In the United States few are those, or so it seems, who do not have some knowledge of the killings of "witches" which took place in their country. However, it appears that little knowledge is possessed of the killings which took place in China. These, too, were committed based on the behaviour patterns (either past or present) of those condemned and no legal action was taken against those who carried them out.

With regard to the little attention given to these acts, Carl Sagan states in one of his books that "Chinese historians are strangely oblivious to the tens of millions of deaths caused by Mao Zedong's 'Great Leap Forward'". Sagan also points out that, as odd as it may sound, "Tens of millions of people in concert publicly wished that Mao Zedong would live 'for ten thousand years'".