The Tragic Case of Zhang Hongbing - A Red Guard who Denounced his Mother in the Cultural Revolution

In 1970, Zhang Hongbing was a young idealistic and indoctrinated teenaged member of the Red Guard - the legion of fanatical youth who answered Mao's call to purge communist china of all bad elements in the Cultural Revolution of the 1960's and 70's.

His mother, Fang Zhongmou, was a doctor in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, who had originally supported the Communist Revolution - but by 1970 was disillusioned by Mao's policies and began criticizing the chairman in the privacy of her home.

Detecting a revisionist and anti-party enemy by the words of his mother, Zhang denounced her for her criticism. Aided by his father, also a revolutionary zealot, they reported Fang to the police. She subsequently arrested and executed her for the crime of speaking out against Chairman Mao.

This is a mashup report combining commentary and footage from two separate sources:

Commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKfe3NanRxU
Footage: https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/mar/27/chinese-cultural-revolution-mother-video