government in china 1949-65 Flashcards
(15 cards)
1
Q
what was china like in 1949?
A
- after the civil war tens of millions were dead, china was bankrupt and chaotic. CCP took over
- after the guomindang (GMD - nationalists) left, there were few experienced officials, the economy and industry were devastated
- lack of transport, infrastructure
- nationalist threat e.g. feb 1950, shanghai bombed (1000 dead, water and electricity supplies damaged). PRC ships sunk by them
2
Q
what is democratic centralism?
A
democracy and central government authority, includes political freedoms and voting rights. no deviation from central decisions
3
Q
what was the structure of government in 1949?
A
army, party (CCP), state (PRC)
4
Q
what was the state like in 1949?
A
- mao = president
- PRC (people’s republic of china) = massive independent power, concentrated in people’s government council
- the state council: head = zhou enlai, interpret + enact laws, announce decrees. coordinated ministries
- ministries: 24, including justice, finance, food, etc
5
Q
what was the party like in 1949?
A
- CCP (chinese communist party), mao = chairman
- 4.5m-5.8m members 1949-50
- party = power
- standing committee of politburo = 5 members (mao, liu shaoqi, zhou enlai, peng dehuai, zhu de)
- politburo = 25 members
- decisions made by standing committee of politburo → politburo → central committee → …..
6
Q
what was the army like in 1949?
A
- mao = head of military affairs commission (which controlled the PLA)
- PLA = people’s liberation army
- political role: reunification campaigns, suppressed enemies
- economic role: rebuild china’s infrastructure, construction+irrigation
- set an example: ‘learn from PLA campaign’
- members: 5m-3.5m 1950-53, but 800k new recruits each year (‘big university’, indoctrinated into communist propaganda when taught to read and write)
7
Q
regional bureaux in 1949
A
- governed 6 massive regions
- 4 officials in each bureau: government chairman, first party secretary, military commander, army political commissar
- by 1959, 8 mil bureaucrats (from 720k)
- village level: party cadre (party rep) = monitor people through danwei, give permission to leave, marry, etc.
8
Q
dealing with opposition: counter-revolutionaries
A
Defined as:
- anyone who could create trouble, had links to foreign countries e.g. Taiwan or the USA
- class enemies
They were:
- tricked into self-registration (submitted autobiographies giving away themselves and their colleagues).
- 1951 definition of counter-revolutionaries extended to anyone who disagreed w/ the party
9
Q
dealing with opposition: antis campaigns
A
- 3 antis = corruption, waste, obstructionist bureaucracy in gov
- old gov civil servants targeted.
- 5 antis = bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheating on gov contracts, stealing state econ info
- middle class businessmen (99% of businessmen in shanghai found guilty of 1 of 5 crimes)
10
Q
dealing with opposition: reunification campaigns
A
Aimed to unify regions under Chinese communist rule.
- Taiwan: nationalists declared it was a ROC (Republic of China), China sent spies to sabotage
- Guangdong: pro-nationalist southern province, they feared spies + sabotage. CCP killed 28k
- Xinjiang: large Muslim population, ¾ Uyghurs. CCP invited Uyghur leaders to CPPCC 1949, plane crashed and all died. PLA organised migration of Han chinese to Xinjiang 1950
- Tibet: China wanted to remove Buddhism, troops invaded capital nov 1950, 17 point agreement signed → PRC and Tibet merged
11
Q
dealing with opposition: mass participation
A
‘struggle meetings’ where counter-revolutionaries were humiliated and beat up by normal people
12
Q
why did mao launch the hundred flowers campaign?
A
- catch up to the west with the support of intellectuals (who had remained silent from 1949 as they faced struggle meetings and thought reform)
- rectification of the party: wanted intellectuals to point out mistakes of party members who he thought were less revolutionary and more bureaucratic
- nervous due to khrushchev secret speech as he felt the critcisms targeted him too
- optimistic and overconfident, expected intellectuals to endorse his policies so he could gain more influence
13
Q
the hundred flowers campaign
A
- 2 may 1956: mao declared “let a hundred flowers bloom” but most intellectuals unwilling to speak → mao angry at them and media
- feb 1957: speech ‘on the correct handling of contradictions among the people’, admitted CCP mistakes e.g. wrongly identified intellectuals, 800k chinese killed, etc → intellectuals began to criticise the party e.g. violent methods likened to methods of nazi germany, some critcised mao personally
14
Q
how did mao suppress the hundred flowers campaign?
A
- anti rightist campaign
- june = speech on ‘handling contradictions’ published but no mention of moderation, talked about ‘poisonous weeds’ growing up amongst ‘fragrant flowers’ → demanded a campaign of class struggle against the ‘rightists’
- crimes: opposing socialist culture, opposing fundamental policies of the state, denying achievements of the revolution
- cadres had a 5% quota in a danwei to be deemed rightist
- estimated 400k-700k intellectuals purged, even well known party members like ding ling
15
Q
impacts of the korean war
A
- increased CCP control as they could promote a national identity through hatred of the usa
- ‘resist america, aid korea’ used by mao as rationale to purge enemies on pretence of them being spies/enemies (800k counter-revolutionary and 135k official executions), rumours about biological weapons testing
- increase patriotic pride through PLA soldier propaganda as they weren’t defeated by UN troops (prod increased, businessmen’s patriotic pacts to pay taxes on time, etc)
- international prestige (‘paper tigers’), good example to other asian countries
- USSR relations - stalin increased interest on money lent, china dependent on ussr for economic aid and advice
- forced to accept taiwan’s existence as they had usa support
- relations with west declined → containment policy
- 800k chinese died including mao’s son anying
