Theme One - Establishing Communist Rule 1949-57 Flashcards
1
Q
What political problems did China face in 1949?
A
- Lack of democracy or organised government
- Some regions (Xinjiang) had little in common with the rest of China
- Tibet considered itself separate from China
2
Q
What social problems did China face in 1949?
A
- Bound to old Confucian ideas
- Peasants in poverty, exploited and threatened
- Little healthcare provision
- Majority illiterate
3
Q
What proportion of China’s population lived in poor agricultural areas in 1949?
A
80%
4
Q
What were the lasting negative effects of the Civil War on China in 1949?
A
- Millions had been killed
- Scorched earth tactics had destroyed infrastructure
- Poverty and malnutrition
5
Q
What were the negative effects of the GMD in China in 1949?
A
- Hyperinflation as GMD had used quantitive easing to avoid taxation
- GMD had stripped China of gold, silver, dollar, cultural treasures and intellectuals upon its retreat
- Enduring military and espionage threats i.e. Bombing ships
6
Q
What was the state of China’s industry in 1949?
A
- Machinery had been destroyed by retreating GMD
- USSR dismantled mines and factories when they retreated from Manchuria
- In 1949, factory output was 44% below that in 1937
7
Q
What was the state of China’s agriculture in 1949?
A
- Tools and livestock were in short supply
- Poo most common fertiliser
- Food reserves low due to conscription of farmers
8
Q
What was the state of China’s infrastructure in 1949?
A
- Bribery commonplace
- 50% of railways destroyed
- Rivers and harbours blocked by sunken ships
9
Q
How many members did the CCP have by 1951?
A
5.8 million
10
Q
What was the role of the CCP?
A
To set economic targets, control education and organise prison camps
11
Q
What was the role of the Party Cadres?
A
They controlled schools, the legal system, the PLA, the civil service and the Danwei in a given area to ensure they all remained loyal to the communist cause.
12
Q
What were Danwei?
A
They were work teams to which all workers belonged.
13
Q
What was the role of the Danwei?
A
To control travel, marriage, housing and food for their workers.
14
Q
When did the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference meet?
A
September 1949
15
Q
Where did the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference meet?
A
Beijing
16
Q
What did the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference do upon its first meeting?
A
Decide the Common Programme
17
Q
What was the Common Programme?
A
A temporary constitution for the PRC until a full official one could be written.
18
Q
What are three examples of measures included in the Common Programme?
A
- Gender equality, education for all and freedom of religion
- PLA and police given authority to crush opposition
- Mao made head-of-state
19
Q
What did the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference become after establishing the Common Programme?
A
A rubber stamp for the decisions made by the Politburo
20
Q
How many members did the Politburo have?
A
14
21
Q
What body was above the Politburo?
A
The Standing Committee
22
Q
How many members did the Standing Committee have?
A
5
23
Q
Who was head of the Standing Committee?
A
Mao
24
Q
Which two other notable figures belonged to the Standing Committee?
A
Zhou Enlai and Liu Shaoqi
25
How big was the CCP's bureaucracy?
It went from 720,000 to 7.9 million
26
Why did the CCP have to expand the bureaucracy?
To manage land reform, cities and the centrally planned economy.
27
What were the roles of the PLA?
- To round up bandits and gangs
- Reunification
- Work teams contributed a week's free labour to help rebuild infrastructure and farming
- Fought in Korean War
28
What was the positive impact of the PLA rounding up bandits?
The public were highly supportive of this initiative
29
What was the significance of the PLA's role in the Korean War?
It gave the army a very good opportunity for propaganda.
30
How many new recruits joined the PLA a year following the Korean War?
800,000
31
What three main roles did Mao have in the PRC's new power structure?
Head of state, chair of the standing committee and founder of Mao Zedong thought.
32
When was the Campaign to Suppress Counter Revolutionaries launched?
March 1950
33
Who was targeted during the Campaign to Suppress Counter Revolutionaries?
Anyone undermining the regime, especially ex-GMD workers and those with ties to the west.
34
What happened to western businessmen during the Campaign To Suppress Counter Revolutionaries?
They had their property confiscated and they were forced to leave.
35
What did the Ministry of Public Security do during the Campaign To Suppress Counter Revolutionaries?
It asked former nationalists to hand themselves in to "start life anew." The one condition was that they wrote an autobiography about all their family and associates. They were subsequently arrested in the middle of the night and sent to the Laogai.
36
What were struggle sessions?
Public meetings held in which the public tried to force confessions of those suspected of being Counter revolutionary. Their names were published in the People's Daily.
37
How many died during the Campaign To Suppress Counter Revolutionaries according to government figures?
800,000
38
Why did the Campaign To Suppress Counter Revolutionaries intensify in February 1951?
Mao announced that counter revolutionary extended to any form of political dissent.
39
When was the Three Antis Campaign?
August 1951 - July 1952
40
What were the Three Antis?
Corruption, waste and obstructionist bureaucracy.
41
Who were the real targets of the Three Antis?
Civil servants who the CCP wanted to replace with their own party cadres.
42
When was the Five Antis Campaign?
February - May 1952
43
What were the 5 Antis?
Bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheating on contracts and stealing information.
44
What happened to businessmen during the 5 Antis?
They turned themselves in and helped identify other suspects as they thought this would win them lenient treatment. They were executed once they had been used.
45
How did the CCP use wives and children during the Five Antis Campaign?
They were asked to force the men in the household to confess. If they wanted to, they could denounce the men by putting letters in Denunciation Boxes.
46
What happened to men found guilty through Denunciation Boxes?
They were fined, imprisoned and had their property confiscated.
47
Who were the tiger beaters?
Teams of employees tasked with implicating their bosses during the Five Antis Campaign. They tortured them and sent them to struggle sessions.
