The People’s Republic of China, 1949-76
Michael Lynch
Chapter 1 – Introduction: China Under Mao 1949-76
1. How did Mao consolidate CCP power over China?
a. GMD officials were initially retained but eventually were labeled class enemies and persecuted
b. CCP promoted informers and denunciation to promote an atmosphere of fear and loyalty
c. Millions of landlords had their property seized and redistributed
d. During the 1950s there were alternating periods of purges and openness within the CCP
2. What was Mao’s basic economic policy?
a. To industrialize China using 5 year plans like the Soviet Union
b. Used mass labor instead of advanced technology
3. What was the Second Five-Year Plan?
a. 1958-62
b. Attempt to collectivize agriculture by confiscating all private property and organizing
communes
c. Incorporated the quack agriculture methods of Soviet scientist Lysenko
4. What were the consequences of this Plan?
a. Millions died
b. In the 1960s other party leaders reversed most of these reforms
c. Caused widespread famine and unrest
5. What was the motivation behind the Cultural Revolution?
a. Mao had receded from public life from 1962-66
b. He felt that China and the CCP was losing its revolutionary fervor and ideological purity
c. Mao advocated “continuing revolution” to regularly purify and radicalize the CCP
6. What was the Cultural Revolution?
a. Mao urged youth to rise up and judge their elders and to destroy anything that threatened
China’s future
i. Red Guards rampaged throughout China and destroyed many universities, libraries and
museums
b. All art was severely censored for “socialist integrity” by Mao’s wife
c. Produced chaos throughout China and severely damaged the education system
d. Gradually subsided after 1971
7. In what ways was the PRC a continuation of Imperial China?
a. PRC adopted absolutism to enforce reform and unity upon China, just as the Qing Dynasty had
done
b. Vast majority of people were excluded from participation in government
c. CCP rule was uncompromising and self-perpetuating, looking out for its own interests rather
than that of the people
8. What power did Mao exert over the media?
a. News media was heavily centralized and censored
b. Xinhua news agency is officially controlled and sets the tone for all media
c. All media ceaselessly proclaimed the wisdom and virtue of Mao and the CCP
9. How did China’s own appraisal of Mao change after his death in 1976?
a. Maoists and Communists within CCP disagreed over whether to denounce Mao
b. Communists, led by Deng Xiaoping, agreed to simply overlook or remain silent about the
Cultural Revolution and other embarrassing aspects of the past
10. What problems have confronted the academic study of Chinese history and the PRC?
a. PRC is very reluctant to open archives or allow full scale inquiry
b. Chinese historians are reluctant to or prohibited from investigating some topics
c. Western historians have sometimes applied obsolete Western paradigms to assessing Chinese
cultural norms
d. Western historians have sometimes been influenced by the Cold War distaste for China and
communism
e. Left wing historians have too easily fallen prey to the image of Mao as a great liberator and man
of enlightenment
f. Russian historians were reluctant to and prohibited from working with Western historians until
the 1990s
Chapter 2: The Early Years of the PRC, 1949-57
1. How did Mao consolidate power in the immediate aftermath of victory?
a. Property of the Nationalists was seized
b. Banks and public utilities were taken under state control
c. Mao offered to work with capitalists to rebuild China
d. Mao invited middle class civil servants to stay on and work in the civil service
2. How was the government of the PRC organized?
a. China was divided into 6 regions each ruled by a Chairman, Party Secretary, Military
Commander, and a Political Commissar
i. This essentially amounted to military rule from the center
b. Central power was vested in the Central People’s Government Council composed of 56 CCP
veterans, with Mao as Chairman
3. Describe the invasion of Tibet in 1950?
a. CCP claimed that Tibet has historically been part of China, but Tibetans had a distinct racial,
