The "Communist Party" Is Good at Beautifying Lies [Zhiding Lecture Hall · Enlightenment Forum · Miles Yu] EP110
This episode discusses how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) packages deception, censorship, and propaganda as tools of governance. Miles Yu starts by discussing the differences between Marxism and Leninism, analyzing how the Communist Party rationalizes violence, espionage, economic infiltration, and foreign operations in the name of noble goals and historical missions, and explains the meaning of "national reunification" and the Taiwan issue within the CCP's ideology. The program also reviews the suffering caused by the Cultural Revolution, land reform, the Great Leap Forward, the Anti-Rightist Campaign, and the political movements of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as how the CCP beautifies its own history through concepts such as being "great, glorious, and correct."
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Hello Mr. Cao, I am very happy to talk to you again about some topics of interest.
Those who often watch our program are no strangers to Professor Yu. Professor Yu is a tenured professor at the United States Naval Academy and is recognized as an authority on Chinese issues. Last time, Mr. Pompeo of the U.S. Department of State invited him to serve as the chief advisor on China policy, so he understands Chinese issues very well because he comes from China.
Today I want to talk about how Taiwan is currently being heavily targeted by the CCP's united front work. On one hand, the CCP uses military intimidation from the outside, frequently sending military aircraft and warships to harass Taiwan; on the other hand, I call it "bandit Taiwan," including outlets like CTi News, which spread deceptive narratives to the public every day, such as that Taiwan has no resistance capability, that one should treat the CCP as the motherland, return to the motherland, and achieve national rejuvenation—this is the set of tactics they use. Can we talk about the CCP's deception today? You should know a lot about it, right?
In the past, the reason they were able to win the Chinese Civil War, besides the help from Russia, was by deceiving the common people, saying "overthrow the local tyrants and distribute the land." There is a book called "Blood-Red Land," where the author interviewed survivors of the land reform to understand what actually happened at that time. Basically, after reading this book, you realize that it was a deception: they tricked the people by saying they would distribute land, but after the land was distributed, it was all taken back after a very short time, and the farmers were just being used.
This is a very complex issue. People always talk about "deception," which basically implies a clear concept between truth and lies. The deceiver knows what the truth is and what the false appearance is, and then uses the false appearance to cover up the truth, so that is called deception. This also has a clear moral distinction.
But the CCP's methods are different. You could say it is deceiving, and you could also say it is not. Why? Because in the CCP's cognitive concept, it uses dialectical logic and some examples from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods to explain that there is no difference between truth and lies. So if you say the CCP is deceiving people, it will feel very angry because it feels that it is not deceiving anyone.
It rationalizes, justifies, and logicizes all of its behaviors, including deception. For instance, after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi Jinping made his first public speech in February 2020. He stated that the outbreak was a severe test of the Communist Party's governance capacity, and then added that they must tell China's story well to the world.
"Tell China's story well" sounds wonderful and doesn't necessarily make people think it is a lie, but in reality, it is a lie and a deception. Because it uses a positive image to describe the truth of the pandemic in China. All the cruel realities of the pandemic were blocked out. This is a fundamental reason for the CCP's censorship and lack of freedom of speech. Yet, it does not feel that it is lying.
In addition, a core concept in the political culture of mainland China is propaganda. Propaganda is not a derogatory term. In the political culture of the CCP, there are propaganda departments and propaganda cadres. That is to say, blatant deception and concealment of the truth are a very important means of legitimacy in its governance, which is why it is called propaganda.
Is this related to Leninism? Lenin's definition of the dictatorship of the proletariat is that the power of the dictatorship of the proletariat is an unrestricted power, unbounded by any legal provisions, absolutely unbound by any rules and regulations, and based entirely on violence. The CCP says that class struggle is the general outline, and in order to carry out class struggle, all other means are legal.
Communism is simply drawing a pie in the sky, a very utopian future world. This world is very attractive, and it believes that the cause it is engaged in is a very noble one. The goal of this noble cause is a so-called holy war, for which any means can be used.
"Any means necessary" seems to carry a sense of condemnation, but in the CCP's ideology, means have no moral connotation whatsoever, nor do they have consequences. Therefore, in order to achieve a noble goal, any means is legal and reasonable.
Leninism is actually a revision of Marxism, truly a form of revisionism. Marx believed that the communist revolution should first break out in the most developed capitalist countries. Because the logic of capitalism is the oppression of surplus value, when the working class reaches a point of unbearable and absolute poverty, they will spontaneously launch a communist revolution.
However, when Marx died, he had not seen this spontaneous revolution, and the development of capitalist society went completely counter to Marx's judgment, developing in the opposite direction of his prediction. Many so-called Marxist fundamentalists believed that capitalist society could also be reformed, and that the communist ideal could be achieved through parliamentary forms. This was called so-called revisionism, with Kautsky and Bernstein being its representatives.
Lenin thought this was extremely dangerous and pure revisionism. He said he wanted to create his ownism and modernize Marx. During Lenin's time, imperialist capitalism had entered its final stage. Imperialism was a global system organized by various chains, with many strong connection points and many weak connection points.
