In the Soviet Union and elsewhere in the communist world, the term “proletarian revolutionaries” generally referred to important leaders of the Party and government who emerged at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century as proponents of Marxism-Leninism and were engaged in revolutionary work. Use of the term within the CCP was general…

The term “second-generation reds,” or hong er’dai (红二代), refers to the sons and daughters of Chinese political elites (高干子弟) who born in the 1960s and early 1970s –before the end of the Cultural Revolution) and were weaned on the politics and ideology of Mao Zedong (毛泽东). Many “second-generation reds” hold positions in high office today, the mos…

“Ministry of Truth” is a relatively sensitive phrase used online in China, referencing the department described in George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four tasked with policing language and thought, to holistically describe the entire system of information controls.