COMMUNIST CHINA

1. China under Maoa. Rebuilding China

i. Government1. Shaped by Communist ideals2. Discouraged the practice of religion3. Seized property of rural landowners and

redistributed it4. Used 5 year plans for industry

ii. Mao’s policies led to improvements in literacy rate and public health1. Chinese life expectancy increased

iii. Cost 2. Government began to eliminate “enemies

of the state”, who had spoken out against the government’s policies

b. The Great Leap Forwardi. 1958- Mao announced the program, Great

Leap Forward1. Designed to increase China’s industrial and

agricultural output2. Created collectively owned farms called

communes; each was to produce food and have its own small-scale industry

ii. Plan was a disasteriii. Led to criticism of Mao

c. Culture Revolutioni. Movement initiated by Mao during the mid-

1960sii. Movement sought to rid China of its old ways

and create a society in which peasants and physical labor were ideal

1. Results:a. Eliminated intellectuals i.e. teachers, skilled workers

and artistsb. Schools were shut down and militant high school and

college students known as the Red Guard were encouraged to criticize intellectuals and traditional values

iii. This movement will re-establish Mao’s dominance but caused terrible destruction in Chinese society

2. China after Maoa. Reforms Begin

i. 1970s- China will end its isolation from the rest of the world

1. Nixon will go to China in 1972ii. Gang of Four

1. Held much of the power in China 2. Were responsible for many of the worst

features of the Culture Revolution3. Will be imprisoned after Mao’s death

iii. Deng Xiaoping1. Became China’s leader

after Mao2. Put in place far-

reaching market reforms called the Four Modernizations

a. Sought to modernize 4 areas: agriculture, industry, science and technology and national defense

b. Also gave businesses new freedom to make economic decisions

b. Tiananmen Squarei. 1989

1. Inspired by more economic freedom, more than 1 million pro-democracy protestors occupied Beijing’s Tiananmen Square

2. China’s leaders become impatient with them and ask them to leave the square

3. June 1989- The government responded with force killing many protestors in the Tiananmen Square Massacre

c. China Todayi. China’s economy is the 2nd largest in the

worldii. Chinese government encourages families

to have 1 child1. This is done to prevent population growth

from harming economic development

iii. Challenges1. Had to import enormous qualities of coal,

iron ore, oil and natural gas2. Rapid industrialization has led to

widespread air and water pollution

iv. Human Rights Abuses1. Is a concern for many critics of China2. Government limits free speech and

religious freedoms3. Strict control over media4. Political protestors are jailed5. Courts are accused of not providing fair

trials