Last member of Gang of Four, Yao Wenyuan, is dead
The 'killer with the pen' of Cultural Revolution served 20 years in prison
Yao Wenyuan, the last surviving member of the Gang of Four who unleashed chaos and purged millions of Chinese during the turbulent decade of the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, has died at the age of 74.
Xinhua said yesterday in a brief report that Yao died of diabetes on December 23.
The report described him as 'a master criminal of the counter-revolutionary clique' of former military leader Lin Biao and Jiang Qing, the widow of former leader Mao Zedong .
Yao's death came 30 years after the end of the decade-long Cultural Revolution when the four were removed from power after Mao died.
Veteran political scientist Johnny Lau Yui-siu said: 'Yao's death has no significance now, but it serves as a reminder of how certain people in the history of China caused setbacks to the country's development. There should be some rethinking on how China should implement its political reforms in a pragmatic way.'
Yao was the last surviving member of the Gang of Four after Zhang Chunqiao died of cancer in Beijing last April. Jiang reportedly killed herself in her apartment soon after her release on medical parole in 1991. Wang Hongwen died a year later.
Yao began his career as a literary critic in Shanghai and later joined the Communist Party to work on official propaganda in 1965.
During the Cultural Revolution, he was the key propaganda official of the Gang of Four - a term reportedly coined by Mao, and was later dubbed as the 'killer with the pen', referring to his role in the penning of government documents and masterminding media campaigns during the period.
While Mao launched the Cultural Revolution to consolidate power and purge political rivals such as then-president Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, the Gang of Four bore most of the blame for the violence and chaos. The four were accused of pushing the nation to the brink of collapse as people were urged to wage so-called 'class struggles' against one another.
During the period, it is estimated that at least 500,000 people were killed and millions imprisoned as students and workers were incited to crack down on government officials and academics.
Yao was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with his political rights deprived for a further five years. He devoted himself to studying history after being released from prison in October 1996 after serving his full jail term.
Some news reports said he finished writing a memoir about the Cultural Revolution last year, but authorities prohibited him from publishing it.