cultural and religious identity
b. PLA took 6 months to subdue China
c. Imposed a harsh rule aimed at erasing Tibet’s cultural identity
d. PLA also subdued opposition in Xinjiang and Guangdong
4. What were the anti-movements?
a. 1952 campaign targeting industrial sabotage, tax evasion, bribery, fraud, and theft of
government property in order to stimulate the economy
b. Primarily targeted “bureaucratic capitalist class”
5. Why and how did the CCP begin the use of terror tactics?
a. All non-CCP political parties repressed by 1952
b. Public campaigns against “counter-revolutionaries” and “imperialists” were used to encourage
citizens to denounce one another
c. Criminal gangs in Shanghai and Gaungzhou were targeted for elimination
i. Over 150,000 were arrested and most were killed
6. Describe the system of “informing”.
a. Citizens were encouraged to spy and inform on their neighbors, co-workers, parents, and
friends
b. CCP hired “watchers” for each street block and formed community associations to encourage
conformity
c. Citizens reluctant to inform on others were themselves labeled as “counter-revolutionaries”
7. What was Mao’s view of the bouregeoisie?
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a. They must be violently eliminated by the proletariat
b. PRC must be constantly vigilant and ruthless in the suppression of all vestiges of capitalism and
reaction
How did the CCP use “registration” as a political weapon?
a. All individuals were required to “register” themselves
b. Without registration one was unable to obtain a job or housing
c. CCP gathered files on hundreds of millions of Chinese in order to monitor behavior
What was the Gao Gang and Rao Rashi Affair of 1954?
a. Mao identified these two high level party officials for their insufficient efforts to promote
industrialization
b. Both were fired and Gao Gang committed suicide
c. This illustrated Mao’s personal control over the apparatus of PRC security and the insecurity of
even high level officials within the CCP
How did Mao begin to “lose touch” with reality?
a. His colleagues became more fearful of him and less willing to engage in open exchanges of
ideas with him
i. they became yes men and merely agreed to his every policy whim
b. Mao’s travels throughout China and visits with peasants were stage managed and shielded him
from real exposure to reality
Describe Mao’s land policy.
a. Land was confiscated from landlords and redistributed to peasants
i. Over 1 million were killed
b. Most were put on trial and denounced as enemies of the people
c. Mao denounced slightly wealthier peasants as kulaks and enemies of the people
How did PRC democracy work?
a. Elections were held in villages, localities and regions for party officials, administrators and
members of the National People’s Congress
i. Only CCP candidates could stand for election
ii. CCP officials monitored all elections
What was the role of Politburo?
a. Committee of 20 leading CCP members
b. National People’s Congress just rubber stamped Politburo decisions
c. Mao was a member of the Politburo but did not hold a special title or position
i. The Politburo was careful not to contradict him because of his power
What is the concept of democratic centralism?
a. True democracy consists in the obedience of CCP members to the authority and instruction of
its leaders
b. Only CCP leaders are sufficiently educated in Marxism to understand the needs of the country
c. In practice this meant that all communists were expected to follow Mao’s lead
How did the Korean War start?
a. Korea was created in 1945 after Japan was defeated
b. US controlled south of 38 degrees and Soviet Union controlled north of it
c. 1950: North Koreas invaded south to unify all Koreans
d. Mao had little to no role in encouraging the North Koreans to invade
e. Stalin was convinced by North Korean Kim Il Sung that the North Koreans could win and the
US would be dragged in and lose
f. 1950: UN voted to send an army to Korea to stop the invasion
How did China become involved in the Korean War?