48
What happened to funeral homes during the Five Antis Campaign?
They were forced to hold multiple funerals concurrently as the death toll was so high.
49
Why did police patrol parks during the Five Antis Campaign?
Suicide rates were rising and the government feared people were hanging themselves from trees in parks.
50
What proportion of Shanghai businessmen were implicated during the Five Antis Campaign?
99%
51
When did the PLA invade Tibet?
October 1950
52
Why did Mao see it as essential to invade Tibet?
Tibet was strongly Buddhist and was led by the Dalai Lama. Mao saw this as a direct threat to Mao Zedong thought and his leadership.
53
How did Tibet respond to the PLA's invasion?
A 60,000 strong army tried to resist the PLA but failed within a month
54
What did the CCP do in Tibet after they took over?
- Banned Tibetan language, history and religion from being taught or practised
- Borders were redrawn so communities were in other provinces, making them subject to land reforms
55
What did Mao do in November 1952 to Tibet?
He announced his intention to bolster the population from 3 million to 10 million so built a highway into the province and encouraged Han Chinese to move.
56
What happened in Tibet in 1959?
The Tibetans tried and failed to rebel and the Dalai Lama fled to India.
57
When did the PRC begin its reunification campaign with Xinjiang?
March 1950
58
Why did Mao want to invade Xinjiang?
It was majority Muslim and had a variety of cultures making it different to the rest of China. Mao feared influence from Russia and its Muslim majority neighbours, or potential calls for independence.
59
What did the CCP do in Xinjiang?
- PLA invaded
- Han Chinese brought in
- Production and Construction Corps set up by PLA which quickly becomes the most powerful institution in the region
60
Why did Mao want to invade Guangdong?
It had been a GMD stronghold and was a valuable port.
61
How many people did the PLA kill in Guangdong during its attempts to purge nationalist support?
28,000
62
What does Laogai translate as?
Reform through labour
63
What was the Laogai?
A prison camp system inspired by the Gulag in Stalin's USSR
64
How many inmates were in the Laogai by 1955?
1.3 million
65
What were inmates in the Laogai used for?
Manual labour i.e. Building railroads in Sichuan.
66
How many died in the Laogai according to Jung Chang?
27 million
67
What were the benefits of the Laogai system?
- Contributed 700 million yuan and 350,000 tons of grain to the economy every year
- Fear of the Laogai could be used as a weapon
68
When did Mao launch the Hundred Flowers Campaign?
May 2, 1956
69
What did Mao say to instigate the Hundred Flowers Campaign?
"Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools contend."
70
What was the basic idea of the Hundred Flowers Campaign?
To open the party to comments from intellectuals. He admitted the killing of 800,00 people and that their treatment had been unfair and promised to clear the Laogai.
71
What are the possible reasons why Mao launched the Hundred Flowers Campaign?
- Economic growth needed help speeding up
- The Party was becoming less revolutionary as the cadres settled into their roles. Mao needed an excuse to uproot them
- Khrushchev's secret speech made Mao anxious
- Mao may have been confident he would have been showered with endorsements following policing, reunification and military success
72
When did Khrushchev make the Secret Speech?
February 1956
73
Why did the Secret Speech unnerve Mao?
In it, Khrushchev criticised Stalin's cult of personality to wide spread support. Mao was afraid the same could happen to him.
74
What did the intellectuals do when granted freedom of speech by the Hundred Flowers Campaign?
They criticised Mao's state for the laogai (comparing it to Auschwitz) and lack of democracy or freedom of expression. They also criticised the privileges of the party members.
75
How did Mao respond to the criticism garnered through the Hundred Flowers Campaign?
He launched the Anti Rightist Campaign
76
What was the cadres' quota during the Anti Rightist Campaign?
To purge 5% of each Danwei
77
How many people were purged in the Anti Rightist Campaign?
Between 400,000 and 700,000
78
When did the Korean War begin?
25 June, 1950
79
Who stood up to North Korea's invasion of South Korea?
The UN, led by the USA
80
When did Mao join the Korean War?
October 1950
81
Why did Mao join the Korean War?
- Excuse to purge internally
- Would build prestige internally and externally
- China shared a land border with North Korea
82
What was the Resist America, Aid Korea campaign?
A campaign which allowed for Mao to purge his enemies on the grounds of being spies or traitors during the Korean War.
83
Who executed the Resist America, Aid Korea Campaign?
The public, spurred on by an intense propaganda campaign
84
How many executions were there in the first half of 1951 under the Resist America Aid Korea campaign?
800,000 revolutionary and 150,000 official.
85
How was the Resist America Aid Korea campaign beneficial for Mao?
It allowed him to destroy his opponents and built a strong nationalist sentiment among the Chinese people.
86
In what ways did the Korean War aid Mao?
- Resist America Aid Korea campaign
- Coal, iron and steel production increased as workers wanted to do their bit
- Patriotic Pacts enabled the CCP to enforce taxes and requisitioning
- PRC's prestige enhanced on the global stage
87
When did the Korean War end? How?
1953 with a ceasefire
88
How many Chinese died in the Korean War?
400,000
89
How much did the Korean War cost China?
10 billion dollars
90
What issues did the Korean War create in terms of foreign policy?
- The USA vowed to protect Taiwan meaning the PRC was forced to recognise it as a separate state
- The USA's defence budget reached 50 billion dollars a year to fight communism
- Mao proved himself to Stalin at the expense of any support from the West
91
How did Stalin reportedly respond to Mao's involvement in Korea?
He cried and said "The Chinese comrades are so good!"
92
What was the personal impact of the Korean War for Mao?
He lost his son Anying. He put on a brave face in public but was severely in mourning in private.
93
What was Mao's public response to the loss of his son?
"In revolutionary war, you always pay a price"
