Mao’s China - establishing communist rule Flashcards
What percentage of the Chinese population were peasants?
80%
How much of the railway network had been destroyed due to the civil war?
50% - telephone lines were also damaged
Who had controlled Manchuria until 1949?
The USSR
How many members of the CCP were there by 1950?
5.8 million
Who was Minister of Defense and commander-in-chief of the PLA from 1949?
Peng Dehuai
What were danwei?
Monitored work units to which all employees belonged
What did Danwei control?
Permits used for travel, marriage, housing access as well as food
What was the CPPCC? Where and when was it held? What did it create?
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Held in Beijing in September 1949 it established the Common Programme
What was the Common Programme, developed in 1949? What 4 key points did it lay out?
A temporary constitution setting out rights, establishing the role of the CCP, giving powers to the PLA and Police and making Mao head of state
How much did the number of state officials increase by between 1949-59?
720,000 - 7.9 million
How did the PLA assist in growing popular support for the CCP?
By giving economic assistance after the civil war - eg rebuilding infrastructure such as roads, bridges, railways and canals
How many new recruits per year joined the PLA during the Korean War?
800,000
What was the key principle of the new government of China?
Mao Zedong Thought
What was the CCP’s new system of government called and what did it entail?
Democratic Centralism - it meant that on a local level people could elect representatives who would express their views in regional congresses, who would then elect representatives to speak in Beijing
When was the ‘Three Antis’ movement introduced and what was it?
1951 - it was a campaign against corruption, waste and bureaucracy in government
What were ‘struggle meetings’?
Those found guilty in the Antis movements were forced to confess guilt in front of large crowds
When was the ‘five Antis’ movement introduced and what was it?
1952
- a campaign against bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheating on government contracts and stealing state economic information
What were ‘tiger beaters’ in the Antis movements of the 1959s?
Employees of a firm organised by cadres to find evidence against their former managers and bosses - they would intimidate and torture their ‘capitalist tigers’ before taking them to a struggle meeting
The PLA against crime in the 1950s?
Killed thousands of bandits and Triad members. Intimidated criminals - eg. after an execution a bill would be sent to the parents to cover the cost of the buckets used
When was the ‘Campaign to Suppress Counter-revolutionaries’ introduced and how many had been arrested and executed by 1954?
March 1950
2.6 million arrested
712,000 executed
2 Groups attacked by the PLA in 1950?
Buddhists in Tibet
Muslims in Xinjiang province
How many people were in Laogai (forced labour camps) by 1955?
1.3 million people
When did the Hundred Flowers Campaign begin?
May 1956
Purposes of the Hundred Flowers Campaign?
- Mao may have genuinely wanted advice from intellectuals to help grow the economy
- Wanted to ‘rectify’ the bureaucracy of the party
- removal of Mao’s enemies - hoping more conservative Communists would be criticised by intellectuals
When was the Korean War?
1950-53
2 examples of groups which mobilised different areas of society to the CCP cause?
The All China Federation of Women
Democratic Youth
How many members of the Politburo?
14
How many members of the standing committee within the politburo?
5
Punishment for those found guilty in the 3 and 5 antis campaigns?
Charged fines and forces to sell their interests in companies - therefore there was a minor economic incentive to the CCP
When did Mao announce that ‘poisonous weeds’ had grown amongst the flowers in the campaign?
June 1957
What criticisms came forward in the Hundred flowers campaign?
- the CCP had failed to introduce democratic reform
- party members were living in luxury
How many intellectuals were sent to the countryside or Laogai in the Anti-rightist campaign (begun in June 1957)
400-700,000
How many Chinese fatalities in the Korean War?
400,000
Main benefit of Korean War for China?
Raised international standing, just after huge revolution they were capable of standing up to UN forces. Also increased cooperation of communist countries in the region and increased national pride with the ‘resist America, aid Korea’ campaign
Who were forced to leave the country in the Korean War?
christian missionaries and nationalists
