D. N. Aidit was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) during the 1950s–1960s. Mao had high hopes for the Indonesian Revolution. Starting in 1957, Aidit secretly visited China five times, receiving Chinese aid. Under his leadership, the Indonesian Communist Party quickly grew to 3 million members. In 1965, a planned military coup failed; Aidit was killed, tens of thousands of Indonesian communists were slaughtered, and the Communist Party was banned.

Forty years after Mao’s death, whenever he thought of Aidit and the tens of thousands of Indonesians who were killed, he reflected that it was because he had been eager to export revolution, encouraging risky actions, which instead resulted in disaster. He wished to meet Aidit to discuss this matter clearly. Holding a decree from the Jade Emperor, he found Aidit’s spirit.

Mao opened the conversation directly: “The events of September 30, 1965, led to your death and the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Indonesian party members. I even wrote a poem mourning you. I realize I was impatient for the Indonesian Revolution to seize power and urged you to act decisively. You took the risk, but the result was a catastrophic failure, destroying the entire Indonesian Communist Party.”

Aidit replied: “From 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, and 1965, I visited China five times to seek your advice. You always encouraged me to infiltrate and seize power. In the summer of 1965, President Sukarno’s health was declining. I feared that if he died early, it would be unfavorable for me. Because he was pro-Soviet and pro-China, I decided to act preemptively to influence him. I launched a secret plan to assassinate military leaders with full support from three officers of the Presidential Guard, hoping to turn the army under my control. Unfortunately, the plot was exposed, and Suharto struck back. Nearly all of us leaders were wiped out, with large numbers of party members arrested and killed. We were completely defeated. Only one member of the Political Bureau survived—he was in China at the time. Later, for decades, he lived in China.”

Mao said: “Suharto was truly ruthless. You had no chance to resist at all.”

Aidit said: “Afterward, you criticized us: ‘The Indonesian Communist Party made two mistakes: first, blindly trusting Sukarno and overestimating the Party’s strength in the army; second, wavering and failing to fight to the end.’ You were high above it all, making accusations and absolving yourself, completely detached from reality. What could we rely on? Who could we count on? Suharto was ferocious and swift—we had no ability to fight back.”

Mao said: “Looking back now, I realize I was impatient, committed adventurism, and caused irreparable losses to you and your entire party. Chinese-Indonesian diplomatic relations were also forced to break off for more than twenty years, only resuming in 1990.”

Aidit said: “The Communist Party was completely finished. In 1966, Indonesia declared the Party illegal. A few exiles abroad continued until 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, and even then, the Party dissolved. The Communist Party disappeared entirely. The September 30 events also affected 500,000 ethnic Chinese. Many fled to China, settled in Hainan and other Chinese overseas Chinese farms. Their descendants are now in their sixties. This is all my fault.”

Mao asked: “Since the Indonesian Communist Party is gone, do you still have surviving descendants?”

Aidit said: “Fortunately, I have two daughters who attended primary and secondary school in Moscow. In 1970, they arrived in Beijing. Zhou Enlai even hosted a banquet for them and invited them to Tiananmen on May Day to see you. You comforted them with a poem in memory of me. Later, they visited Shaoshan and Jinggangshan, studied Chinese, and worked in communes. In 1971, both sisters were admitted to Jiangxi Medical College. After graduation, they went to Myanmar, wore uniforms of the Myanmar People’s Army, and served in forest hospitals for several years. In 1979, they went to Guangzhou. My eldest daughter married an Indonesian man, then went to work in Macau. Her husband, appointed by the Indonesian government, went with her and her sister to Paris to participate in the preparation of the Emerging Forces Movement. They settled in France, acquired French citizenship, gained freedom, and could read Russian banned books, re-examining the Soviet Union. In 2001, Indonesian President Wahid visited France and specially invited my eldest daughter to the embassy to meet him, stating that apologies had been made to victims and that the persecution legislation would be revoked. Later, my eldest daughter regained the freedom to return to Indonesia, to reunite with relatives and childhood friends. She is now a free person, able to go anywhere. This gives me the greatest comfort.”

Mao said: “It is good that your two daughters are free. In December 1965, after your misfortune, I wrote a mourning couplet for you:

‘Alone I stand by the cold window, laughing before a hundred flowers;
Alas, the smile cannot last, spring comes, yet blossoms wither;
The remnants are stubborn, yet why trouble yourself?
When flowers fall, new blooms await, preserving fragrance for the coming year.’”

Aidit said: “When you wrote ‘preserving fragrance for the coming year,’ it applies perfectly to my daughters. They symbolize the future of the Communist Party—though the path was tortuous, they ultimately won freedom, giving hope to future generations. From heaven, I look down and feel very reassured.”

Mao said: “Well said. It shows that the route of a coup to seize power is unworkable. Exporting revolution became exporting disaster, devastating Indonesia and causing losses to China. Your daughters’ eventual freedom symbolizes the Party’s future path—this is very meaningful.”

Aidit said: “Indonesia is doing well now. Without the Communist Party, people are free, living in peace. But in China, the Communist Party still follows your and Stalin’s model—no freedom under despotism, citizens are not allowed to speak. You have never reflected or confessed to the people. You must fully repent, abandon communism, return to civilization, and guide your successors toward democratic constitutional governance.”

Mao replied perfunctorily: “I met with you to reflect. Await the Jade Emperor’s judgment.”

Mao felt that Aidit was magnanimous. After this conversation, satisfied that everything that needed to be discussed had been covered, he rose, bid farewell, and parted ways with Aidit.

NEXT: 31. Sidney Rittenberg (1921–2019)