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Felt that it had little choice given the proximity of Korea
Pretty much always followed Soviet lead in international affairs
Mao may have hoped to secure Soviet technology and money in exchange for fighting
China invaded northern Korea in October 1950 after the US pushed the North Korean forces
well north of 38 degrees
What did China contribute to the Korean War?
a. 3 million conscript soldiers
b. Lost nearly 1 million dead
c. PLA applied catastrophic frontal assault tactics that were rarely successful
How did the Korean War affect China?
a. Panmunjong Truce of 1953 left Korea divided with little adjustment of territory
b. US pledged itself to Taiwan and to isolate the PRC internationally
c. Economic resources needed for industrialization were devoted to the war
d. Enabled the CCP to establish more extensive control throughout China
e. Gave Chinese a sense of pride in having alone fought the US to a standstill
What were the goals of the First Five Year Plan (1952-56)?
a. Promote industry
b. Stimulate production of coal, steel and petrochemicals
c. Develop an automobile and transportation industry
d. Build large infrastructure projects like bridges and dams
What favorable circumstances aided the Plan?
a. There was already a significant workforce of workers and managers
b. Urban population was skyrocketing which created a large labor pool
c. Inflation dropped drastically between 1949 and 1951
How successful was the Plan?
a. GDP growth approached 9% per year during this period
b. Soviet technical aid to China was conditional upon trade concessions
c. Most Soviet aid was in the form of loans and advisors
What was the Hundred Flowers Campaign (1957)?
a. Mao initiated a policy of allowing party members and citizens to express grievances with the
regime and constructively criticize the party
b. Mao believed this would help to stimulate a revolutionary spirit
c. People began to complain of government mistakes, corruption and inefficiency
How did Mao respond to such criticism?
a. In late 1957 Mao abruptly changed course and initiated a campaign to denounce rightists
b. Many were forced to retract their statements
c. Many were forced to submit to re-education
d. Many CCP murders who were outspoken were purged
Why did Mao initiate the Hundred Flowers Campaign to begin with?
a. Jung Chang
i. From the beginning the campaign was a plot to lure opposition elements into the open
and then eliminate from the party or society
ii. The incident persuaded party members of the need for ideological orthodoxy
b. Lee Feigon & Jonathan Spence
i. Mao was genuine in his appeal to democratic critical expression
ii. Mao genuinely wanted proletarian to become politically aware through this process
iii. He wanted to intimidate local party officials into being loyal
iv. Mao was genuinely surprised by the scale of criticism
v. Mao was motivated by an awareness of Khrushchev’s denunciation of Stalin in 1956 and
wanted to ensure that China would have a more attuned government
Chapter 3 – The Great Leap Forward 1958-62
1. What was the purpose of the Great Leap Forward?
a. To rapidly industrialize the Chinese economy
b. To overtake the West in industry and wealth
c. To become free from dependency of the example and resources of the Soviet Union
2. How did Mao intend to achieve “lift-off”?
a. The peasants would be collective, produce a surplus of grain, it would be sold internationally,
and the revenue would be used to invest in industry
b. The Chinese people would be able to achieve industrialization through sheer will and manual
labor
c. He intended to construct large projects that would catch international attention such as dams,
bridges, and Tiananmen Square
3. How was the Second Five Year Plan organized?
a. Highly unrealistic and constantly changing targets and quotes were set but little administrative
effort was expended to help anyone achieve the targets
b. Extensive propaganda was used to militarize the production of grain and steel
4. What role did backyard furnaces play?
a. Citizens were encouraged to construct steel kilns near their homes and produce steel
communally
b. It was highly inefficient and led to a lot of air pollution and accidents
c. Almost no backyard steel was actually suitable for construction
d. Led to widespread deforestation to fuel the kilns
5. What role did state-owned enterprises play?
a. State took control over most firms
i. Set product and production goals and also determined prices and wages
ii. No collective bargaining was allowed
b. Lack of profit motive and absence of initiative led to low productivity and high inefficiency
c. At least it provided an “iron rice bowl” guaranteed job security, wages, housing, and medical
care
6. What were the weaknesses of the Great Leap Forward?
a. Production of raw materials grew but actual manufacturing dropped significantly
b. Product quality was usually totally inadequate
c. Political interference in economic enterprises was rampant
d. Few government agencies or officials delivered specific instructions
e. Local workers, officials, and industrialists were mostly left to “figure things out”
