Comparative Politics - China

What is Mao Zedong’s Mass Line strategy?

Mao’s Mass Line Strategy was also known as a peasant-based rebellion/revolution. Mao realized that the focus should not on urban areas, but rather on peasantry to expand the CCP.

1. Move out of urban areas and move to rural areas

2. Get close to peasants, talk with them, understand what their problems are, & try to address problems

3. Mao’s mentality was to attack the enemy where the enemy is weak not strong. He did not want to rely on the outside world, he relied on his own people.

4. The day he launched revolution, Mao said China will never be humiliated.

Positive: He had realized that the CCP must rely on the masses for its strength and draw inspiration from them.

Negative: Mao had great ideas, but in terms of governance made many mistakes that cost China a lot. He laid the foundation for China’s eventual expansion.

What were the land reforms under Mao?

Mao’s land reforms were seen as a mistake.

• confiscated land reform from landlords and redistributed it to millions of peasants, aiming to eliminate feudal power structures and win peasant support

  • Also utilized the process of collectivization, consisting of several stages to gradually acclimatize Chinese farmers. The purpose was to eliminate class distinctions and extend control to rural areas through encouraging farmers to merge into mutual aid teams and encouraged to pool resources.

• Success: The redistribution of land helped Mao stabilize power by eliminating power from landlords. Allowed Mao to hold power over agriculture. Condensed class distinctions.

• Failure: carried out violently, with mass trials and executions of landlords, creating deep rural upheaval and class resentment. Policy damaged farmland, reduced food supply, and demolition of communities and housing.

Identify major changes in China after Mao Zedong’s death (economic reforms, shift away from radical Maoism, global power)

After Mao’s death, China:

1. Moved from planned economy to market-oriented reforms

• Reform and Opening UP (1978): introduced market oriented reforms, allowed, private enterprise and foreign investment and established special economic zones to modernize Chinas economy agricultural de-collectivization: replace communes with the household responsibility system, boosting productivity and lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty economic reforms and shift away from radical Maoism.

2. Shifted away from radical Maoism toward pragmatic development

Socialism, the Chinese Style (1978-82)

• Party control maintained: even as economic liberalization advanced, Deng made clear that political power would remain firmly in the hands of the communist party to ensure stability and ideological supremacy.

• End of mass political campaigns: no more cultural revolution style upheavals. Stability became a priority

• Deng: “it doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice”

  • Call it socialism and not capitalism

3. Transformed into a major global economic and political power

Tiananmen Square crackdown (1989)
- Deng supported using military force to suppress the pro-democracy movement, reaffirming the Communist Party’s monopoly on power

• Economic Growth & WTO Entry: continued Dengs market reform, oversaw rapid economic growth, and secured Chinas accession to the WTO in 2001.

• Maintain party control post-Tiananmen: stabilized the communist party after 1989 Tiananmen crisis by cracking down on dissent while promoting a more technocratic and pragmatic leadership style

  • Failures: accused of tolerating rampant corruption, growing inequality, and environmental degradation; also criticized for harsh repression of dissent (against Falun gong and pro-democracy activist)

What is the governmental structure in China? How would I describe China’s political system today?

Political System - Communist party-state; officially a socialist state under the people’s democratic dictatorship

Regime History - Established in 1949 after the victory of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the Chinese civil war

Executive - Premier (head of government) and president (head of state) formally elected by the legislature, but only with approval of the CCP leadership; the head of the CCP, the general secretary, is in effect the country’s chief executive, and serves concurrently as president of the PRC.

Party System - A one-party system, although in addition to the ruling CCP, there are eight politically insignificant “democratic” parties.

• Party State System: the CPC is the ultimate authority; the government, military, courts and media are all subordinate to party leadership

• General secretary: most powerful position in China, serving as head of the CPC, effectively the country’s top leader

What is the importance of US opening toward China?

• Reform and Opening UP (1978): introduced market oriented reforms, allowed, private enterprise and foreign investment and established special economic zones to modernize Chinas economy agricultural de-collectivization: replace communes with the household responsibility system, boosting productivity and lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty economic reforms and shift away from radical Maoism.

• Key to success of China is that they did not do what Gorbachev tried to do, reform economic and political system at same time. They went slowly and tried to expand section by section. Things that happened gradually disappear gradually.

What is the nature of Opium wars?

Opium Wars (1839-42, 1856-60): Britain forced opium trade on China, sparking two wars humiliating defeats and stripping China of sovereignty.

• This war was all about British traders selling Opium, and the Opium came from India and Afghanistan. Learned about power of Opium and then started selling it, which created an addiction crisis. Britain said free trade!

• Loss of Hong King: After the first opium war, China ceded Hong Kong island to Britain in 1842 (treaty of Nanking)

Spheres of influence: western powers carved out zones of control in Chinas ports and interior regions, including concessions to Britain, France Germany, and Russia weaking Qing authority without formal colonization (Semi – colonial)

• China was not colonized, but in words of Mao Zedong, China became a semi-colonial country. Many of its major ports and interior regions were controlled and dominated by Britain, France, Germany, and Russia.

• Industrial Revolution: changed fabric of society, produced better goods, and prelude to democratization.

• Most important consequence of this revolution was it created/expanded power gap between West and rest of world. Industrialization meant better weapons, more destructive weapons, UK could use their force to colonize America and India and subcontinent.

Explain the Great Leap Forward

Ambitious push to industrialize and collectivize agriculture by forming massive “people’s communes” and backyard steel production

• Intoxicated with idealism and thought this was the shortcut of industrializing China quickly and create communes

Resulted in economic collapse and the deadliest famine in human history, killing an estimated 30-45 million people

• By relying on masses of people and communist experts, we can do all of these things. People was the focus.

• After a few years when thousands were killed, deadliest famine.

• Can’t confiscate land for landlords if they have no capital, there has to be an incentive for them.

Explain the Cultural Revolution

Mao mobilized students (Red guards) to attack “Capitalist robbers” party elites, and traditional culture, aiming to reassert his ideological control

• Went to students because they are most likely to be revolutionaries because when you are young you are idealist, and you have not experienced things. Huge gap between good ideas and being able to implement them. emotion prevails over logic. Older you get the more you see of the world and realize it isn’t easy to change.

• Used universities against professors and those in the CCP, had to confess I had certain tendencies and listened to western music. Professors would get kicked out and in prison. Reign of terror took over China. All of this under the name of purifying China.

Led to political purges, persecution of millions, destruction of cultural heritage, and near collapse of governance and education

Discuss Xi Jinping, 2012-present

• Anti-Corruption Campaign: Launched a far-reaching campaign against corruption, removing hundreds of thousands of officials and strengthening his grip on the party.

• Global ambitions and BRI: elevated Chinas global influence through the belt and road initiative, assertive foreign policy and military modernization

• Technological and economic advances: invested in cutting edge industries like AI & green energy while continuing urbanization and infrastructure growth.

• This has been the most impressive decade in China’s modern history.

• Centralization and Authoritarianism: concentrated power by sideling rivals, increasing censorship, and tightening ideological control

• Ended presidential term limits in 2018 but abolished the two-term limit on the presidency, breaking decades of post Mao norms and paving way for indefinite rule.

• Party State System: the CPC is the ultimate authority; the government, military, courts and media are all subordinate to party leadership.

• General secretary: most powerful position in China, serving as head of the CPC, effectively the country’s top leader