Very Few Good Things To Say About Mao

Retired UCSF Pharmacology Professor Nancy Ma and Internist Peter Lee retired from their posts and--against all odds --began the foundation WuWei Harmony . Nancy Ma was born in Shanghai during the 1940s. Her father worked as Asian General Manager for Colgate-Palmolive, a wonderful position...until the Communists took over in 1949.  He fled first to Hong Kong, a British territory back then. The rest of the family , however, could not get exit visas. (See post one.) After seven years of waiting, they finally managed to get to Hong Kong. (see post two.) 

Nancy's husband Peter, who she met many years later, was also pushed out of China...under quite different circumstances. His parents were in the Nationalist Army, also known as the Kuomingtang.

Chiang Kai Chek addresses Nationalist Army

“Kuomingtang was first fighting the Japanese,” said Peter. “Then the Communists, then ended up in Taiwan. So I was a lucky one. I didn’t end up suffering under the Communists.”

Still, neither Peter nor Nancy had fond memories of old China. 

"It was just not anything where a human being could live,” said Nancy. “Mao Tse Tung—I’m still trying to think of things he might have done good for China. I have very little good things to say about him.”

“He united China and made it so China stood up (against the western powers),” added Peter. “But his internal policy towards the Chinese people is nothing to speak of."

(To be continued. Next: Chinese Considered Outsiders in Taiwan.)