In China, Mao's picture is everywhere. A giant portrait of him still hangs in Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing and his image graces the country's currency.

Despite the ubiquity, a close examination of the Mao era is still largely taboo in the Middle Kingdom. Mao's report card in China is still based on former leader Deng Xiaoping's opinion that the Chairman was "70 percent" correct in his policies. His mistakes were "secondary," Deng said 30 years ago. That is the official standpoint today.

But just before the celebrations kick off of the Communist Party's 90th anniversary, two Chinese journalists have begun to question the official, overwhelmingly positive image put forward by the state - and sparked a fierce debate.

In an essay entitled "Making Mao Human," economist Mao Yushi argued that the former leader was responsible for more than 30 million deaths due to his "Great Leap Forward" program and the Cultural Revolution.

China will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China

In his essay, he referred to the book, "The Fall of the Red Sun," by Xin Ziling, a former official at the China National Defense University. Xin also shines a harsh light on Mao, calling the "Great Leap Forward" a catastrophic economic experiment that led to widespread hunger at the end of the 1950s and killed millions.

To maintain his grip on power, Mao initiated the Cultural Revolution in 1966 which plunged the country into civil-war-like chaos for 10 years.

In their works, both authors broke with a decades-old political ideology, according to sociologist Ding Xueliang from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

"These texts contain fundamental criticisms and you have to marvel at the courage and sense of responsibility both authors have shown," he said.

That Mao Zedong carries the responsibility for millions of deaths is not news, even in China, but the intensity of the critique is unprecedented. Mao supporters have slammed the works of Mao Yushi and Xin Ziling.

Lies and libel

One group of high-ranking Communist Party functionaries, along with some of the Chairman's own descendents, have published an "open denunciation" of the two authors, who they say have "spread libellous accusations, defamed the history of the Communist Party and fomented political unrest."

On the pro-Mao website "Utopia," a call has gone out for users to sign the denunciation.

Chinese shout "cheers" or "long live chairman Mao" at the outset of the Cultural Revolution in 1966

Some China watchers say the debate over Mao's legacy in reality reflects more contemporary struggles over the direction of the party, between the liberal and "new left" wings.

"The liberals would like to see a new China, one which adopts the Western political system and transforms the country into a democratic society," said Gu Xuewu, a political scientist at the University of Bonn. The "new left" rejects that direction.

"They don't like watching while society and the country's economy are massively modernized using capitalist methods," he added.

One reason for the fierce struggle within the party is the leadership change scheduled for next year. Ambitious politicians are positioning themselves strategically, hoping for plum posts.

'Red culture'

For example, the party head in the central Chinese city of Chongqing, Bo Xilai, has become the figurehead of the "new left" wing. He made a name for himself through a tough fight against organized crime and corrupt police officers in his city. Recently he made headlines by calling for a renaissance of "red culture."

In Chongqing, songs from the Mao era can again be heard, criminals are "re-educated" using old Communist Party methods and on television, pictures depicting a glorious past of the Party are broadcast frequently.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo is still in jail

Bo is aiming for a permanent seat in the standing committee of the Politburo, China's very center of political power.

"The question is whether he's doing all of these things out of some real conviction about the 'new left' or if it's a tactical calculation that's just using Maoism as a tool," said Gu.

In the face of this political struggle, the Chinese government is increasingly focused on stability. The climate for people who do not follow the party line has gotten more difficult in recent months and numerous dissidents have been arrested. Experts believe that the repressive atmosphere will continue at least until the leadership change next year.

Which wing will end up in the dominant position is still an open question, experts say. According to political scientist Gu, the "new left" has a small majority, but there is still a large block of moderate voices. A radical party shift to the right or left is highly unlikely, he said.

Author: Christoph Ricking (jam)

Editor: Rob Mudge