7. Consolidation of Power 1949-52

Question 1

What were the 4 main campaigns used to control the population between 1950-52?

Answer 1

the resist America aid Korea campaign, suppression of counter revolutionaries campaign, three and 5 antics campaign, thought reform campaign

Question 2

What were the key features of the resist America aid Korea Campaign?

Answer 2

• Before the war foreigners specially Americans were identified as enemies to the PRC and were targeted
• Many foreigners including missionaries were charged with being spies, churches were forcibly closed, and by 1952 most foreigners except USSR ones had left. Any institution with western links became under suspicion and monitored.

Question 3

What were the Key features of the Suppression of counter revolutionaries campaign?

Answer 3

• Focused on internal threats to China.
• Large ranges and amounts of people were targeted with over 28,000 people being executed in less than a year.

Question 4

What were the key features of the Three and five antics campaign?

Answer 4

• Targeted state officials and middle class that were guilty of corruption and abusing their power.
• These people were forced to carry out self-criticisms and led to increased suicide rates as people were terrified of being humiliated.

Question 5

What were the key features of the Thought reform campaign?

Answer 5

• Targeted intellectuals even though they were the people who would modernise China, Mao was suspicious of anyone educated abroad.
• He saw them as ‘agents of the imperialist culted invasion’.
• Forced to take part in self-criticism.

Question 6

What were the key features of terror and propaganda?

Answer 6

• PLA were used as not just practical use but seen to be role models because they had been heavily indoctrinated into clones.
• by late 1950s over 27 million were in laogais
• people had to get travel permits to freely move within the country

Question 7

What were the key features of the land reform?

Answer 7

• Mao wanted to redistribute land by confiscating it from landlords and divide it equally among peasants
• cadres sent to work with peasants and carried out speak bitterness meetings against landlords.
• Mao wanted peasants to be central to this due to mass mobilisation
• Impacts on the landlord class was that the class ceased to exist, and 1.5 to 2 million people killed
• Impact on land owning was that 43% of land was redistributed among 60% of the population
• Lead to the slogan – to be poor is glorious’