"Chinese state media have broken their silence on the 50th anniversary of the Cultural Revolution, with a commentary in the People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party.
The anniversary of the movement, which began May 16, 1966 and consumed the country in 10 years of chaos and bloodshed, has otherwise been largely ignored by official voices in the country.
The commentary, published late Monday, said the Cultural Revolution, when Chairman Mao Zedong's Red Guards rampaged across the country, was 'mistakenly launched' and caused 'comprehensive and serious' damage. 'History has fully proved that the Cultural Revolution was completely wrong in theory and in practice. It was not and will not be any revolution or social progress in any sense,' it said."