I. Political-economic character of PRC

A. PRC established 1 Oct 1949

1. single party state, CCP

a. other token parties exist but they have no power or influence

b. CCP dominates government and military, absolutely

c. but party itself is less than monolithic--regionalism and personal power bases

d. there are elections, but candidates all chosen from above, and CCP candidates always win, usually unanimously

2. sort-of communist economic organization

a. only for a brief period was private ownership of agricultural land eliminated

b. even at most extreme point only all heavy industry was state owned

c. all financial institutions run by state

d. and certainly the state and party are always in a position to do what they wanted in absence of codification of property relations

3. originally divided into 6 regions based on org of People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

a. each region had 4 main posts

i. government chairman

ii. first party secretary

iii. military commander

iv. army political commissar (*)

b. though in theory this meant 24 positions, in beginning there were filled by only 13 men

i. major figures from revolution filled 2, sometimes 3, or even all 4 regional posts

ii. included among original was Deng Xiaopeng who held 2 posts in southwest region

iii. still characteristic of China’s political organization

c. personnel overlap obviously meant a blurring of distinctions between state, party, and military activities

4. in 1954, government was restructured into a more conventional organization

a. 21 provinces (Taiwan was no. 22), 5 autonomous regions (inc. Tibet and Inner Mongolia) and 2 municipalities--Beijing and Shanghai--later Tianjin was added

b. under these were approximately 2,200 county governments which supervised about 1m branch offices of CCP in towns, villages, work units (*), army units, and schools

c. despite organizational appearances, party always retains upper hand, esp in PLA

d. also personnel overlap continues to characterize Chinese politics

B. other very important way in which China differs from West is existence of mass organizations subordinate to state and party, and conduct of mass campaigns

1. these things really have no parallel in our experience and are what makes China a totalitarian society

2. some of these bodies organize and direct special groups within society

a. All-China Federation of Women

b. All-China Youth Federation

c. All-China Trade Union Federation

3. these and other bodies encompass entire population and give party access to all people based on school, danwei, and even home

a. they are used to mobilize population for special campaigns

b. and they serve as most direct point of contact with and control of entire population

4. one element of this aspect of China strikes Western minds as particularly odious--the neighborhood committee

a. these are bodies organized down to the block or floor level of residents themselves

b. their tasks included keeping things reasonably clean and orderly, reporting problems to responsible organizations, cooperating with police, etc.

c. but they also serve a much more intrusive role by checking on behavior and attitudes

d. even down to point of keeping charts in committee offices showing menstrual cycles of all women of child-bearing age in their area of responsibility

i. as part of population control program, reps from committee check to make certain that menstrual periods begin when expected, in cities

ii. if not, and woman has not been authorized to become pregnant, abortion is forced

iii. this is an example of interference with most private and personal aspects of life

iv. and while goal of population control might be agreed with

v. draconian measures such as these are most repugnant and resented

C. another element of Chinese communist society which strikes most foreigners as strange are the mass campaigns based on slogans

1. in early 50’s there were a great many of these, some massive and long lived, some small and short lived

a. once virtually all foreigners were driven out, Christian churches were tolerated, barely on the basis of something known as the Three Selfs

i. freedom from foreign funds

ii. freedom from foreign influence

iii. and, for Catholics, freedom from Vatican control

b. the Three Anti campaign was aimed at 3 vices common among 3 occupational groups

i. corruption, waste, and obstructionist bureaucracy

ii. said to be common among Communist party members, wider circles of bureaucratic officials, and managers of factories and other businesses

c. and the Five Anti campaign--designed as an all out assault on the bourgeoisie in China, equivalent in scope, rage, and effectiveness in earlier attack on rural landlords

i. major targets were Chinese industrialists and businessmen who had remained after CCP takeover

ii. their vices were supposedly bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheating on government contracts, and stealing state economic information

