How Mao's Last Dancer, Li Cunxin's Story, May Tell the Need for Economic Liberalization

The Epoch Times

As talks about the need for more economic freedom in the Philippines is on, some people are still saying that, "No, we need 60-40!" Well, one might need to view the film Mao's Last Dancer (or read the book written by the author himself, Li Cunxin) to understand a Chinese man's travel to the United States of America (USA). Li himself was the sixth son of a family of seven. Having been born in 1961, he would've passed through the harsh regime of Mao Zedong. Mao ruled China until his death in 1976 which soon paved for Deng Xiaoping's takeover. Before Deng took over, Mao was succeeded by Hua Guofeng who was soon replaced by Deng. Deng understood economics upon his trip to America.

The focus of the film (and the book) is Li, a dancer, who was selected at a very young age. Communism likes starting their cadets young, right? They were selected by the ruthless Madame Mao, Mao's final wife before he finally succumbed to death. Madame Mao's record wasn't so clean either since she had three previous failed marriages as well before becoming the First Lady of China. The arduous training of the Communist dancers. One teacher, referred to as Teacher Chan, was banished for promoting classical Russian ballet. I assume that maybe, just maybe, Joseph Stalin did ban Russian ballet too.

Things start to change after Mao died. The film included the use of footage from the news about Mao's death. Later on, the dancer Ben Stevenson arrived in China for a cultural visit. If I could be right, this was when Hua was still the leader before Deng managed to take over. Later on, Li was able to visit his family in China (and his parents visited him) thanks to Deng's open-door policy.

From ABC News, this can be read about Lis's journey:

Cunxin had a culture shock while in the USA. Everything that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) taught him was really wrong. ABC News also shares this insight regarding Cunxin's experience with the US:

"I didn't understand ballet, so definitely, to help my family was the driving force. [It was] my willingness to sacrifice the love my parents had for me," he said.

After Mao died and China began opening up under Deng Xiaoping's leadership, Li was exposed to increasing Western influences that were eye-opening.

"That's when we [see] in the movies, [foreigners] wear better clothes than us, they eat better food, they seemed happier," he said.

"At first we thought that was Western propaganda — eventually when I went to America when I saw it with my own eyes, I realised they [the movies] were not propaganda.

"We [had been] brainwashed under Mao's era." 

The movie featured Li in his cluelessness. I would be in that clueless state too. It's not fiction like how five North Korean soldiers in Crash Landing on You marveled at South Korea's development. I heard how traditional communism continues to teach that, "It's just American imperialism." type of talk. Li beheld the US for the first time in his eyes. He saw a freer country. The Americans wore better clothes and ate better food. It's a good thing that Deng finally saw it and said, "Communist China is open for business." Later, Deng said, "Socialism isn't poverty. To be rich is glorious." I guess one can say socialism might be better defined as high-class communism. The environment was a total shocker when he felt American soil for the first time. 

Soon enough, Li desired to stay in the US because it was much better than Communist China. Li had his failed marriage with Elizabeth Mackey when they were too young to commit but old enough to marry. Li was 20 and she was 18 years old. The marriage did fail because Li got too focused on his career. Li later remarried an Australian woman named Mary McKendry. Both Li and McKendry are still married. It was in 1979 when Li and Mackey met below the age of consent. The marriage took place in 1981 and they divorced in 1982. Later, both McKendry and Li married in 1987 and they have children together. Li is currently a Chinese Australian by international status which is good. I doubt Li would want to be back in China under the regime of Xi Jinping.

It's because Li saw the power of free markets. The promises of Mao were nothing but moot. Li even admitted he was willing to jump off the roof for Mao. The Guardian gives this note on his once-blind admiration for Mao: 

“During my childhood,” he says, “we suffered a lot from Mao’s terrible, misguided policies. I can still see the desperation in my mother’s eyes because she had so little to cook for us. Often, there was nothing but dried yams. But we really believed we belonged to the most privileged nation on earth. We thought that if we followed Mao, we were all heading to paradise. I would have jumped off the roof for him, no question.”

Li insists that, even when he’d been desperately unhappy in Beijing, his faith in Mao never wavered. “It felt such an incredible privilege just to be in the city and near to him – it was like coming close to God.” He also dreamed that if he could somehow become a good enough dancer, he might not only serve Mao but help to lift his family out of poverty.

This just reminds me of how Mao's brainwashing propaganda is false hope. It's been the same pattern where Communists have their higher-ups with the power while the followers starve. Yet, commie admirers (such as the brats of the Philippine Anti-Fascist League, which is ironically on Facebook) still say stuff like, "Competition ruins everything! Government providing everything is the best!" Well, Li's own experience was all that. Not to mention, Mao made people believe that they had the best constitution in the world. As Li said, he thought that they belonged to the most privileged nation on Earth only because of propaganda. 

This was also part of Li's own ordeal according to The Guardian:

By the time he was 18, Li had become one of Beijing’s leading dance students. With a new thawing in Chinese-American relations, his diligence was rewarded with a year’s study in Houston. At first, the experience was too overwhelming: growing up, he’d been taught to believe that the west was a cesspit of poverty and corruption. Yet the Texas city contradicted everything he thought he knew. “It was all amazing – the swimming pools, the food, the fact that people could freely criticise their leaders. It was as if 18 years of my life were being erased. I didn’t know who I was or what I should think.”

Even more terrifying, perhaps, was the dawning realisation that he didn’t want to leave. “I thought, ‘If I could live and work in America, my God, what could I do?’” And when he fell in love, with a young American dance student called Elizabeth Mackey, he began to consider defection. It was a terrifying risk and he nearly didn’t get away with it. Even though he and Mackey had hastily got married to secure his legal status in America, he was briefly incarcerated in the Chinese consulate in Houston, and threatened not only with deportation and punishment, but also with retribution on his family.

As the film continued, I couldn't help but contain emotions. I didn't know what to say. It was pretty much like starting to see stuff like how Filipino First Policy caused the Philippines to fail. Communist China and Communist Vietnam only progressed when they both embraced FDIs. Yet, some people still believe in the toxic lies of Communist propaganda in the Philippines. Propaganda like, "The Philippines is the best country in the world." has done nothing The belief China was the best country in the world in Mao's time didn't work either. Before one can say, "But the Philippines isn't China!" Well, no form of protectionist policy ever worked in the long run.

I recommend this film to be shown. I say Mao's Last Dancer, though it's more than ten years old as film, should still have its relevance in the call for economic reform.