China's Great Wall of Silence

I received the following email today. It is edited to protect the author's identity.

There are thousands and thousands of former Red Guards living in America today. They have gotten educated here, raised families here, grown wealthy here. And left their pasts behind here. They have never been held accountable, and there are those, like Carma Hinton* and Weili Ye** who shield them.

Some of the people hurt by the violence forty years ago in China live in America too, alongside those who committed violence, and their long ago pain is revisited upon them.

*March 19, 2007, August 5, 2007.

**March 14, 2007.

Dear Mr. Ben Harris:

I am a faculty member of [deleted]. I appreciate very much your work of chasing the criminals of China's Cultural Revolution.

I was a college student [deleted] when the Cultural Revolution began. It was a havoc. I witnessed red guards beating and torturing innocent people, especially professors. Unfortunately, many of the torturers and killers got away with their crimes. In 1967...[I was] beaten and tortured.

One of my friends [deleted] was put in solitary confinement and under the so-called" investigation." Later, he escaped from the confinement and committed suicide by[deleted].

The person who should be responsible for his death is [deleted, for now]. He was and is a communist and the chieftain of a red guards group called [deleted]. When the Cultural Revolution was over, I tried to hold him accountable [deleted]. Unfortunately, nothing happened to [deleted]. Based on what I heard, [deleted] had someone up there to protect him. It is said his [relative] was [a high Chinese government official].

Since then [the alleged perpetrator] came to this country and Europe pretty often. He recently retired [deleted]. He has his family here in this country.

About three years ago, I was upset with the situation and considered it was unfair to those who were tortured and died because of him. I wrote [letters]. Nothing happened as could be expected.

I wrote to [an American politician] suggesting that US Immigration and Naturalization Service should stop those criminals of Cultural Revolution from coming to this country like the Nazi criminals. The [American politician] didn't respond except adding my name to his list for his propaganda.

Now it seems the big wigs at DC are only interested in doing business with China now. For that reason, I especially appreciate people like you for what you are doing.

Thank you.

[deleted]