2. later in 50’s when things had slipped considerably in wake of disastrous Great Leap Forward, a mass mobilization and education campaign was launched based on 4 cleanups

a. applied to accounting procedures, granary supplies, property accumulation, and in system of allocation compensatory work points for labor performed in communes

b. this drive quickly had attached to it the "3 threes"

i. promoting 3 isms of patriotism, collectivism, and socialism

ii. opposing 3 bad styles-- capitalist, feudal, and extravagant

iii. implementing 3 necessities--building socialism, loving the collective, and operating communes democratically and frugally

3. much later Deng was to employ similar tactics when he sought to upgrade the economy--four modernizations

a. these emerged in 1975 and involved comprehensive modernization of agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology

b. later, after Mao’s death, the Gang of Four was to criticize economic modernization, industrialization, and development of science and technology as three poisonous weeds

c. nonetheless, with defeat of Gang of Four, modernizations became core of Deng’s policies

4. finally, in 1979, seeking to establish a bottom line beyond which reform could not go, Deng came up with the 4 cardinal (or basic) principles

a. keep to socialist road

b. uphold dictatorship of proletariat

c. uphold leadership of CCP

d. uphold Marxism-Lenisim and Mao Zedong Thought

5. this penchant for slogans derived from many sources

a. first, they were usually vague enough that nearly anything could be made of them

b. second, they were often tied to truly masses movements involving huge numbers of ill-educated, unsophisticated peasants

c. character-based Chinese easily lends itself to 2, 3 or 4 element slogans

d. they usually could be easily chanted (for example, siqing for 4 cleanups)

e. and their formulaic quality seemed to be especially beloved by party theoreticians

II. Major Phases

A. communization

1. although land was usually taken immediately from large landowners as the revolution progressed after 1945

2. privately held property was only done away with gradually and not for long

a. small-scale owners were allowed to keep small plots for themselves even as gradual steps were taken toward ever larger plots being worked collectively

b. as Russians discovered much earlier, peasants could be forced to work collectively, but their own private plots, though much smaller, were much more productive

c. no better proof could be given of essentially ideological nature of Chinese communism than that party leaders thought moves should be made toward greater collectivization

3. by 1957 party had managed to organize massive labor projects such as reclamation of swamp & infertile land which suggested that collectivization would increase productivity

4. though words people’s commune were not used until July 1958, by April experiments in abolishing private land ownership had begun in Henan province

5. policy seems first to have been promoted by radical rural leadership with Mao’s blessing

6. but by August of 1958, CCP Central Committee was endorsing "people’s communes as the logical results of the march of events"

7. by December, all across China 740,000 cooperatives had been reorganized into 26,000 communes made up of 120 million rural households or 99% of peasant population

8. claims were made that communization was increasing productivity twofold, or tenfold, or even scores of times

9. having finally been described Central Committee as "the all-round, continuous leap forward in China’s agricultural production and the ever- raising political consciousness of the 500 million peasants" this move then became basis for the Great Leap Forward

10. unfortunately, policy was a complete failure though long masked by inaccurate production reports

a. 1958 grain production was announced as 375m tons

b. but later had to be revised down to 250m tons

c. and actually seems to have been no more than 215m tons

B. the Great Leap Forward, one of stupidest and most disastrous experiments ever undertaken by human society

1. in theory, production was to be completely decentralized, with all areas being totally self-sufficient in agriculture and industry, because Mao said so

2. this led to such abominations as creation of nearly a million backyard steel furnaces

a. which not only produced steel of such inferior quality that it was unusable

b. but also severely damaged agrarian production by reducing numbers working land

3. thousands of ill-trained, inexperienced peasants were sent into isolated areas of China to prospect for uranium and petroleum, all a waste of human life and energy

4. crops were sown in inappropriate soil and inappropriate climatic conditions

5. some advances were made when huge work forces were mobilized to build roads and dams and great irrigation projects

6. but on the whole, the Great Leap proved an utter failure and by 1959, some areas began going back to older mixed cooperative, private plot organization in countryside

