I am sorry to see that Huibin is apparently unaware that it wasn't just an odd family or two of rich people who were murdered (let's call a spade a spade), it was 20 million or more -- the whole population of Australia, Canada or a number of small European countries put together. That's not a birth pang -- that's serial killing on an unimaginable scale, fertilising one of the biggest graveyards in the history of the universe. Whatever the ends, the means could never justify them. And what are the ends achieved anyway? A billion Chinese, with a widening gap between rich and poor, living in an increasingly toxic environment with their new electronic goods and Japanese cars. Whacko. The cultural revolution groaned and produced a Lexus.

Hugh Dillon, Sydney , Australia

I am a chinese studying in the UK now. Chairman Mao is really a great figure in chinese history. The 100 years history before the foundation of PRC is full of being invaded and humiliation, until chairman mao lead the revolution in 1949. Of course, on the other hand, many rich people were explointed and even killed by the communist party during that period, but it is a kind of nirvana------the pain of new birth. My family was once landlord of a large amount of land in my home town, after the foundation of communist china, we have nothing. But i still believe, the pain and loss of single family is trivial comparing with the independence of the whole nation, but some people cannot understand it and go to express their anger in the west, it's a pity of them. We have many different governments before chairman mao, including the government now ruling Taiwan, but there is only one that let their nation be without invasion and hunger, that is chairman mao's communist party!

Huibin, Birmingham, UK

During my time in China I was frequently amazed by how a young, intelligent and (perhaps most importantly) curious generation of young Chinese are still able to hold Mao up as a figure worthy of Godlike reverance, despite a wealth of available information that points to the fact that he was responsble for more deaths through at the best, mismanagement , at worst gross negligence in peace time than any other world leader. He was probably one of the most significant factors in putting China into an economic low which is only now starting to claw it's way of of today, but still has finds a new generation of fans by way of his ongoing personality cult...

daniel, Amsterdam, Netherlands