Topic 1 - Establishing Communist Rule - The New Power Structure Flashcards
When was democratic centralism introduced?
1954
What was the National People’s Congress and how often do the meet?
National People’s Congress = elected legislator that represented the wishes of the people - met once per year to make laws and amend the constitution
Official powers of the National People’s Congress (3)
- Electing the Chairman of the PRC
- Deciding on issues of war
- Setting out national economic policy
What was the CPPCC, how many delegates did it have, and what did it create?
CPPCC = Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress - 662 delegates - created the Common Programme
Were delegates of the CPPCC representative?
Yes, delegates represented a wide cross section of social and political perspectives – only 16 of them were formal members of the CCP Democratic league
What did the new gov consist of?
Interwoven branches between the CCP, Central People’s Republic and PLA
What was the Common Programme aimed to do?
Common Programme introduced to act ad a provisional constitution to provide the legal basis for the new republic from 1949 to 1954
Fill in the blanks - “All except ______ would enjoy freedom of _____ (12)
“All except political reactionaries would enjoy freedom of thought, speech, publication, assembly, association, correspondence, person, domicile, moving from one place to another, religious belief, and freedom to hold processions and demonstrations’
What did the Common Programme emphasise in terms of the structure of gov?
Common programme emphasised the role of the CCP but accepted the role of a multiparty system within which 8 political parties received legal status
What did the Common Programme recognise with regards to property and entrepreneurship?
The Common Programme recognised the right to own private property and supported entrepreneurship and the mutually beneficial relations between workers and employees
What did the Common Programme say about women and education?
Supported equal rights for women and universal education
What was the Common Programme’s economic provisions?
Soviet style economic planning was a goal – program urged that the development of the economy be ‘centred on the planned, systematic rehabilitation of development of heavy industry’ though this was a long term obj
Who did the Common Programme name head of state?
Mao named head of state
How many members did the CCP have just after the war?
4.5 million members after the war - structurally impossible to run the country
How many members did the CCP have by the end of 1950?
5.8 million members by the end of 1950
What did the CCP coordinate (1) and organise (3)?
CCP coordinated the government and organised education, legal system and military
Where did political power rest?
Political power rested with the Party and therefore Mao as Chairman
How many members in the CCP central committee, Politburo and Standing Committee?
49 members in the central committee in 1949, 25 in the Politburo, 5 in the Standing Committee
What were all members of the Standing Committee?
All members of the Standing Committee close revolutionary colleagues of Mao
What was the problem when Mao first took power?
PRC lacked effective means of national control - “all political power lies in the barrel of a gun”
When was the conscription law passed and what did it do?
Conscription law passed in 1955 led to 800,000 new recruits per year
What was the ‘big university’?
Big university saw education in the PLA - recruits learned to read and write which benefited the poor and uneducated
What was ‘learning from the PLA’?
PLA exemplified discipline, bravery, resourcefulness, incorruptibility and commitment to communism
What was the PLA’s economic role?
PLA worked on cooperative farms with work teams of soldiers - week of free labour each year for construction projects, teaching, etc
