Posted on 04/27/2021 5:33:33 PM PDT by dynachrome
During China's Cultural Revolution, Sidney Rittenberg, an American citizen, became the most important foreigner in China since Marco Polo. Arriving as a During China's Cultural Revolution, Sidney Rittenberg, an American citizen, became the most important foreigner in China since Marco Polo. Arriving as a GI interpreter at the end of World War II, he was the only American citizen to become a member of the Chinese Communist Party, and was an active participant in the Chinese communist revolution and its aftermath. An intimate of the Party's leadership, including Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, he gained prominence at the Broadcast Administration, one of the most important agencies of government. But in the convulsions of a giant country constantly reinventing itself, he twice ran afoul of the leadership, and served a total of 16 years in solitary confinement. He returned to the United States in 1980. Rittenberg's story would be just a footnote of history, except for his exceptional intellect, uncompromising honesty, and engaging personality, he was the only American citizen to become a member of the Chinese Communist Party, and was an active participant in the Chinese communist revolution and its aftermath. An intimate of the Party's leadership, including Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, he gained prominence at the Broadcast Administration, one of the most important agencies of government. But in the convulsions of a giant country constantly reinventing itself, he twice ran afoul of the leadership, and served a total of 16 years in solitary confinement. He returned to the United States in 1980. Rittenberg's story would be just a footnote of history, except for his exceptional intellect, uncompromising honesty, and engaging personality
"Arriving as a GI interpreter at the end of World War II,"
It is on Amazon prime.
He still has an autographed copy of Mao’s “little red book”
And we let him back in???
What a low life.
> he twice ran afoul of the leadership, and served a total of 16 years in solitary confinement <
And that is an important lesson for Leftists. Play revolutionary if you want to. But understand that sooner or later you will be the target of a purge.
2 separate terms. He could have come back to the US after the first one, but he decided to stay and continue to help the revolution. Even after hearing people get beaten and tortured.
Rittenberg was not the only American to defect to the PRC at that time. There was also Sydney Shapiro. He worked in the translation (i.e. Propaganda) bureau in Beijing.
I met him way back in the late 1990’s. He was sort of way out there. He was not imprisoned in the cultural revolution but his Chinese wife was. He thought it was just a misunderstanding. He wrote the book, “An American in China” The book is a fun read just because it so obviously a pack of political lies.
For demonstration purposes only, a link to Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/American-China-Sidney-Shapiro/dp/0452005426
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