Mao´s China

1. Mao´s China Consolidation of power 1949 - 57

2. Problems and challenges for Mao´s regime • Infrastructure; considerable damages after so many years of war. • Economy: corruption wide spread; inflation high; industry undeveloped; - major reconstruction needed. • Social differences still enormous; many expected a change. • Role and status of women; traditionally very low in China; the Communist ideology promised a change. • Secure power and loyalty on different levels • Adopt a new constitution • Foreign relations; win acceptance for his new regime and defend the PRC.

3. Transformation of the economy • The Agrarian Reform law one of the first measures of the regime; land distributed from landowners to peasants. Popular and resulted in increased production. • The industrial sector was largely brought under state control, smaller private enterprises were first left intact, but came to suffer from price controls.. • Inflation was brought under control, much as an effect of the “three and five antis” launched in 1951 and 1952. • Three Antis campaign; corruption, waste, bureaucracy • Five Antis campaign; bribery, theft of state property, tax evasion, cheating on governments contracts, stealing state economic information • 1953: first Five Year plan, Soviet Union was the model and heavy industry was emphasized. Over ten thousand Soviet expert and engineers and about 1500 from Eastern Europe were directing the changes. The result was remarkable increase in production; steel production was quadrupled, output of coal, cement and electricity doubled. • Collectivization was now also implemented; peasants were encouraged to join Agricultural Production Cooperatives, development in three steps - Mutual aid teams, Lower stage APCs and Higher stage APCs.

4. Constitution of PRC People´s Congresses (province level and below)

5. The Hundred Flowers Campaign 1956 -57 • Complaints had been outspoken during the great changes, party cadres blamed for irresponsibility and incompetence. • Mao decided in 1956 to encourage a critical discussion about the problems and the future; “Let a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend”. Possibly he was motivated by Khrushchev´s new line in Moscow, a denunciation of Stalin was not in his interest, in China that could strike back on himself. • Hesitation was at first obvious, but Mao and other party members continued to encourage open criticism. Gradually a storm of criticism developed. At the university of Peking a wall was created for the publication of criticism, millions of letters poured into the government. Intellectuals even suggested that the CCP should give up power. • In July 1957 Mao stopped the campaign as it had violated the boundaries of “healthy criticism”. A counter attack on intellectuals and others who had been criticising the CCP followed. Mao claimed that rightist elements had been identified, about 300 000 had been outlined as rightists by the end of 1957. This came to be known as the Anti Rightist Campaign”.

6. Explanations and effects of the HFC • The opinions about Mao´s acting before and during the Hundred Flowers Campaign have differed. Some have suggested that he actually believed in an open discussion, or that he had become isolated and didn´t understand the reasons behind the criticism. Others have claimed that Mao on the contrary saw the campaign as a tactic method to identify unreliable citizens, potential opponents of his regime. • The lasting effects were that it became clear that criticism was dangerous and not possible. Intellectuals were sent to the countryside to work as peasants and several leading party figures were purged.

7. Further reading • http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Hundred_Flowers_Campaign (all sources used are listed) • Jung Chang & Jon Halliday: Mao, the unknown story • Philip Short: Mao, a life. • www.marxists.org – here you find selected works by Moa himself.