7. all this had been driven by Mao’s fanaticism, and consequences were long term

8. more than 20 m peasants died of starvation between 1959 and 1962 as agricultural production failed to recover from dislocation of Great Leap

a. from 1957 to 1961, average grain available for each person in countryside fell from 205 kg to 154 kg with 190 kg as starvation level

b. impact would be long term as malnourished children grew to adulthood

9. and through all this Mao remained impervious to criticism

C. despite enormous loss of life and profound rural disruption, China muddled through until 1966 when Mao, almost certainly no longer of sound mind, launched Cultural Revolution

1. rarely has stranglehold of one person on a country been so clearly demonstrated, at least comparable to Stalin in USSR, probably more extensive

a. Mao’s response to growing evidence of failure of Great Leap was not to blame stupid policies, but insufficient revolutionary vigor

b. China was in such horrible shape, he said, because commitment to revolutionary cause had cooled, and only a vitalized youth could save nation

c. Mao also argued that true democratization required participation of masses

d. and he was so committed to notion that he was willing to risk shaky recovery nation had made from Great Leap to try it out

2. aided by then head of PLA, Lin Biao, a mass mobilization campaign to end all mass mobilization campaigns began in 1966 and lasted until 1976

a. for ten years, mostly youth, including a great many former students, rampaged through country attacking old things, bourgeois things, rightist deviation, and, often, things and people they did not like

b. in 1961, Lin Biao had compiled a collection of excerpts from Mao’s speeches and writings called Quotations from Chairman Mao, which came to be more popularly known as The Little Red Book, which Lin promoted in PLA

c. Lin also coined slogan used to describe Mao during CR--"our great teacher, great leader, great supreme commander and great helmsman"

3. first thousands, then hundreds of thousands, finally millions and millions of students and youth spread out over country, all carrying LRB and chanting Mao’s name and slogans

a. for nearly 10 yrs, high schools and universities were completely shut down

b. students paraded supposed enemies of revolution through streets of cities, towns, and villages, humiliating them into confessing sins against the people and revolution

c. they targets were the "four olds"--old customs, old habits, old culture, old thinking

d. they destroyed bourgeois homes and property, temples, national treasures

e. 100s of thousands of suspected rightist, capitalist roaders, capitalist running dogs, and just personal enemies of mob leaders were sent to reform through labor camps (*)

f. in economic terms, the country was severely damaged

4. Mao had truly let loose a devil, and by late 1968 he seemed bent on reining it in, but had very hard time doing so

a. things had clearly gotten out of hand, especially in Shanghai, where Mao’s wife Jiang Qing, and among PLA, at least from Mao’s point of view

b. Lin Biao seemed to be challenging Mao’s leadership, so Mao moved against him

c. beginning in 1970, Mao ordered a toning down of PLA propaganda and he replaced some regional military commanders in Nanjing and Guangzhou

d. then he launched an attack on "defective work styles" in PLA, which meant following Lin’s lead

e. Lin and his family apparently began to get the message, because on 13 Sept 1971, he apparently tried to flee country, perhaps heading for SU (*)

f. the plane crashed and Lin died, whereupon Mao and Zhou Enlai started publicly denouncing Lin as a renegade and traitor

g. thus man largely responsible for making Mao unparalleled hero, nearly god, of Chinese revolution fell afoul of his own and others machinations

5. from this point on, GPCR began losing supporters in ever greater numbers

a. credulity of Chinese people had been stretched beyond all possible boundaries

b. leader after leader had first been praised then vilified

c. most violent strains in society had been given free rein, basic organizational structure stretched to breaking point

d. Great Leap Forward had at least had meaningful economic and social vision at its core

e. but GPCR showed that neither Mao nor CCP seemed to know how or where nation should be heading

D. end of GPCR came slowly, in waves, ebbing for time, then surging back, then ebbing even lower

1. policy shifts came fast and furiously as party fractional strife slowly worked itself out

a. one ebb came in 1972 when Nixon’s visit laid groundwork for later recognition

b. shortly after this, CR surged again as Zhou masterminded assault on Confucius and Lin

c. and then it ebbed again as PLA and Mao backed restoration of economic sanity and expansion of foreign trade

