In the period we are now reading about in Wild Swans, the writer's parents come under attack.

Yet they have been Communist Party supporters who have worked diligently to change China. How could it happen, that they now come under attack? What events took place to allow it?

We'll watch the Youtube documentary from 59:00 to 1:05. Listen for these events:

• A change in local powers; the old hierarchy gives way to the hard-line Revolutionary Committees.
• The rise of Mao's wife.
• The fall of Liu Shaoqi, the potentially alternative leader to Mao who had previously criticised the Great Leap Forward.