The Third Five Year Plan 1962-65 (2a.2)

Question 1

Who was mainly responsible for drawing up third five year plan?

Answer 1

Pragmatist Chen Yun

Question 2

Who was out in charge of the retreat from the GLF?

Answer 2

Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping

Question 3

How did they retreat from the GLF?

Answer 3

• Communes broken up
• Closed down thousand of inefficient projects
• More realistic coal and steel targets
• Relaxation of persecution of scientists/intellectuals
• Positive results

Question 4

When did Chinese scientists succeed in exploding China’s own atom bomb?

Answer 4

1964

Question 5

Conference of 7000 cadres

Answer 5

• Dangerous revisionism to retreat from GLF
• Liu implied Mao should share some blame
• Risky, but Liu knew he had approval of the conference
• Mao admitted to responsibility as Chairman but not personal mistakes
• Withdrew from public life for next few months

Question 6

What was the right of the party?

Answer 6

• Liu, Deng and Chen Yun
• Pragmatic view that ideological concessions would be necessary to restore economy
• Mass mobilisation no substitute for expertise and planning
• Private trade justified if it motivated people to work harder

Question 7

What was the left of the party?

Answer 7

• Mao urged continuing revolution should be key
• Without mass mobilisation there’s the risk of new bourgeoisie emerging in the party and destroying gains of the revolution

Question 8

What compromise did the left and right come to?

Answer 8

• Mao demanded to know whether China was going to take the ‘Socialist road’ or the ‘Capitalist road’
• Condemned revisionism of Liu and Deng
• Liu and Deng outwardly agreed with Mao’s analysis of situation while continuing to do things in their own way
• Criticised rural capitalism but did nothing to stop farmers owning own private plots and selling produce for profit