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Mao's Consolidation of Power - Coggle Diagram
Mao's Consolidation of Power
Government power
After the Civil war, most of China's bureaucracy was destroyed letting the CCP to create new political institutions
CCP's initial goal was called the
United Front Approach
, a coalition of the CCP and smaller democratic political parties
The CCP called together
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)
, which drafted the
Common Programme,
which announced a
People's Democratic Dictatorship
Government Administrative Council (GAC)
was elected to rule China until new constitution was created
Because of overlap between Party Leadership and CCP involvement in the government,
the CCP had overall control of the government
Politburo:
They created policy while Mao ultimately ruled over them.
China was divided into 6 regions, and governed by a chairmen, party secretary, military commander, and political commissioner
No branch gained more power than the
Central People's Government Council
Elections
were claimed to be "for the people," but ultimately denounced other parties, and were overseen by Mao's government officials
Democratic Centralism:
Mao developed the idea that only leaders of the communist revolution had the skills and education to guide China.
Historian Perspective Lynch on Danwei and Hukou:
This method of consolidation made sure that the CCP had access to information on all citizens, but more than that it controlled how citizens lived their lives (what they could and could not do), which gave Mao ultimate power.
Removing Social Classes
Class enemies:
Middle class capitalists suffered after Mao invited them to join the new regime. After they dedicated themselves to Mao, they were named class enemies.
Mao developed his idea of no mercy, violence was the only way to get rid of the middle class.
** he believed this was necessary because the middle class was powerful with the Nationalists, and by giving their power to the lower classes he could prove his success, and he did.
Three big politically repressive campaigns were the thought reform movement, sanfan and wufan (three and five anti). These were not to destroy social groups but to establish firmer political control and preserve their talents to serve society
CCP's goal was to both redistribute land, and eliminate the landlords, a possible revolutionary class, which they completed pretty successfully. Because of this success, Mao was able to both degrade the dominance of the previously strong middle class capitalists, in favor of the peasant class.
"Triads":
Name given to criminals, gangs, and prostitutes that Mao killed through the CCP. He believed that if he could prove his ability to "cleanse" society that he could instill fear in the greater population.
Land Reform
Yuen Bao Liberation (1947)
CCP tried to polarize the village
Cutoff village from the outside
Compelled people to
denounce
eachother
Forced to wear different clothes for different classes
White for landlords
Red for 'poor people'
Kids of landlords labeled
'little landlords'
Northern China had been badly affected by ecological degradation during WWII. and speculative land dealings had become rampant in the period immediately following the War's end.
Some support from land reform in the north (especially from those who viewed exploitation and injustice increased during the war). But in many areas, majority of the peasants remained ambivalent
The more commercialized countryside in parts of Southern China followed a slightly different pattern. While some research suggests that initially, there were landlords and ‘bourgeoisie’ and certainly, ‘local strongmen’ amongst the Chinese peasantry, they were more prevalent in the north.
In the South, the CCP found that categories of bourgeoisie, landlord and peasant did not apply as cleanly, and consequently, CCP authorization for local officials to use violence as part of seizing and consolidating power resulted in often-arbitrary executions between 1947 to 1952.
Pushback by the rural peasantry occasionally escalated into guerrilla warfare, killing communist work teams and deeply alarming Mao. Other villages peacefully resisted the violence by pretending to have already purged their landlords and bourgeoisie before work teams arrived.
Within the CCP there was disagreement as to the effect of the land reform – some conceded that the strategy had led to too many deaths (in turn, alienating the populace), whereas others argued that the terror had ‘pacified’ the countryside.
Mass political campaigns
Three-Anti Campaign
targeted corrupt bureaucrats
Initiation of the
Great Leap Foward
in 1957
Campaign of Terror
^^ Brought on by
Korean War
According to historian perspective Lynch:
Mao used the Korean War and its pressures to justify his cracking down on the population, so that they wouldn't question him.
Neighbors turning on neighbors, no one was safe from Mao's punishments. The campaigns reflected this.
Mao believed 1 in every 1000 people should be executed
publicly
3 students were accused of crimes against the government
6 year old accused of
leading
spying organization
340 kids arrested on suspicion of a
single
shoplifting
Suppression of Counter Revolutionaries Campaign
:
Suppression of counterrevolutionaries campaign:
Targeted counter-revolutionaries. The CCP began focusing on the liquidation of counter-revolutionaries. which was preceded by action against various lay-Buddhist sects, such as the Unity sect, which the CCP classified as ‘attacks on secret societies and superstitious sects’.Mao dictated quotas of the number of people to be killed per province based on arbitrary assumptions of how many counter-revolutionaries were thought to reside in each province. In this way, he directly targeted and disappeared opposition groups.
Historian Perspective:
Micheal Dillion
believed that over 80% of population were involved in this mass movement. Factories, schools, gov. buildings, etc formed organizations to root out counter-revolutionaries. Mass meetings were held to denounce to security forces those who supported GMD
Violence was the
KEY
part of the revolution, Mao believed that if he showcased his ability to threaten and violently harass the public that it would instill fear in any opposition-- aiding consolidation.
Five-Anti Campaign
targeted capitalists and private entrepreneurs
Gao Gang and Rao Shushi Affair:
Mao claimed that they misused their authority to gain further independence from Mao, so they lost their positions. They became an example for the rest of the government, which was Mao's goal.
Hundred Flowers Campaign
Encouraged criticism of the CCP. Only after a month, more than three hundred thousand were then punished for their critiques
Historian Perspective:
Maurice Meisner says this new element was introduced by Mao as an attempt to overcome his increasing powerlessness within the party leadership
Historian Perspective:
Jung Chang believes that the campaign was started by Mao as an opportunity to get rid of intellectuals critical/opposed to developments in post rev. China
Historian Perspective:
Jonathan Spence argue instead that it was an attempt for intellectuals to express their views as a way to vent concerns
Historian Perspective:
Phillip Short believes it was designed as a system for to create “democratic checks”
Lushan Conference and discussion of Famine:
Mao convinced the public that the famine didn't exist, but rather it was a way for the public to criticize him. They stopped complaining about their hunger because of this.
** expresses the true power Mao held to alter the minds of the people
City of
Changchun
in Manchuria
starved
into submission