2. finally in 1976, GPCR came to an end, marked by two major events

a. first, in April, a huge popular demonstration was held in Tiananmen Square to commemorate first anniversary of death of Zhou Enlai

i. Zhou had long been identified in popular mind as a force for moderation

ii. was much more sophisticated and cultured than other leading figures

iii. and despite fact that he was as culpable as any leader for disasters of country

iv. outpouring on anniversary of his death was a powerful popular cry for an end to madness in country

b. then, the event which made possible a return to sanity, on 9 September 1976, Mao Zedong, the great helmsman, died at age 82

i. 300,000 mourners passed by his casket to view body

ii. official commemoration took place at 3 p.m. on 18 Sept. (*)

iii. all work stopped, everyone was to stand in silence for 3 minutes

iv. all trains, ships, factories, military vessels sounded their sirens for 3 minutes

v. but there was very, very little of the spontaneous mourning shown for Zhou

vi. the "brightest sun in the East" had outlived his time

vii. far more Chinese were relieved than grieved by Mao’s death

3. within a month, the infamous "Gang of Four" had been arrested

a. Shanghai radical clique headed by Mao’s third wife, Jiang Qing

(Wang Hongwen, Yao Wenyuan, Zhang Chunqiao)

b. accused of all manner of crimes, some of which weren’t

c. but this event signal the final end of GPCR

E. by 1977, Deng Xiaoping, three times purged from party leadership roles, re-emerged once again to become de facto head of country

1. in a brief struggle with man picked by Mao to succeed him, Hua Guofeng, Deng won

a. somewhat recklessly, Hua had shortly after Mao’s death articulated the "two whatevers" line--what even Mao said, whatever Mao decided

b. Deng responded with a slogan of his own--seeking truth from facts

c. and a China, more esp. a party long weary of upheaval, chose Deng

d. who also happened to be the more adept party infighter

2. Deng started China on path to economic reform that continues today

a. communes completely gone

b. small-scale individual production encouraged

c. moves taken to reform state-controlled heavy industrial sector

d. increasingly welcoming of foreign investment

e. and even some moves to codify commercial-financial sector

f. all of which have resulted in unprecedented prosperity for China

3. but very few moves have yet been made toward political liberalization

a. press is still totally dominated by state and party

b. freedom of speech is very, very limited

c. party clings jealously and forcefully to its power

4. 1989 demonstrations in Tiananmen prime example

a. student protesters, taking advantage of visit of Soviet leader Gorbachev, launched popular demonstration demanding greater freedoms

b. unheard of breadth and depth to protests made more powerful by presence of Western media, esp. television, there to cover Gorbachev visit

c. ended with army violently suppressing demonstration and Deng reasserting primacy of party

5. China is much better off now than it has ever been

a. food and material goods available in abundance

b. economy has been put on firmer footing than it has ever had

c. new generation of pro leaders, trained in modern economics and finance, poised to assume all powerful positions--Zhu Rongji

6. but, other benefits that would be much appreciated by its population seem far off

a. as long as CCP holds as a fundamental principle that it cannot be replaced, or even challenged, China will be wanting in freedoms and security

b. it has not yet even begun to address question of succession to power, even though last one went reasonably well

c. and it is far from being a nation of laws, but rather still is shot through with, guanxi, its not what you know, but who you know that counts

d. there is as yet in China no protection of law, anyone in a position of power, however petty, can abuse others

e. completely arbitrary activities can go on, nobody has recourse to the protection of law

f. knowledge that a new internal party dispute could break out at any time, with profound impact on entire society, makes all Chinese nervous

g. this is one way in which greater foreign investment will continue to change China

i. foreign business are loath to invest unless that can be certain that arbitrary state and party decisions will not change ground rules

ii. and this is not just of interest to foreign investors, all Chinese citizens know that they are insecure in their lot and position

iii. all know that what they now have can be taken away on a whim, without anything beginning to resemble due process or recourse to neutral arbitrator like courts

7. catching up with the West still has a long way to go, although they have begun in to make advances along the easiest route, material prosperity