f. Soviet Union stopped all technical assistance in 1960
7. What were Mao’s weaknesses?
a. Never willing to accept responsibility for failure
i. His policies were never at fault – only bourgeois sabotage
b. Lacked knowledge of science, technology and economics to make realistic goals and plans
8. Describe Mao’s collectivization drive.
a. Rationale: planners realized that more surplus labor and food was needed for industry to grow;
this would require more efficient agriculture and firmer state control of food production
b. Agricultural land was re-divided into communes, brigades and households
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c. Methods, sales, distribution and prices would be controlled by the state
d. Privately owned farms were eliminated
e. Free movement among communes was prohibited
What was Mao’s attitude toward peasants?
a. Considered them inherently capitalistic and resistant to change
b. Believed they were hoarding grain and sabotaging collectivization efforts
What was Lysenkoism and what were its consequences?
a. Soviet “scientist” who discovered ways to produce grain yields 16 x normal
b. Chinese researchers were indoctrinated with his ideas and applied them widely
c. Methods had little scientific merit and were applied at great expense in many inappropriate
conditions
d. “sparrowcide” led to enormous pest control problems that destroyed plants and grain stores
What were the results of these reforms?
a. Thousands of “rightist” farmers who attempted to use the old methods were sent to forced
labor camps and many starved to death
b. Severe famine afflicted central and eastern China (50 millions starved to death)
c. Family members sold one another for food
d. Prostitution became common
e. Cannibalism was not uncommon
Why did the famine persist with no government help?
a. Local officials wanted to please party officials in Beijing and reported that quotas were being
met and exceeded
b. Local officials ignored the harsh reality and refused to help people
c. Eager to please Mao but supported his misguided policies, those who spoke were denounced
d. Mao denied that a famine existed at all, so government help was not forthcoming
How did China persecute Tibet?
a. PRC suppressed Tibetan culture by banning its religion and language
b. Thousands of protesters were arrested
c. Thousands of Han Chinese were relocated to Tibet to dilute the culture
d. Mandarin was established as the official language of Tibet
e. Tibetan Uprising of 1959 was brutally suppressed by the PLA
f. Monasteries, monks and nuns were burned and humiliated
g. The Dalai Lama fled to India to protest
How was Tibet affected by the famine?
a. Chinese officials forced Tibetan farmers to apply Lysenko techniques and grown wheat and
corn
b. These crops didn’t grow well in Tibet’s climate, leading to extreme food shortages
c. Nomadic herders were forced to settle and farm, with pitiful results
What was the Panchen Lama’s report?
a. Panchen Lama (second in command) toured Tibet to gather evidence about the famine
i. 20% of population had been jailed and half died in prison
b. Chinese deliberately inflicted suffering and famine to exterminate their culture and existence as
a people
c. 25% of Tibetans died and the other 75% suffered humiliation and degradation
d. Mao had the Panchen Lama arrested for the report
What is Mao’s personal responsibility for the famine?
a. Mao blamed the famine on peasant hoarding of grain, incompetence of local officials, and bad
weather
b. Mao largely withdrew from active politics in 1962 and asked deputies to end the food crisis
17. What did Liu, Deng and Chen Yun do to end the food crisis?
a. Allowed private farms and free markets in agricultural goods to operate
Chapter 4 – The Cultural Revolution, 1966-76
1. During the mid-1960s why did Mao second guess his decision to withdraw from politics?
a. Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi began to gain more supporters and their followers began to
reverse some of the collectivization policies in the provinces
2. What was the Little Red Book and how was it used in the PLA?
a. Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong
3. How did it become ubiquitous throughout society?
a. Issued to all soldiers
b. 750 million printed and distributed
c. subject of daily study sessions in the army, schools, shops and factories
4. What was The Diary of Lei Feng?
a. Supposed diary of an ordinary PLA truck driver who was extremely committed to communism
and loyal to Mao
b. Fictional Lei Feng was extolled as the embodiment of loyalty and revolutionary zeal