Therefore, socialist revolutions and communist revolutions were most likely to occur in the weakest places of imperialism, that is, on the weakest links, the so-called "weakest chain." Leninism strongly emphasizes launching socialist and communist revolutions in underdeveloped capitalist countries, such as Russia, China, and the so-called third world countries.
This creates a problem. According to Marxism, in these underdeveloped capitalist countries, the class consciousness of the working class and the strength of the proletariat are not particularly strong. Lenin therefore believed that a spontaneous communist uprising was no longer possible, and that a specialized organization of professional revolutionaries must be established in places where working-class organization is underdeveloped. This is what Lenin called the concept of the proletarian vanguard.
The vanguard is the Communist Party. The organization of the Party is extremely strong. Therefore, the so-called communist countries of the 20th and 21st centuries are actually not pure Marxist parties, but Leninist parties. It strongly emphasizes the necessity of violence and the role of the Party.
All these theories of the Communists sound high-sounding. The Chinese Communist Party is a communist organization based on Marxist ideas and organized in the form of Leninism.
There is also the issue of legitimacy in this. It believes that the proletariat is the most advanced, and this is a historical mission, a vanguard role assigned to the Communist Party by historical logic. The Communist Party cannot make mistakes because it is the most advanced. This is the most fundamental theoretical basis of the Chinese Communist Party's ideology.
In 1967, the Cultural Revolution took place in China. At that time, at the entrance of Zhongnanhai, which is Xinhua Gate, there was a slogan pasted by Red Guards and approved by Mao Zedong. The one on the left read "Long live the great Chinese Communist Party," which was a Leninist concept; the one on the right read "Long live the invincible Mao Zedong Thought."
In 1981, the Chinese Communist Party held a plenary session of the Central Committee, completely repudiating the Cultural Revolution and passing a resolution on certain historical issues. However, these two slogans could not be denied. Many slogans were removed, but by 2025, these two are still posted at the core location of the highest governing institution ruled by the Chinese Communist Party: the left side remains "Long live the great Chinese Communist Party," and the right side remains "Long live the invincible Mao Zedong Thought." This is the governing theory of the Chinese Communist Party.
This theory is highly deceptive. It assumes that the Party's goals are extremely lofty and its ideals are extremely pure, so the greater the goal, under the premise of pure ideals, the more any means are justified.
Of course, today the CCP no longer talks only about Marxism-Leninism, but also about a "community with a shared future for mankind," the China model and governance model, namely the "Chinese model of governance," as well as a "community of human society." This is a concept vigorously promoted by Xi Jinping, called in English "community of common destiny for mankind." It is a variant of communist ideals.
Since the goal is so lofty, and the current capitalist world system is considered to be built on the basis of capitalist exploitation and oppression, then in order to realize the community of human society and achieve the communist "Internationale," any means are legal, including violating US intellectual property rights, conducting espionage against the United States, economic penetration of other countries through the Belt and Road, and countering the United States around the world.
The CCP believes that these are not underhanded dealings, but rather very normal and reasonable matters. Therefore, every time the US government raises these issues with the Chinese side in accordance with the principles of normal international relations, the Chinese side becomes very angry and resentful, with fierce counteractions.
Do not think that the CCP is just putting on an act; it is not. It believes that the United States has no reason to challenge it, because both the means and the ends are legal, reasonable, and lofty. The Communist Party is "great, glorious, and correct," the so-called "great, glorious, correct." This is not a simple fact, but a very terrifying fact: the Communist Party cannot make mistakes. A party that makes mistakes cannot be a great, glorious, and correct party.
Therefore, the Communist Party is extremely arrogant and prideful in everything it does, which is closely related to its cognitive concepts.
Many people in Taiwan today have no resistance to this playbook of the Communist Party. How should Taiwan cognitively counter this so-called "reunification of the motherland"? This is entirely a deceptive lie. Fundamentally speaking, the Taiwan question is a component of the Chinese Communist Party's so-called "liberation ideology." It believes that it must liberate all mankind, and the Taiwan question is part of this ideology.
The CCP mainly frames the Taiwan question as a so-called civil war, but in reality, the Chinese civil war is a deeply erroneous concept. In the narrative of the Chinese Communist Party on the mainland, it is called the "Liberation War," spanning from 1946 to 1949. It intended to liberate the suffering laboring masses, and since Taiwan was not liberated by the CCP, Taiwan became a part of the unfinished liberation cause that needs to be completed.
Therefore, the so-called "reunification of the motherland" is an operational tactic of the Communist Party's ideology and is not real. During the more than 70 years of the Chinese Communist Party's rule, regarding its so-called own territory and friendly countries—such as the former Soviet Union, Mongolia during the former communist period, and modern North Korea—it has ceded land areas dozens of times larger than Taiwan's size, yet it was able to give them away willingly. This matter has nothing to do with territorial integrity.
The CCP has fought many wars with neighboring countries, such as fighting India in 1962 and Vietnam in 1979. These wars were ideological disputes and had nothing to do with territory. Although it occupied a lot of territory in these wars, it eventually withdrew willingly. Territorial integrity does not have much inevitable connection with its concept of the state.
