News Article

Wuhan Uprising

By Rachel Quinlivan

WUHAN- After much tension between The Million Heroes and The Wuhan Worker’s General Headquarters in Wuhan, China, the two groups broke out fighting on July 20th, 1968. After losing the authority of The Party Committee, there was no one to rule Wuhan, so military power took over. But the Cultural Revolution Authority thought this a plot to overpower them and encouraged people to fight the military power. This divided the people of Wuhan into two groups: “The Million Heroes” who supported the military power and “The Wuhan Worker’s General Headquarters” who supported the overpowering of the military power and the Cultural Revolution Authority.

Tension between the military and the people has been going on for a while. Many think that the military power is going against what the Cultural Revolution stands for. Factories and organizations stopped working and many people’s work has been put on hold. On July 20th The Million Heroes took a past official of Wuhan and criticized him in public. Several thousand people criticized the Cultural Revolution Authority while marching in the city. One marcher who did not want to be named said, “The Cultural Revolution Authority is wrong! The military power is doing a great job ruling! In the short time they have been here, my life has improved drastically. I don’t know why anyone would want to go against them...”

But not everyone feels this way. Some think the military power is ruining all of the progress that the Cultural Revolution is making. One rebel, Jianguo-Geming, said, “The military power here in Wuhan is stopping the progress that the Cultural Revolution is making for China. Everything was going great until they came. Since then all of the factories have shut down and I am out of work! There is no way for me to put food on my table and provide for my children! Can’t they just leave and let China become the great country we know it can be?”

Others do not have a say either way. Many of the elderly and children sit at home doing daily chores like cleaning and cooking. When asked about this fighting and what she thought, Huian-Meirong said, “I have no thought. Even if I did, there would be nothing I could do about it. I am an old woman whose duty is to keep the house clean and cook meals for my children and grandchildren. Do you expect me to go out there? And fight with those savage men? No, no, I think not. I will stay home and do my duty....”