.....Between 1949 and 1980, some 50 million Chinese people passed through this system of terror. Like Stalin's Gulag, Mao's laogai took on a life of its own, continuing its bloody work unabated until Mao's death from Parkinson's disease in 1976. In all, Chinese Communism would extinguish the lives of over 70 million people in the 20th century.
Mao biographers Jung Chang and Jon Halliday also document how this horror represented the natural order of things for Mao. Indeed, while millions of his people were starving to death, the dictator habitually informed his inner circle that it did not matter if people died and that, in fact, death was to be deemed a cause for celebration and rejoicing. This was because, naturally, destruction was necessary in order for the earthly heaven to be built. Mao wished destruction not only for his own country, but for the entire universe. As he explained: "This applies to the country, to the nation, and to mankind. ... The destruction of the universe is the same. ... People like me long for its destruction, because when the old universe is destroyed, a new universe will be formed. Isn't that better!" Mao stated that it would be ideal to sacrifice about 300 million Chinese lives for the world revolution, since "It's best if half the population is left, next best one-third. ..."....
