Thought Reform and the Anti Campaigns Flashcards
When was the Thought Reform Campaign introduced?
1951
Who was targeted in the Thought Reform?
Intellectuals e.g. professors, teachers and writers
Why was Thought Reform initiated?
To amend the bourgeois attitudes of the intellectuals
What humiliation means was used in Thought Reform?
- Gave public declarations of their ideological shortcomings while self-criticising, and assisting others to criticise them
- Write their own autobiography outlining admission to all bourgeoisie habits
- ‘Struggle sessions’ entailing reporting and judgement of their progress
- Not sufficiently remoulded meant being sent to hard labour in the countryside
Why did Mao argue there was a need for Thought Reform?
“There are two ways of killing people: one is with a gun and one is with a pen”
When was the Three Antis Campaign launched?
1951
Is the Three antis Wufan or Sanfan?
Sanfan?
Who did Sanfan target?
Corrupt party cadres
Unreliable government officials
What were the Three Antis?
Corruption
Waste
Bureaucratism
What did Mao say in relation to his policies around reactionaries?
“We certainly have no benevolent policies towards the reactionaries”
What did Mao say about Sanfan?
“we need to have a good clean up… while following the policy of educating and remoulding”
When was Wufan launched?
1952
Is the Five Antis Wufan or Sanfan?
Wufan
Who did Wufan target?
Mostly businessmen and industrialists
What were the 5 antis?
tax evasion fraud cheating from government contracts theft of government property bribery
What happened to many factories between 1952 and 1953?
They became joint state-private ventures
How many businesses were investigated during wufan?
450,000
What did Jack Gray say was the real aim of Wufan?
“an opportunity to pulverise China’s capitalists”
Why is it believed by Terrill that Wufan was unnecessary?
“Many capitalists simply turned red when the heat went on”
What were the two common punishments of all of Sanfan Wufan and the Thought Reform?
- struggle sessions
- public denunciations
What did a struggle session consist of? What came after it?
being brought in front of a mass meeting of workers and party activists and being made to confess to crimes
A punishment was then decided which could be purges, hard labour, execution, public denunciation or the imposition of large fines
Why was a public denunciation or even a struggle session so harrowing for the accused?
The value of loss of face
What did Zhou Qingli say about the severity of loss of face?
“so many wealthy people committed suicide at this time. They could not stand the thought of a public trial”
What were ‘Speak Frankness’ meetings?
People confessed their sorrows at the wrongs they have committed and begged forgiveness
