Chinese Civil War—Part II

Chinese Civil War During World War II, the Communists battled the Japanese while the Nationalists received support from the US but did not fight the Japanese very much The Nationalists built their strength up to fight the Communists after the war After the war, the civil war resumed in China

Chinese Civil War Nationalists outnumber Communists 3:1 China’s economy gets bad Many Nationalists join Communists 1949-many cities fall to Communist forces Jiang and Nationalists fled to Taiwan Mao and Communists control of China

Chinese Civil War US supports Nationalists USSR supports Communists Communist China expand into Tibet, India, and Mongolia Communists set up two organizations— Communist party and the national government Mao led both organizations until 1959

Chinese Civil War Mao changes society –Agrarian Reform Law of 1950 takes land from large land owners and divided it amongst the peasants –Peasants are forced to join collective farms of 200 to 300 families –Private companies fell under control of gov’t. –Five Year Plans set controls on coal, cement, steel, and electricity which brought about great increases in productivity

Chinese Civil War The Great Leap Forward—1958 –2 nd Five Year Plan Larger collective farms (communes) that covered 15,000 Acres and and held 25,000 people. Tight control over people’s life—they ate, slept, worked, and raised children in a communal setting. People did not own anything. No incentive to work because the state benefited from everyone’s labor. Program ended in 1961 because of its inneffectiveness—crop failures and famine.

Chinese Civil War Cultural Revolution—1966 –Mao encouraged the youth of China to “learn revolution by making revolution.” Many students left school and formed militia units called the Red Guards. –Red Guards lead a major uprising called the Cultural Revolution—to establish a society of peasants and workers in which all were equal. -hero of revolution was peasants and those that work with their hands -intellectual and artistic activities were considered useless and dangerous -Red Guards shut down universities -intellectuals and people who resisted were forced to work on farms and perform manual labor -1000’s of people were executed or imprisoned

Chinese Civil War Cultural Revolution –Farm production dropped and factories closed because people who didn’t know how to do that kind of work were the ones having to do it –Mao orders Army to put a stop of Red Guards so Cultural Revolution could be stopped –Zhou Enlai—original founder of Communist Party and Premier of China since 1949, began to restore order but continued to deny democratic rights

Chinese Civil War Tiananmen Square--Gate of Heavenly Peace –Site of many political rallies during the 20 th Century—May 4 th Movement in 1919 –1989, thousands of students gathered to demand political reforms –Shortly after anniversary of May 4 th Movement, up to 1,000,000 people gathered at the square to continue protests –On June 3, Chinese Army ordered to disperse the crowd. –Thousands of people were killed or injured –China continues to imprison people who speak out for human or political rights