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The Cultural Revolution began with the creation of a “big-character poster” by a young philosophy lecturer, Nie Yuanzi. A big-character poster was a wall-mounted poster that employed large Chinese characters as a means of protest. Nie posted hers in Beijing University, the cradle of the student political movements. A hard-core Marxist and Maoist, Nie was angry at the pragmatism of President Liu and Deng and with the direction the country was heading. President Liu and Deng had steered the country away from Mao’s ideas such as the “Free Big Wok Meal.” They had promoted intellectuals, such as professors and capable...

You’re reading The Waugh Zone, our daily politics briefing. Sign up now to get it by email in the evening. Way back in 2004, Boris Johnson once claimed that “nailing [Tony] Blair is like trying to pin jelly to a wall”. The observation is not without irony, given the current PM’s own habit of trying to avoid being pinned down on various Covid policy missteps. As it happens, Johnson’s government is in many ways now taking lessons from Blair, not least on his key recommendation to delay second doses of vaccines and use the supplies to instead double the number...