PEKING -- Communist Party Chairman Hua Guofeng's brief indulgence in a personality cult came back to haunt him Tuesday.
Party reformers squaring off against China's old guard as the decisive 12th party congress approaches, hit out at the Hua cult that flourished briefly following the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976.
The reformers, led by Vice Chairman Deng Xiaoping, said in an article in the party newspaper People's Daily the creation of public 'superstitions' about the superiority of the ruler was a trick used by those who want to cling to power for life.
'Blind faith in the state and in personalities resulted in a situation in which people piously thought that certain important posts could be assumed only by particular persons,' the article signed by 'a guest commentator' said.
'This belief rationalizes life tenure' which is fraught with risks for the entire nation, it said.
The Gang of Four, whose arrest in October 1976 marked the end of the Cultural Revolution now denounced as a national catastrophe, turned Mao Tse-tung into a god-like figure heading one of the biggest personality cults of all times, it said.
'... And wasn't this tendency still popular for a certain period of time after the smashing of the Gang of Four?' the article asked in an indirect but unmistakable swipe at Hua.
When Hua took over the chairmanship after the death of Mao in 1976, he followed in the footsteps of his predecessor and allowed the growth of a cult highly reminiscent of the worship of Mao.
His portraits were everywhere. The media lavishly praised him as the 'wide leader' who brought 'great order across the land.'
The glorification campaign lasted about a year before it was gradually toned down and ultimately phased out. The fading of the Hua cult coincided with the growing dominance of Deng.
The article did not directly suggest Hua wantedto be chairman for life, but said 'life tenure of leading cadres is a de facto practice' that needs to be changed.
Reformers want the abolition of life tenure written into the party and state constitutions. 'We must make clear that no leader can remain in his job indefinitely,' the commentator said.
But the article indicated there are people in leading positions who object to the change.
The party congress is scheduled for early next year, but the key issues are hammered out in the months before the meeting and the article is seen by analysts as part of the internal debate within China's Communist Party.
