I don't think this guy understands politics or international affairs and china, or if he does, then he isn't honest about it. His claim is that everyone in China has a reason, millions who died in the famine of the great leap forward, to dislike Mao. But, he says, everyone is bullied into saying he did nothing wrong, so they system can keep going. Think about how out of touch that argument is. <br><br>First, since the early 80s, the anit-maoists, the Dengists came to power. Their line was that Mao did plenty wrong, and still is. Deng is considered by them to have corrected things, so his legacy is in competition with Mao's. However, Mao is still respected in china for many reasons. The first is he re-founded the republic,  and was the leader at the time of independence, defeating the Japanese in many people's eyes. After the war ordered the trials and killing of thousands or more gangsters, rich landowners, slave drivers and enemy fighters who had tormented, robbed or killed farmers and villagers across the country. This was at the behest of the public. They didn't see that as authoritarianism, but in their view was justice.<br><br>Over his tenure, the economy grew every year, except the 2 years around the famine. The life span of people had literally doubled by the time he left office (died),  diseases like cholera were eradicated, hospitals opened, starvation ended. Some (not a lot obviously) democratic practices and institutions came into being,  as opposed to the zero they had before.  Because of the industrial foundation, economic growth, literacy, and military independence he established, the country was able, as Korea did, to disobey international finance, the IMF and WTO, and go their own way economically, which is why they got to were they are today. The result is millions of lives saved. <br>That is the thought process over there. They see him as more good than bad,  despite that the bad is there, they are not all itching to denounce him. The idea that they would blame him for  causing 50 million deaths doesn't take into account the far higher than 50 million lives they would credit him for saving. This is not rocket science. Expecting the other side of the cold war to see things as if they are on the western side is naive. They have their reasons.