The Times: Daily news from the L.A. Times

This year, the Chinese Communist Party kicked off its 100th anniversary by celebrating China’s economic success and ambitions to create a new world order. The festivities, of course, are carefully choreographed. For decades, the Communist Party has crushed any counter-narratives to promote a whitewashed version of Chinese history. Those who deviate from the party’s official narrative suffer retribution — and in recent days, records of that punishment have been expunged as well. 

Today, we focus on a newly revised volume of Communist Party history that aims to airbrush its past for a younger generation who have come of age in a tightly controlled social environment. And we highlight the young activists who are trying to bring attention to this whitewashing — and are getting jailed or exiled for doing so. Our guest is L.A. Times Beijing bureau chief Alice Su.

An earlier version of this episode was published July 2, 2021. 

More reading:

As Communist Party turns 100, China’s Xi rallies his compatriots and warns his critics

He tried to commemorate erased history. China detained him, then erased that too 

China offers a minority a lifeline out of poverty — but what happens to its culture?