The Lin Biao Incident: An Eyewitness Perspective (林彪事件: 访查目击者)

This is the story of the Lin Biao incident of 1971, in which Lin Biao, the designated successor to Mao and the most successful Chinese general of the 20th century, suddenly attempted to flee China, dying in the attempt. Most of the video is told through the perspective of his son-in-law, Dr. Zhang Qinglin, who was with Lin and his family on the day that he disappeared. Dr. Zhang's account here was based on a personal interview.

The video is organized into four parts. Part one is my introduction to Lin: why he is important to Chinese history, why he was important to politics in his time, and an introduction to some of the characters that become important later in the narrative. Part two is Dr. Zhang's introduction, and his interactions with Lin Biao's family in the days leading up to Lin's death. Part three is Dr. Zhang's account of what happened on the day that Lin Biao disappeared. Part four is Dr. Zhang's reflection on the meaning and causes of the incident in hindsight, over forty years after the event.