In a chaotic era where everything good has been turned on its head, there are bound to be many absurd stories.
A 12-year-old child, still in primary school, was accused and sentenced as a “child rightist” by the Communist Party of China (CCP) during their notorious “anti-rightist” rampage. He was thrown in prison for several years for “re-education through labor.” It’s hard to believe, but regretfully, it is true!
Classified as a ‘child rightist’
In 1957, Zhang Kejin, a 12-year-old boy in Chengguan Town, Daxian County, Sichuan, was a fifth-grade student in primary school. He was a brilliant boy and good at drawing and painting. Kejin was a well-known young painter at school.
His ordeal began when he innocently drew a cartoon for a sponsor that sold for 50 cents, and it hurt the “sensitive” feelings of the communists. They, of course, were indignant and beside themselves over it. They judged the cartoon unflattering to the regime. During their “anti-rightist struggle,” the local Party committee of the CCP left no stone unturned in discovering the artist’s identity.
Upon discovering Zhang Kejin’s identity, they saw their chance to take revenge on the child. They showed him no mercy, classified him as a heinous “child rightist,” and threw him into prison for seven years.
Young people who have become targets would not find this story difficult to believe
At 12, he was still only a child with childlike and boyish ways; he enjoyed drawing and playing with his friends. This bazaar story was first published in Dragon Gate Array on February 2, 2009 (Issue 230). The author’s name was Li Kegang.
Longmen Array is a popular publication under the supervision of the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Culture, which has a history of more than 30 years in the publishing world. It is now under the control and sponsorship of the Sichuan Publishing Group. It is an official publication. The articles published are credible. Li Kegang met and interviewed Zhang Kejin in his later years and wrote many such stories in the early 1980s to earn money to support his family. He transcribed and published the account.
How his tragedy began
In the early days of the anti-rightist movement, all units called on Party members to express their opinions. At that time, a person known as Mr. Ran was an employee of a hat and shoe production cooperative in Daxian County, Sichuan Province (now changed to Tongchuan District, Dazhou City, Sichuan). Mr Ran foolishly expressed his opinion to a particular leader in Guan Town, the county seat. He then asked someone to draw a cartoon depicting his view. This turned out to be a fatal mistake.
Upon seeing the cartoon drawing, the local Party committee accused Mr. Ran of being a rightist. He was so horrified by the impact of the accusation that he soon committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. As for the cartoon itself, the Party would not rest until they identified the “culprit” who had drawn it. That “culprit” was finally found. He was none other than Zhang Kejin, a 12-year-old pupil in the fifth grade at primary school.
At that time, Zhang Kejin didn’t know what was happening. At a very young age, he showed a talent for painting and once won the Children’s Painting Award. He gained some fame, so his neighbor, Mr. Ran, asked him to draw a cartoon titled The XXX Covering the Sky with One Hand, satirizing the leader, which caused a considerable backlash.
The cold, dark heart pounces into action
After some committee sessions, the communist leaders decided to accuse Zhang of being a “child rightist.” Labeling a 12-year-old boy as a “child rightist” was grossly outlandish. Not all of the people classified as “rightists” were arrested and sent to prison, but Zhang Kejin was imprisoned for seven years.
One day in April 1958, Zhang Kejin was in the classroom with his friends when he suddenly saw someone waving to him outside the window. He saw that it was an “aunt” who worked in the neighborhood residents’ committee and whom he knew. When the teacher saw this, he asked Zhang Kejin to go outside the classroom to meet her.
Outside the classroom, the “aunt” told Zhang Kejin: “You come with me to Chengguan Town.” When Zhang Kejin hesitated, the “aunt” got angry and told him to follow her.
His young world fell apart
Zhang Kejin had no choice but to shut his mouth, bury his head, and follow the “aunt” to Chengguan Town. As soon as they got there, he saw a crowd of people in the auditorium, and before Zhang Kejin could come to his senses, he had already been pushed onto the stage with his hands behind his back. Amidst the loud slogans, Zhang Kejin was so frightened that he burst into tears.
A 12-year-old child was sent to jail just like that! There was neither an arrest warrant, a trial, or grounds for an appeal. In prison, Zhang Kejin was labeled with the high crime of “child rightist.”
Zhang Kejin was imprisoned for seven years. He had been subjected to unimaginable mental torture from the get-go, and he went through numerous hardships.
His story is told
The journalist, Mr. Li Kegang, decided to find Zhang Kejin to record his story, so he asked around for his whereabouts. In the early summer of 2010, Mr. Peng Mutao, a fellow prisoner in Chengdu, called and said that he had found Zhang Kejin and that he was living in an apartment in the western suburbs of Chengdu.
Mr. Li quickly flew from Beijing to Chengdu, and based on the lead given by Mr. Peng Mutao, he went to meet Mr. Zhang Kejin, the 12-year-old who had been labeled and imprisoned as a “child rightist.” At that time, Zhang Kejin was already a 55-year-old man with a thin oval-shaped face, a well-proportioned but not-tall figure, a typical dress, polite looking, speaking in an orderly manner. He had an apparent understanding of the past.
He lived in a spacious apartment with two large bedrooms, well decorated, and two large bookcases in the living room, filled with all kinds of old wire-bound books, and his landscape paintings hung on the walls.
While recalling events about the old days, he smiled bitterly and said: “Absurd, absurd, alas, it has long become history. But it’s always unforgettable when I think about it! I have lived my life beaten and tired, unable to eat, and working endlessly every day. At one time, I went to the disciplinary office to post a poster, and I learned a lot of things by writing and painting all day.”
The miraculous life of Zhang Kejin
He also told me that he made a living by drawing and writing. The most fortunate thing in his life was that his 22-year-old only daughter far surpassed him in poetry, calligraphy, and painting. For fear that something would happen to his daughter in mainland China, he had already spent all his money to send her to Canada for further study.
During the conversations, he revealed that he still has fear of the CCP and had a tentative plan to move out. He said that although that terrible history had passed, it did not mean it was over. Mao’s head is still hanging at the top of Tiananmen Square, and his corpse still lives in the square. The CCP still regards Mao as an “ancestor,” and it is difficult for China to avoid a new political disaster…
This is not an isolated case
You may think this story is an isolated case from a bygone age. Sad to say, the world is no longer a safe place for children; it has become much more dangerous. The children of the Uyghurs, the Tibetan children, the Hong Kong children, and the children of 100 million persecuted Falun Gong practitioners still face the same terror. The world looks on in silence and supports the regime. Silence encourages the darkness. The children, their brothers and sisters, their mothers, their fathers, aunts and uncles, and their friends can be vanished at any time.
Translated by Chua BC
