In July 1977, with the support of senior officials such as Ye Jianying and Chen Yun, Deng Xiaoping was rehabilitated after being purged (twice) by Mao during the Cultural Revolution.[33][34] In May 1978, Deng together with Hu Yaobang and others launched a large-scale debate across China, discussing the criteria for testing truth and criticizing the "Two Whatevers".[35] Deng along with his allies supported the opinion that "practice is the sole criterion for testing truth", which first appeared in an article published by Guangming Daily and gained widespread support within the Chinese society.[35][36][37][38]