china- topic 1- Establishing communist rule Flashcards
what was China like in 1949
far from modern and powerful nation it is today, it was backward and lacked an organised central government, 80% of population lived in rural areas, little healthcare, education poor, no experience of real democratic rule after being ruled by different emperors, was in a long-lasting war with the nationalists, leaving millions dead, and nationalists were still a threat when communists were somewhat established in 1949.
China at the end of the Civil War
even though he announced the establishment, he wasn’t in reality, as he nor held any unified nation identity or consolidated any communist authority either, China was ultimately ruined, bankrupt and chaotic. The CCP did not seize power through political election, but instead military success meaning they needed to grow their support, very few experts left, economy was devastated, hyperinflation, industry badly damaged by years of wars, factories needed reconstructuring with raw materials scarce, agricultural equipment in short supply, with famine, chiang kai shek had the ally in USA making a massive threat to Mao, warlords had a lot of control, transport networks severely damaged eg the blowing up of railway tracks and bridges, there was isolation between rural and urban areas.
what is democratic centralism
’ all power in the Peoples Republics belongs to the people’ with this to be a new part of the government. Supposedly, it would represent the interests of the people. Officially, this was seen as democratic in that those locally representatives could discuss and debate issues within their villages and towns. However, once a decision had been made by central government, no argument would be allowed against the decision.
what was the new structure of government 1949
1- Communist Party( grew in size after 1950, with its co-ordination of organising education, the legal system and military, Mao as its Chairman, standing comittee was the most important 5 political members
2- the central peoples government- announced laws and decrees, declaring wars, controlled the budget
3- the PLA- use it as a consolodiation of power method, through the reunification campaigns, achievements of Korean war would reflect Mao’s personal prestige, taught to read and write, involved into the communist propaganda, involved in the economic reconstructure- eg in construction projects.
‘learn from the PLA’
new campaign- people encouraged to learn the revolutionary and personal attributes of the soldiers, for example their discipline, their commitment to communism and their bravery.
list all the ways Mao defeated his opponents
- supress of the counter revolutionaires,
- 3/5 antis campaigns
- reunifications campaigns
- laogai
- hundred flowers campaign
- anti-rightist campaign
list all the ways Mao defeated his opponents
- supress of the counter revolutionaires,
- 3/5 antis campaigns
- reunifications campaigns
- laogai
- hundred flowers campaign
- anti-rightist campaign
campaign to supress counter revolutionaries
this targeted any nationalist sympathisers, potential of causing a risk to the regime, e.g.- those who had previously worked for the regime, 1950 MARCH, many were tricked into self-registration, trying to make them make confessions with people being rallied up by police. This resulted in them experiencing struggle meetings and there was mass participation. 800,000 DEATHS DURING CAAMPAIGN BY 1951
The three antis-campaign 1951
Mao called for a ‘big clean up of the Party’ directed against COW( corruption, obstruction and waste), with a lot of the public supporting this campaign. They wanted to discipline those within the Party and to show they could not take advantage of their position for power. The Chinese people would just target political members they did not like, resulting in them being imprisoned or executed.
The Five antis- campaign 1951
Mao also wanted to target other members in society, showing that no-one was safe. They wanted to seize power over economic assets and remove any more opponents. They targeted theft, bribery, tax evasion, cheating and stealing economic information. This mainly targeted the middle class and private business owners. They would order people to confess for other people, including your own family and friends through ‘denunciation boxes’ which encouraged them to do so easily. Workers were encouraged to turn on their bosses. 99% OF BUISNESSMEN WERE FOUND GUILTY IN SHANGHAI OF ATLEAST ONE OF THE FIVE POISONS.
This campaign greatly affected the social system due to the use of fear and terror leading to a breakdown of relationships and people no longer trusting people within their families.
invasion of Tibet 1950
Tibet was led by Buddhist leader Dalai Lama who was a rival leader to Mao. Mao knew that control of these areas was vital to protect his borders. Religion was a important part of Tibet with their Buddhism which represented a clear challenge to Mao’s ideological beliefs. He declared that he sent the PLA to consolidate control in Tibet, with them setting up a government that was denominated by Beijing and they went further to try to remove Tibetan identity. This included the traditional religious practice of Buddhism being prohibited. Mandarin Chinese became the new language.
Xinjiang province
This area was very Muslim dominated and had close ethnic ties with Muslims in the soviet union. They had a majority group called the Uighurs, accounting for 3/4 of the population in Xinjiang. They had a long history of opposition to central control. The PLA secured territory with Han-Chinese being sent into Xinjiang, to therefore populate and develop in the industry.
Taiwan
The Nationalists established a rival nation in Taiwan, which was supposedly the official China. They Communists were set to invade Taiwan but the Korean War took priority and it prevented them from their involvement.
The laogai camps
inspired by the gulag system, the laogai’s were used as a control method to imprison its enemies. By the start of 1955 1.3 MILLION PEOPLE WERE UNDERGOING FORCED LABOUR. Most were political prisoners that had been rounded up during the antis-campaigns. The conditions for inmates were usually horrific, with them being forced to do harsh labour like building new roads, usually jobs that were seen as dangerous. Their conditions in the camps were unbearable, with many freezing to death with many in very unsanitary conditions. They contributed heavily to the economy of China, CONTRIBUTED 350,000 TONS OF GRAIN. With more purges, more prisoners were added, with an estimation of its peak being 10 million inmates.
Hundred Flowers Campaign
Intellectuals encouraged to criticise the government, made a speech on the ‘ on the correct handling of contradictions among the people’ - intellectuals began to criticise with them mainly complaining about the economy and their low wages. Some dared to criticise Mao himself, which he may have not expected and did not like. This was a step too far and led to the anti-rightist campaign, which many historians arguing, like jung chang, about whether this was the real motivation behind the campaign or it was a trap to attack them.