Therefore, the CCP's handling of the Taiwan question is actually treating it as part of the unfinished cause of communism, which is "liberation." The army it sends out is called the Chinese People's Liberation Army; it used to be called "liberating Taiwan," and now it is called "reunification of the motherland"—these are merely deceptive labels. In reality, it still considers Taiwan to be an important component of the communist cause.
International communism is of great importance to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Xi Jinping is a researcher in the field of international communism, and this is exactly what he studied at Tsinghua University. The CCP summarizes the history of the world communist movement, believing that the Soviet Communist Party betrayed Marxism-Leninism, and that countries like Vietnam and Cuba cannot become major powers because they contain many feudal elements; the Chinese Communist Party is the only political entity capable of realizing communism globally.
One of the books Xi Jinping admires most is "Suffering and Glory" (Kunan Huiliang), written by Jin Yinan, a general at the PLA National Defense University. This book recounts the history of the CCP and attempts to prove that since its founding in 1921, the CCP's historical mission has been sacred and incapable of making mistakes. The bloodshed and struggles within the party are interpreted as proof of the CCP's invincibility.
Therefore, such books have become the spiritual food and spiritual weapons that Xi Jinping frequently reads. He acts with the goal of "liberation," yet he ignores the plight of those being liberated and how they perceive this "liberation" despite the immense suffering they have endured.
Why did Mao Zedong purge Liu Shaoqi? Liu Shaoqi once said something to the effect that so many people had died and history would hold someone accountable, and words like these immediately infuriated Mao Zedong.
The CCP practices what it calls "democratic centralism," using very beautiful vocabulary to put democracy and centralism together, which sounds good. In reality, this is a beautification of the unique Marxist-Leninist authoritarian regime of the CCP; it sounds as if it is not a dictatorship, but democratic centralism. In layman's terms, this is a cult.
Liu Shaoqi was a faithful believer in Marxism and a theorist in China. Before the Cultural Revolution, Liu Shaoqi conducted the Four Clean-ups Movement and also did many wrong things, causing many people to be wrongly accused and die. Liu Shaoqi's Mao Zedong Thought was "one leader, one ideology." During the Yan'an period, Liu Shaoqi played a key role and wrote "How to Be a Good Communist," serving as the theoretical authority of the CCP, localizing communism, which in reality meant Mao-izing it. This is an important reason why he was able to become Mao Zedong's right-hand man.
Of course, in today's China, the most dangerous profession is being the second-in-command. Liu Shaoqi and Lin Biao, who were cultivated by Mao Zedong, as well as Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang, all met tragic ends.
These people believe that they are engaged in a noble, sacred, and eternally victorious cause, which is basically a cult, a false religious theory. It has caused a lot of suffering, such as the suffering described in the book "The Tragedy of Liberation." In the eyes of the Communist Party, this suffering seems to be predestined.
The Cultural Revolution was later reviewed as a "ten-year catastrophe," but after the review, there was no real change in direction. While the Cultural Revolution was certainly tragic, the reason it is discussed in many places is that its direct purpose was Mao Zedong's belief that many CCP cadres and the entire party system were not following him.
In fact, in the more than 70 years of the CCP's governance of China, the bloodiest period was not the Cultural Revolution, but the first 17 years after 1949, especially the various movements in the 1950s and the early 1960s.
Why are these things discussed less? Because the victims were all ordinary Chinese people, and the common people do not have much of a voice. For example, how many people died in the Great Famine? Tens of millions. During the Anti-Rightist Campaign, according to the most conservative estimates, about 500,000 intellectuals were purged or died. There were also the Land Reform, the Three-Anti and Five-Anti campaigns, and the Campaign to Suppress Counter-revolutionaries. The deaths of ordinary Chinese people in these movements are rare in world history and constitute a very bloody history.
Many relatively silent periods in Chinese history, such as the Land Reform in the 1950s, were precisely the periods when the most people were killed and were the bloodiest. The reason the Cultural Revolution appeared chaotic was that it disrupted the CCP's own governing machine.
Out of power considerations, Mao Zedong believed that the CCP had formed a new class and that these people had betrayed the party. Many people already had opinions about his Great Leap Forward, believing that he had gone off the rails. Mao Zedong felt that these people had listened to the Soviet Union, so from the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, he seized on concepts like "traitors," "revisionism," and "China's Khrushchev," and many of the accusations were baseless.
China's class enemies were constantly expanding. At first, it was landlords and rich peasants, then counter-revolutionaries, and later it expanded to include traitors, spies, capitalist roaders, and dissidents. In the end, the CCP's purges within the party actually became the result of the natural development of the internal logic of the Communist Party.
Mao Zedong wrote an article in 1926 with a title concerning "who are our friends and who are our enemies," considering this the key question of the Chinese revolution, yet he himself never truly figured it out. Ultimately, by the time Mao Zedong passed away, his regime was on the verge of collapse.
This is the history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): extremely bloody, incredibly self-righteous, and then, under the guise of lofty communist ideals, it slaughtered countless ordinary Chinese people. It became trapped in a superstition of historical mission, utopian concepts, leaders, and ideology, and the CCP defined the communist regime.