Communism in China

Communism in ChinaThe Years After Mao

Death of Mao Zedong Mao Zedong’s dies in 1979 China is far behind other industrialized

nation

Power Struggle There was a power

struggle behind those who wished to follow Mao’s beliefs and a group who just wished to make China better (no matter what the philosophy)

Deng Xiaoping He was the 2nd leader of Communist

China

Deng Xiaoping’s Leadership He had a much more practical view of

government than Mao He was willingly to use parts of other

economic systems His goal was to bring China into the

modern age through improvements

4 Modernizations

New government program instituted by Deng

Goal was to improve agriculture, industry, science & technology, & defense as quickly as possible.

Agriculture Modernizations Repair damage done to farms during the

Great Leap Forward Established a contract responsibility

system› families rented land from the government› the families decided what they wanted to sell

Government bought an amount of the produce at a set price

All the rest of the produce could be sold for whatever price they could get

Agriculture Modernizations The chance to make more money by

growing more crops led farmers to increase their production be 8% each year

Industrial Modernizations Changed the focus of industry from

heavy industry (iron, steel, big machines) to light industry (small consumer goods, clothing, appliances, etc)

Industrial Modernizations Gave more decision-making power to

factory managers Reward program developed for factory

managers and workers who found ways to make factories produce more

Economic Modernization Created 4 special

economic zones › Owners and

producers were able to control market without much government interference

› brought in foreign investors

› now there are hundreds of these special zones

General Results from the 4 Modernizations program

Economy is now stronger than ever› if it keeps growing at the rate it is now- by

2025 it could be the largest economy in the world

General Results from the 4 Modernizations program

Improvements in the daily life of Chinese people› for example in the

1980’s few households had any modern appliances- by early 1990’s 80% of households owned washing machines

Unexpected Results from the 4 Modernizations program

Economic growth has taken place unevenly› coastal zones have grown richer› the interior regions are poorer and lag far

behind in the economy

Unexpected Results from the 4 Modernizations program

Farmers realized they could make more money from cash crops (quick growing, high resell value)

China suddenly had a shortage of staple foods, like grain

Unexpected Results from the 4 Modernizations program

Population shifted dramatically› 120 million people

left towns to move to the big cities

› rapid increase in urban growth has resulted in an increase in crime and management problems

Demand of a 5th Modernization The 5th Modernization

› As the Chinese people became accustomed to economic reform, they begin to demand a 5th reform

Chinese wanted democratic rights› they wanted to express political beliefs and

ideas openly without fear › they wanted to have a voice in the

government› they wanted freedom of speech, religion,

privacy, etc

Demonstrations for reform In 1989, thousands of

Chinese, mostly college students, had a series of peaceful demonstrations in Beijing and other major cities to demand democratic reforms

They would hold hunger strikes and sit-in

The world media began to focus on the demonstrations

Tiananmen Square In May and June of 1989,

there were about 100,000 Chinese demonstrating in Tiananmen Square in Beijing

The government decided to end the protests

first they meet with the student leaders and tried to make them stop and disband

when that failed they went to their second solution

Video Clip- 1:23 to about 1:38

Tiananmen Square On June 3rd, 1989 the government ordered

all the protestors to go home That night troops surrounded the protesters

and opened fire without any warning. It is believed as many as 1,000 people were killed and hundreds more wounded.

Within days China gathered any suspected leaders. they were killed by troops without a trial

The world was outraged! China basically said – it is none of your business.

Tiananmen Square China’s leaders believe that economic

growth can succeed only if the people are kept “in line” politically.

China today Chinese people have more freedoms

than earlier, but the communists still control much of their people’s life

Government Oversight Internet usage, cell phone conversation, i-

pods, facebook, twitter, regular mail, and even regular conversations are all filtered and monitored by the government. There are security officers (soldiers) with guns all over, Communist spies in neighborhoods, “suspected” people under surveillance.

Even Google had to agree to some type of government oversight in order to operated in China