Issues Facing The New Regime

Question 1

What does October 1949 mark

Answer 1

Victory for communist forces under Mao Zedong in Chinese civil war

Question 2

Aftermath of the civil war (6)

Answer 2

• millions dead
• infrastructure destroyed
• malnutrition and poverty RIFE
• economy devastated - gold reserved
• lack of educated professionals and the professional pop.
• continued nationalist threat

Question 3

Societal issues (5)

Answer 3

• no rural healthcare
• no formal education => ILLITERACY HIGH
• Confucian tradition had strong hold
• women discriminated against
• poverty prevalent- peasants exploited, gangs and bandits

Question 4

Political issues (4)

Answer 4

• no organised central govt.
• little control over far reaching regions
• inefficiency (no educated elite/experts)
• no previous democratic model to go off of

Question 5

Xing Jiang Region

Answer 5

Large Uighur Muslim population - did not identify with china

(Example of distance limiting control, and religion/culture influencing control)

Question 6

TIBET region

Answer 6

Far from Beijing => difficult to excersise control
- did not consider themselves Chinese at all!

(Example of distance limiting control)

Question 7

Why was poverty an issue

Answer 7

Peasants = main supporters BUT many issues:
- peasants would be exploited by land lords
- criminal gangs and bandits plagued the countryside
- 80% of the population were farmers

Question 8

What percentage of the population lived in the country side?

Answer 8

80% = rural farmers

Question 9

Economic issues from the Civil War

Answer 9

• no stable unified currency
• HYPERINFLATION
• bartering commonplace in areas where money had collapsed
• Shortages of consumer goods lead to hoarding

Question 10

Hyperinflation after the Civil War

Answer 10

The GMD were unable to pay their Nationalist army via taxes so resorted to printing their own money.

Question 11

Who were fighting in the Chinese civil war?

Answer 11

GUOMINDANG (Nationalists) - Chiang Kai Shek

VS.

COMMUNISTS - Mao Zedong

Question 12

Were the nationalists a continued threat after 1949?

Answer 12

Yes:
- spies sent
- communist ships on the north coast were bombed
- killings of innocents on mainland

Question 13

Industrial issues: (econ.)

Answer 13

• Infrastructure in SHAMBLES
• Russian control of Manchurian industrial centre
• raw material scare city and transportation issues
• skilled mechanics gone

Question 14

MANCHURIAN ISSUE

Answer 14

Post WWII, Russia gain control over all of Manchuria:
- dismantle factories
- confiscated tools and riches
To use as their own

Question 15

Scorched Earth tactics by nationalists

Answer 15

Retreating Nationalists destroyed infrastructure so future regimes can’t be sucessful:
- power stations bombed
- coal reserves low. => LACK OF ELECTRICITY
FACTORIES NEED RECONSTRUCTION

Question 16

What was the 1949 factory output level compared to the 1937 level?

Answer 16

Down 44% !!!

Question 17

The elites fleeing with the nationalists

Answer 17

Educated elites flee to Taiwan =
- lack of qualified professionals to run the government
- lack of mechanics to rebuild the machines
- factories must be rebuilt

Question 18

Agricultural issues

Answer 18

• tools and livestock shortage
• poop = most common fertiliser meaning disease spread easily
• peasants conscripted to nationalist army meaning farms left unattended for long periods of time

Question 19

What do all the agricultural issues lead to?

Answer 19

Limited food supply- insufficient for peasants let alone larger population

Question 20

INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES

Answer 20

• transport networked damaged (communists bombed them to stop nationalists)
• Huge areas unconnected means LACK OF CONTROL
• Phone lines damaged
• Rivers and harbours blocked due to sunken ships

Question 21

Huge damage to transport networks

Answer 21

1/2 of all train lines destroyed
Was the communists own fault - blowing up bridges and tracks means less mobility for the nationalists.