LIVING THE REVOLUTION:CITY AND COUNTRYSIDE

HI 168: Lecture 12Dr. Howard Chiang

OVERVIEW

- Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference

- Mass Political CampaignsA. Suppressing Counter-RevolutionariesB. Three-Anti CampaignC. Five-Anti Campaign

- Constitution of 1954- Building a Planned Economy:

A. The First Five Year PlanB. Land Reform C. Collectivization

CPPCC

- Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference: September 21-30, 1949

- Common Program: 1st statement of national policy under the new CCP govt.

- 2 Organic Laws: National and Standing Committee & the People’s Government

- Common Program: 60 clauseshttp://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1949-ccp-program.html

- Mao, “On the Dictatorship of People’s Democracy” (Jun 30) – lean to one side

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XIyb1NMZaQ

Mass Political Campaigns

- 3 most important political campaigns that were launched to control and win over the urban population:1. Movement for the Suppression of Counter-Revolutionaries2. Three-Anti Campaign3. Five-Anti Campaign

COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARIES

- Counter-revolutionaries:leading members of the GMD and senior officers of its army as well as the highest ranking police officers and secret agents who had worked for the former regime

- Jan-Oct 1950: 13,812 arrests- Eliminate Counter-Revolutionary

Elements

COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARIES

- “Regulations on the Suppression of Counter-Revolutionaries”

- Also targeted leaders of traditional Buddhist and Daoist secret societies

- Mass meetings- 500,000 to 800,000 deaths (Mao,

1957)- Suicides – difficult to assess

THREE-ANTI CAMPAIGN

- Corruption, waste, and the culture of bureaucracy

- Trial basis in Northeast by Gao Gang- Similar to the earlier New Life

Movement under GMD, but targeted govt. officials

- “mass struggle movement”- Individuals singled out, humiliated,

and denounced- Served as a template for future

mass campaigns

FIVE-ANTI CAMPAIGN

- Jan 1952: bribery, tax evasion, fraud, theft of government property, and the leakage of state secrets

- directed at “national bourgeoisie” (industrialist & traders)

- allow activists in workers’ organizations to examine employer’s finances

- Outcome: the Party gained understanding about the workings of private sector in towns & cities

1954 CONSTITUTION

- Adopted by National People’s Congress on September 20, 1954

- Standing Committee- Chairman of the PRC- State Council- Local people’s congresses- National flag & national emblem- Democratic?

FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN

- Industrial developments had been patchy – Northeast (Jap. Occupation)

- “Decisions on the Unification of the Nation’s Financial and Economic Work”: centralize finance and taxation accompanied by restrictions on the circulation of foreign currency

- 1952: State of Statistical Bureau & State Planning Commission

- expand industry; rid of private sector

LAND REFORM

- Policy of confiscating land from the landowning classes and redistributing it to the poorest peasants

- History:- Jiangxi Soviet period (1929-35)- United Front (1937-45) – relaxed - Civil War (1945-49) – harsher

- By 1949, CCP already quite experienced

LAND REFORM

- 1950 Agrarian Reform Law:“land ownership system…should be abolished and the system of peasant landownership should be introduced”

- Criteria for classifying were complex- Work Teams: 3-30 people

1. collecting taxes2. peasant associations – “speaking bitterness” meetings

- a new elite of village cadres emerged

COLLECTIVIZATION

- Or cooperation began in 1952 - 1952-55: Mutual Aid Teams- 1955: Agricultural Producers’

Cooperatives (APCs) – 30-40 families- 1956-58: High Agricultural Producers’

Cooperatives (HPCs) – 100-300 families

- What did collectivization mean for the families involved?