the series might stir up student unrest. Hu immediately contacted the minister of Radio, Film, and Television, requesting that he re-evaluate the series. Meanwhile, Zhao Ziyang, Yang Shangkun, Deng Pufang (Deng Xiaoping’s son) and some other Politburo members privately screened Heshang. While Zhao and Deng had supportive attitudes toward the film, a few members of the Politburo were offended by Heshang’s harsh criticism of Chinese traditions and the Party’s policies since 1978, as well as its attack on Leninist theories. Confused by the divided opinions expressed from the top leadership, CCTV held internal meetings to discuss whether it should terminate broadcasting Heshang, but it did not reach a decision until the series was completely broadcast. August 1988 revised version Heshang was so popular that many audiences requested a repeat of the show after its first run. Given that the documentary had aroused much tension among the Party’s top leaders, the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television ordered CCTV to revise the original version of the film before it could be broadcast again. In the repeat version, politically sensitive contents were either removed or toned down. The deleted contents included the film’s supportive attitude toward the 1986 student demonstrations and its call for the government to establish dialogue with Chinese citizens; criticism against government corruption, inflation and the CCP’s ignorance of the mentally and economically impoverished situation of Chinese intellectuals; as well as criticism against the CCP’s policies and its mismanagement that caused such “man-made disasters” as the 1987 great forest fires in Daxing’anling, and the 1988 Shanghai hepatitis epidemic. The revised Heshang was aired in August 1988 and triggered even greater debates. At the Third Plenum of the 13th Central Committee, Wang Zhen, the then vice president, fiercely attacked Heshang by giving a long speech to criticize its “counter-revolutionary” contents. Wang insisted the film not only posed “vicious vilification” toward Chinese people, but it was also “anti-Party and anti-socialism.” Wang also criticized the “blue sea civilization” that was promoted in the film as “bandit civilization and bandit logic.” While some party leaders supported Wang’s view, Zhao Ziyang, backed up by Yang Shangkun, argued that artistic work like Heshang conveyed cultural rather than political implications, so it should not be discussed at a political meeting. The debates between the two sides continued after the conference, until Zhao Ziyang was forced to issue two principles in dealing with the Heshang controversy. The