1. Mao’s Consolidation of Power

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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…

5. 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
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 people
Local leaders and officials

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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?

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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?