ABSTRACT

One of Mao Zedong’s and his allies' first moves in the Cultural Revolution in the spring of 1966 was gaining control over the propaganda apparatus, particularly the People's Daily. In an effort to hold on to power after the Cultural Revolution, Maoists in control of the Party Propaganda Department published a joint editorial on 7 February 1977 in the People's Daily, the Liberation Army Daily, and Red Flag to assert their authority. By the fall of 1978 the press was not only attacking the Maoists and the Maoist ideology, it was also beginning to question the Leninist political system and helped mobilize others in the attack. The press once again played a pivotal role at a critical turning point during the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstration and the power struggle between the elders and Zhao Ziyang, the latter supported by allies of Hu Yaobang.