn containing only a half-piece of his baton. He burst into tears, and what appeared in front of his eyes was the scene 13 years earlier. On May 28, 1966, the morning sky was cloudy and he was in the third year of junior high school. He said softly to his father: “Daddy, just sit there today and listen to everyone’s speech, you don’t speak…” Lu Hongen caressed his son’s head and said: “Don’t worry, Lu Wei, Daddy understands.” Lu Yuwei watched his father slowly walk out of the house, and this time it was their last farewell.
End the tyranny
Hopefully, one day soon, the entire Chinese nation and the people of the world will be able to honor Lu Hongen, a man who bravely faced-off against unspeakable tyranny and gave up his own life to save others and uphold the Divine dignity of humanity. May the world remember all the brave souls that stood up against the Beast and made the same ultimate sacrifice.
See Part 1 here.
Translated by Chua BC
