Consolidation of power - more Flashcards
(24 cards)
What were the three pillars of power in the PRC?
1) The State Bureaucracy.
2) The CCP.
3) The PLA.
What positions did Mao hold in the PRC? (3)
1) Chairman of the Central People’s Government Council (State Bureaucracy).
2) Chairman of the CCP.
3) Chairman of the People’s Revolutionary Military Council (PLA).
How was Mao’s personality cult boosted by the PRC (3 ways)?
1) The CCP victory in the Civil War highlighted his military leadership.
2) His head was put on bank notes and stamps.
3) His charismatic speeches.
What were the 4 levels of government China was divided into?
1) National level.
2) Regional level.
3) Provincial level.
4) Local level.
Who was the Premier/Chairman of the State Council in 1949?
Zhou Enlai.
Who was the Chairman of the National Defense Council in 1949?
Peng Dehuai.
Who was Gao Gang (3)?
1) After joining the CCP in 1926, he became the local Party leader in Shanxi.
2) He planned the economic recovery of Manchuria in the Civil War. He was the provincial governor, Party
Chairman and military commander in Manchuria and a member of the politburo.
3) He became head of the Central Planning Commission in 1952.
Who was Deng Xiaoping?
Deng Xiaoping was a veteran of the Long March and a long standing ally of Mao, who was a military
commander for the PLA in the Civil War. He became the Party’s General Secretary in 1957.
What aspects of democracy did the PRC contain and how significant were they (2)?
1) The National Party Congress, with representatives from other parties, debated policy issues and made
decisions, however they met highly infrequently, and only agreed on Politburo decisions.
2) 11 of 24 ministers appointed to the State Bureaucracy in 1949 were from other parties, but were only
tolerated if they did not threaten the CCP.
What was CCP membership in October 1949?
4,480,000 members.
What was CCP membership in December 1950?
5,821,604 members.
What was the role of Party cadres?
Cadres permeated all levels of government and administration, e.g. the legal system, education and the PLA,
to ensure the political direction of the state was followed.
How did the CCP create a sense of participation amongst China (3)?
1) The CCP established branches in all aspects of national life, such as schools, shops, factories, PLA units,
offices, etc.
2) CCP members took leading roles in various mass organisations, such as trade unions, the All-China
Federation of Women and the All-China Federation of Democratic Youth.
3) The CCP and cadres watched over urban neighbourhood committees.
What were work units/danwei?
Every employed citizen living in an urban area belonged to a work unit, led by party cadres, who controlled
the allocation of housing, grain, cooking oil and cloth whilst also issuing permits to travel, marry enter the
army or university and change employment.
Who made up the ‘five black categories’?
1) ‘Reactionary elements’.
2) ‘Feudal elements’.
3) ‘Lackeys of imperialism’.
4) ‘Bureaucratic capitalists’.
5) ‘Enemies of the people’.
- repressed, punished, reformed - sent to reeducation camps
Why did Mao adopt a United Front Policy with the 4 classes?
Mao knew China was not ready to become a fully-fledged socialist state, and so needed to go through a
transition stage from a semi feudal state to a socialist one. Mao needed the support of the four groups to
rebuild the economy and consolidate the PRC, and so adopted a system similar to the one used in Yan’an.
What were the 5 mass campaigns to irradicate opposition in the years 1950-52?
1) The Resist America and Aid Korea campaign (1950-51).
2) The Suppression of Counter-revolutionaries campaign (1950-51).
3) The Three-Antis campaign (1951-52).
4) The Five Antis campaign (1952).
5) Thought Reform campaign (1951-52).
What was the significance of the Five-Antis campaign?
2-3 million suicides committed rather than facing more humiliation.
What was the Thought Reform campaign (2)?
1) Mao was suspicious of intellectuals educated abroad or in western Chinese schools due to fears of
independent thought. Thought Reform forced intellectuals to study and adopt Mao Zedong Thought.
2) Professors were forced to make confessions in front of their students, attend study sessions and make self criticisms.
What was Mao’s 2 quotes in regards to the use of violence?
1) ‘Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun’.
2) ‘The Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party’.
What was the size of the PLA in 1950?
5 million men - the largest army in the world.
Why was the PLA partially demobilised in 1950?
Due to the enormous military size of the PLA, it took up over 41% of the State budget. At the time, China
needed to spend on economic development and also have more people participate in productive work.
What was the size of the PLA in 1953?
3.5 million men - still the largest army in the world.
How many conscripts did the PLA receive each year and how long did they serve for?
The PLA received 800,000 new conscripts a year, each serving for 3 years. = CONTINUITY OF INDOCTRINATION
