During early 1957, a political thaw began to develop in China. By late April, Mao Zedong had managed to get sufficient support within the leadership for a full rectification campaign of the Party in which non-Party people and members of the democratic parties were also encouraged to speak out against the three evils of bureaucratism, subjectivism, and sectarianism within the Party. During a few weeks in May of 1957, this political thaw culminated with speeches, wall posters, and heated discussions on issues ranging from administrative problems and bureaucratism to the paramountcy of the CCP in political affairs. The criticisms by those who would soon be labeled “rightists” (see the text) touched both upon systemic failures, such as the lack of democracy and rule of law, and on the actual execution of specific policies and the heavy-handedness of certain cadres. The language of human rights was occasionally invoked in connection with discussions of the constitution and the legal system. Many, for example, referred to the stipulation of citizens’ rights in the 1954 constitution and argued that these rights were in effect being violated. Others talked about human rights violations when criticizing excesses committed during different political campaigns. In the rather disjointed pieces we have chosen to translate here, we hear the voices of some young students. It is interesting to note that the students, who after all had come of age in the new society and received a socialist education, should take up the language of human rights when criticizing the Party. Although the identities and fates of these students are unknown today, they nevertheless are quite representative of the general mood and views of the period.
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