Li Honglin

Li Honglin (September 10, 1925 - June 1, 2016), a native of Gaiping, Liaoning, was the former deputy director of the Theory Bureau of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee and the former president of the Fujian Academy of Social Sciences. He was a well-known reformist theorist in mainland China, known for his sharp thinking and clear writing. After the reform and opening up, he advocated ideological emancipation and opposed personality worship. In 1979, he put forward the views that "there is no restricted area for reading" and "it is not the people who should be loyal to the leader, but the leader should be loyal to the people." He played an important role in the reform and opening up in the 1980s and was hailed as "the standard bearer of China's new enlightenment movement" and "theoretical standard bearer of China's liberalization movement."