China passed a law Friday making it a crime to attack revolutionary heroes and martyrs as the ruling Communist Party steps up efforts to police historical discussions and enforce ideology. Since taking power in 2012, President Xi Jinping has called for tighter ideological discipline across society and enhanced patriotic education. Academics who criticized Mao Zedong have been silenced or sacked, while propaganda authorities have rolled out a series of polished media campaigns reminding citizens of the party's historical accomplishments. Dissident intellectuals say the measures further constrict the space for open discussion about China's history, leaving the party line irreproachable by default. The state-run Legal Daily quoted a lawmaker, Liu Xiuwen, as saying that the law embodied the spirit of Xi's "new era" thinking to bring about Chinese historical rejuvenation.

Source: ABC News April 27, 2018 07:02 UTC