China: Establishing Communist Rule 1949-57

China Civil War 1946-49

• CCP vs. GMD 
• Mao Zedong vs. Chiang Kai-Shek
• United during 1937-45
• Communists Win

China in 1949

• 80% Peasants in Rural Areas 
• Refugees clogged transport 
• Nationalists stripped China of riches and bureacrats 
• No stable of unified currency, Hyperinflation 
• CCP less popular in cities than rural areas 
• Nationalists continued to be a threat in Taiwan 

China's Industry

• Badly damaged from War, Nationalists had sabotaged industry 
• USSR controlled Manchuria in NE of China, taking equipment and resources 
• 1949 output 44% lower than 1937 
• Idealogical problem, Marxism required a Industrial Revolution 5% worked in Industry :(

China's Agriculture 

• Promised Land reform (1950) had peasants support 80% of Population
• Agricultural tools in short supply, human waste as fertilizer leading to disease spread
• Civil war caused farmers to abandon farms, leaing farm land unattended. 
• Food production at a subsistence level, famine in some areas

National Infrastructure 

• Half of railway had been destroyed, transport system ruined after Civil War
• Hankour 2nd largest port in china wrecked 
• Chaing Kai-Shek fled to Taiwan, strong allies with the US

• CCP co-ordinated govt, grew to 5.8mil by 1950
• "Peoples democratic dictatorship", intro. democratic centralism, representives but no voting
• CCP leaders given key roles in govt. e.g. Peng Duhai, leader of PLA & Minister of Defence 
• Cadres helped run schools & legal system monitored by PLA

• September 1949, CCP organise Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, CPPCC created the Common Programme a temporary constitution 
• Emphasised leading role of CCP & gave powers to PLA, CPPCC did as told by Politburo led by Mao, Zhou Enlai and Liu Shaoqi
• CCP needed bureaucrats to help establish a centrallyplanned economy, state officials rose from 720,000 to 7.9million by 1959.

The PLA, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun"

• Played a key role in spreading communist influence, attacked Xinjiang and Tibet and remainding GMD. Over 100,00 enemies killed 
• Rebuilt lots of chinas infrastructure
• Learn from the PLA, seen as rolemodels especially after the Korean War 

The Campaign to supress counter-reolutionaries March 1950- Prevented Nationalist sympathisers, Campaign extended by Korean War.

• 3 Anti's movement: 1951, clean-up throughout the party, targets: corruption, waste and obstructionist bureucracy
• allowed purging of GMD 4mil officials investigated, 1 mil executed or exiled
• Struggle meetings, called off after 6 weeks, encouraged mass mobilisation 

• 5 Anti's movement: 1952, clean-up of industry, targets: bribery, fraud, tax evasion etc. 
• bourgeoisie and private buisness owners targeted, 450,000 buisnessmen purged
• Anti movements also led to 200,000 suicides

Reunification Campaigns (Tibet- Buddhist, Guangdong, Xinjiang- Muslim)

• Tibet October 1950, 60,000 killed, 17 point agreement forced Tibet to join PRC
• Xinjiang by March 1950 PLA had cleared, created a Militia 
• Guangdong, 28,000 executed.

• Vast network of labour camps
• "reform through labour"
• By 1955, more than 1.3 million people undergoing forced labour 
• Intimidated and terrorised population 
• Conditions were poor 
• brainwashed with communism 

Mao encouraged criticism of party by intellectuals why:

• Asking Intellectals for help: genuie attempt for educated intellectuals to come forward & help
• Rectification of the Party: feared the pary had become to bureacratic
• Removal of Mao's enemies: hoped for criticism of more conservative communists
• Internatinal concerns: Feb 1956 K. made secret speech denouncing stalins personality cult, making Mao nervouce, wanted to prove he was not a dictator through debate
• Over-confidence: Mao feeling optimistic, early PRC had been successful, expecting endorsment 

Instead the party was criticied on 2 May 1956, Mao then admitted of mistakes and how 800,000 had been killed and that violence was finished. June declared there were 'poisonous weed amongst the fragrant flowers'. 

• Anti-Rightist Campaign: right-wingers had abused their freedoms between 400,000 and 700,000 intellectuals were purged and sent to Laogai's.

25th June 1950- 27th July 1953

North Korea invaded capitalist South Korea. Mao took military action against UN forces aiding SK, ending in Standstill and a ceasefire.

• Roles in enhancing CCP control: Enhanced power of CCP, Mao was able to prove Stalin he was a worth ally (International Prestige)
• War provided excuse to lock up non-communist enemies, denounced as spies or capitalist sympathisers 800K counter-revolutionaries and 135k govt official executions
• War gave the regime excuse to enforce conscription, raise taxes & force farmers to give grain
• Resist America, Aid Korea- Encouraged workers to donate wages, shared national pride
• Mao Viewed as a Heroic leader 
• Human cost: 400K/3Mil Chinese Killed, Ex-nationalist & Buisnessmen forced to leave
• Financial cost: 30$ Billion 
• Mao lost his son 'In a revolution you always pay a price