When many people think of Deng Xiaoping, their minds immediately go to his role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. However, a deeper look into history reveals a much longer track record of political manipulation and ideological control that dates back to the early days of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime.
My own understanding of this history is shaped by unique personal experiences. As a certified professional who passed all subjects of the Chinese Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examinations, I previously worked closely with colleagues hailing from Yibin—a city in Sichuan province where locals speak the distinct Sichuan dialect. Together, we completed multiple financial audit projects. Beyond the balance sheets, these interactions with people from the region served as a reminder of Sichuan’s critical place in modern history: it was the very territory where Deng Xiaoping held primary governance during the formative years of the PRC.
In 1951, the United Nations passed a resolution formally condemning the Chinese communist regime as an aggressor in the Korean War. Despite this international condemnation, Deng Xiaoping, who was then leading the Southwest Bureau, actively directed and supported the CCP’s aggressive campaign on the Korean peninsula. His administration launched massive wartime propaganda and mobilization efforts across the region.
Prior to the communist takeover, the people of the Southwest region, including Sichuan, held largely pro-American sentiments, admiring Western freedom and development. In fact, when the CCP proclaimed its regime on October 1, 1949, Sichuan was not even under its control; it was later militarily invaded and occupied by communist forces. To reverse the local population’s positive view of the United States, Deng orchestrated intense ideological campaigns.
State media has effectively acknowledged that it was under Deng’s political and psychological mobilization that figures like Huang Jiguang and Qiu Shaoyun emerged—individuals widely viewed outside CCP propaganda as tragic pawns sacrificed for an anti-American agenda. The state-celebrated narrative of Huang Jiguang throwing himself onto a machine-gun nest in Korea is a direct byproduct of this wartime radicalization.
It was likely due to his efficiency in suppressing local pro-American sentiments and supporting the war effort that Deng was promoted to the central leadership in Beijing. During the Mao era, he rose to the powerful position of General Secretary of the CCP Central Secretariat. This unchecked authority laid the groundwork for his subsequent involvement in managing and covering up the catastrophic consequences of the Great Leap Forward—a man-made disaster and political “virus” that led to the starvation and deaths of tens of millions of Chinese citizens.
Today, the legacy of this propaganda remains a tool of state control. As global discussions surrounding accountability for the Korean War continue, the international community, particularly the United States, must broaden its focus. Accountability should not just look at past battlefield decisions, but should also target modern CCP officials who continue to glorify the conflict as “Resisting U.S. Aggression and Aiding Korea” or who weaponize internet censorship to block free discussion and conceal the historical truth of the war from the public.
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