Mao’s Consolidation of Power

On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship Essay written by Mao in 1949 Spelled out many key ideas Need to arouse the nation’s masses Desire to form int’l relationships with any country willing to accept China’s existence

Common Program for China, 1949 Guarantees rights to all except “political reactionaries” Promises equal rights to women Outlines ambitious land reform and industrial goals Urged universal education

Structure of the PRC Country was divided into 6 regions, each run by four officials, 2 of which were PLA officers….what does this indicate? 3 large bureaucracies: Party, State, Military Party and state overlapped and existed at all levels administration Theoretically though, the peasants were in control…

The Party Politburo Secretariat Central Committee 14-24 members, including party chair Standing Committee were the 5-6 most powerful members, held power when P. was not meeting Secretariat Politburo support staff Central Committee 50-300 people, ratified Politburo decisions Often not very powerful Central Committee Departments Lots of power, included the Propaganda Dept. for example Party Congress Body of approx. 1500 people Local leaders and officials

Some Key Party Leaders Mao Liu Shaoqi Zhou Enlai Zhu De Deng Xiaoping Party Chairman, visionary Liu Shaoqi Politburo, Vice-Chairman, writer of How to be a Good Communist Zhou Enlai Politburo, Premier of State Council, later the Foreign Minister Zhu De Politburo, Head of PLA Deng Xiaoping Party secretary-general

The State The government was supposed to execute the policies made by the party However, state and party official often held dual positions; the CCP and the state were quite intertwined Most important body was the State Council, which was headed by a premier

The Military The PLA was outside of state jurisdiction and answered to the CCP Its priority was protection of the party, not the state Essential to controlling the new country Embarked on 3 “reunification campaigns” to ensure control over outer regions in 1950 and 1951

Operational Principles Based on Yan’an years Mass party line Ideological correctness Witch hunts Volunteerism and Willpower “Properly motivated people could overcome any material odds to accomplish their goals” Contrasted with traditional Chinese view of fate Mao’s faith in the willpower of the people, which often had no basis in reality, will have devastating effects later on Mao also despised intellectuals; why will this be problematic in the future?

Early Reforms: Land Objectives: Methods: Free peasants from the feudal landlords Open pathway to agricultural production and industrialization Methods: Applying the same strategies across China was impossible due to geographic variances Mobilization of peasants Time consuming and difficult, required building relationships in each village

Early Reforms: Land Methods: After gaining peasant confidence, CCP leaders would encourage them to break down traditional landlord relationships Local tyrant would be targeted  Struggle Meeting  Rent reduction Campaign Violence often ensued, esp. in the North 43% of arable land in China was redistributed to 60% of the population Main impact is political: revolutionized way of thinking

Early Reforms: Family 1950 Marriage Law Women could own land Abolished arranged marriages, polygamy, infanticide, child brothels Women can seek divorce Though a law, not always practiced, especially in the countryside

Early Reforms: Cities CCP attacked non-Communist values and stressed conformity 3 and 5 anti campaigns Established local units called danwei that were used to reinforce ideology and conformity Also used for surveillance Basic building blocks of mass campaigns Large scale attacks on urban gangs In Shanghai over 25,000 were killed Created large, national organizations Youth League, Women’s Federation

Establishing Political Control Early steps Banks, public utilities, foreign assets, and GMD properties are seized Compensation offered to those willing to work with the new government Three and Five Anti Campaigns Primary goal is to destroy remaining capitalist elements 1951: 3 Anti Campaign targets waste, corruption, and inefficiency 1952: 5 Anti Campaign seeks to stimulate the economy by attacking industrial sabotage, tax evasion, bribery, fraud, and theft

Establishing Political Control Terror and Violence Mao insisted on violence, saying that no group ever gives up power voluntarily Rid the cities of gangs Internal Party Purges Gao Gang and Rao Rashi- both high ranking Party officials Evidence that Mao refused to tolerate potential rivals By 1952, no other political parties exist in China

The First Eight Years The early years of the PRC are often seen as the most successful-why? Inflation controlled and chaos minimized Reconstruction begun Reforms enacted Korean War fought to a standoff Whether this claim holds true will be debated as we look at the policies of these early years in more depth next week

Questions Assess the methods used by Mao to consolidate his power between 1949 and 1954. How does this period of Mao’s rule compare to Hitler’s consolidation of power in 1933 and 1934?