Change in China (1949-53)-Part 2

Change in China (1949-53)-Part 2

1. Organisation of people

   • 1950-51: Mass rallies+ counter-revolutionaries were public 'enemies'--> 1 million executed
   • 1951: Movement for the study of Mao Zedong's thought
   • 1951: 'Three Antis Campaign'
     • Against corruption, waste and 'red tape'
   • 1952: 'Five Antis Campaign'
     • Against bribery, tax evasion, fraud, theft of govr. property+spying
   • Young Pioneers

2. Economy

   • All banks, railway networks + 1/3 heavy industry taken from owners+given to state property
   • People's Bank opened in 1951 -- replaced all private banks
     • Got rid of inflation by mid-1950s
   • Farmers had to sell 15-20% of grain to govr. at a low price
   • People had to pay agricultural tax to stop food shortage

3. First Five-Year Plan (1953-57)

   • 1953-57: heavy industry- steel,coal,machinery...
     • But- light industry (cotton+food) was neglected so slow standard growth
   • 700 new production plants in Central China+Manchuria
   • Coal: 64->124 million tonnes
   • Steel: 1.3-> 5.2 million tonnes
   • Pig-iron: 1.9-> 5.8 million tonnes
   • Oil: 0.4-> 1.4 million tonnes
   • Dec. 1949: Mao went to Russia+met Stalin
     • Treaty of friendship, alliance and mutual assistance

4. Cooperative Farms

   • Why : Half of 300 million peasants from Agrarian Law could not farm own land as farms too small or not enough equipment/animals
   • 1953: lower-stage cooperatives
     • 30-50 families(1 village) pooled land together to form one big efficient farm. Families still owned land but paid rent for cooperative use
   • 1953: higher-stage cooperatives
     • 200-300 villages (many villages) pooled land together. Had to surrender equipment but paid for labour

5. Hundred Flowers Campaign

   • 1956: Mao said "let a hundred flowers bloom"
     • People could have freedom of speech about govr., city problems...
   • June 1957: Mao cracked down on critics who were arrested + sent to labour camps
     • No more freedom of speech