Establishing Communist rule, 1946-57

What were Mao’s main ideas?

• Nationalism

• Mass mobilisation

• Listening to the people

• Continuing revolution

The reunification campaigns

• Guangdong: had been GMD heartland, GMD didn’t defend it took PLA 2 weeks to take it over

• Xinjiang: Large muslim population conquered by the PLA, established communist control through the long march

• Tibet: been an independent since 1913, british no longer interested in protecting it, UN too busy with the Korean war, PLA invaded october 1950.

Labelling

• everyone given a class label that specified their family background, social class and occupation

• sectioned into ‘good’ ‘middle’ and ‘bad’

• helped the guards monitor the ‘bad’ classes

The crackdown on crime

• police clean up the streets of criminals sending them to the countryside

• over 150,000 criminals arrested half executed, helped get rid of gangs

the ‘three antis’ and ‘five antis’ movement

• 1951-52

• targeted corruption and waste within the party

• purge widened in jan 52 to become thee ‘five antis’

Development of the Laogai system

• Re-education camps to frighten individuals to conform

• 1949-79 estimated 25 million deaths

• contributed to industrial and agricultural output

Hundred flowers campaign

• 1957

• Mao’s call for an open debate

• wave of critics flooded, Mao claimed these critics as ‘rightists’ starting the ‘Anti-rightist’ campaigns

• Tightened Mao’s position

Korean war’s role in enhancing CCP control, suppressing opposition, and promoting national unity

• justified extreme measures

• Great Terror launched 1950 against counter-revolutionaries

• Paranoia about health to justify the ‘five pests campaign’

The human and financial costs of intervention in Korea

• 1 million lives lost mao’s son being one of them

• over half of government spending went into the military 1951

• fall of 30% in foreign trade 1951

China’s enhanced international prestige

• PRC claimed the most powerful communist nation

• PLA boosted for holding back the US for 3 years

• greater security due to the now friendly north Korea

• USA an enemy

• Relations with the soviet broke