5. What was the Wu Han Affair?
a. Playwright Wu Han published a play with a historical theme thought to be an allegory
criticizing Mao
b. Lin Biao took the opportunity to attack Wu and purge the CCP of disloyal members
6. What role did Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing play?
a. Fierce hard-line communist who denounced rightists and moderates within the party
b. Along with the hard-line Shanghai Forum and uncompromising Gang of Four, she urged action
against Liu Shaoqi and Den Xiaoping
i. They demanded a purge of cultural traditionalists (artists and writers
c. In 1966 they initiated a major party purge against right and moderate elements
7. What was the Central Cultural Revolution Group (CCRG)?
a. Dominated by the Gang of Four
b. Used to denounce any and all right and moderate elements
8. How did the Cultural Revolution begin?
a. Students were encouraged to put up posters denounced the education system as insufficiently
revolutionary and to attack their teachers and protest
b. It led to widespread chaos and students began to coalesce into gangs called Red Guards
9. Why did Mao swim across the Yangtze River in 1966?
a. To announce his return to active politics
b. River had much spiritual and historical importance
c. Soon after he called on the CCP renew its revolutionary purity and he promoted Lin Biao to
second in command
10. Why did Mao call on youth to take the lead in the Cultural Revolution?
a. They were innately more open to new ideas and resistant to authority and tradition
b. They were easily manipulated and reliable for their zeal
c. He believed that their commitment to communist needed to be tested since they hadn’t been
around for the Long March, Japanese invasion, and civil war
11. What were the Four Olds and why were they targeted?
a. Old ideas, culture, customs and habits
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b. Seen as cultural traits preventing the full intellectual and spiritual commitment of the Chinese
to Maoism
What were Mao’s reasons for launching the Cultural Revolution?
a. Would enable him to reassert his authority and remove all opposition
b. To move past the damaging record of the Great Leap Forward
c. By changing Chinese culture so profoundly that the revolution would be self-perpetuating
d. To avoid the revisionist mistakes of the Soviet Union
e. To place control of the revolution in the hands of peasants, not bureaucrats
What was Mao’s idea of permanent revolution?
a. Revolution must be ongoing if it is not to atrophy and morph into neo-capitalism
b. Revolution requires occasional chaos in order to expose reactionary forces
What concerned Mao about developments in the Soviet Union?
a. Rapid downfall and criticism of Khrushchev
b. Observation that the Communist Party was losing its zeal and becoming bureaucratic
c. Soviet Union was beginning to compromise with the West (détente)
How did Mao intend to preserve the peasant character of the revolution?
a. Attack bureaucrats and intellectuals
Why and how were Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi attacked?
a. 1966: Mao denounced them as rightists and dismissed them from the government
b. They were both beaten by mobs and publicly humiliated
c. Liu eventually died in prison
d. Deng was sentenced to “corrective labor”
What was the role of the Red Guards?
a. They would camp in Tiananmen Square and loudly denounce “rightist” officials and sometimes
beat them
b. Encouraged to insult and abuse parents, teachers, professors, writers and doctors
i. They were subjected to “brainwashing” in which they were forced to study Mao’s
writings, confess their guilt and engage in extensive self criticism
ii. Most were beaten for days on end until they submitted
iii. Many had their homes ransacked and valuables stolen
c. Thousands of temples, shrines, works of art, gardens, books, statues, and graves were destroyed
d. Took control of public transportation, radio and TV
Why did Chinese youth prove to be such reliable and zealous supporters of Mao?
a. Chinese youth had been heavily politicized for years through education and youth
organizations
b. At mass rallies children were encouraged to view Mao as infinitely wise and god-like
c. History of emperor worship in China
d. Importance of conformity in Confucianism
e. Herd mentality and instinct for idolatry common among the young
What other forms of brutality took place?
a. Public gathering places became the scene of mass public executions
b. Around 500,000 CCP officials were killed
c. 11 foreign embassies were attacked
d. Red Guards were created by Chinese communities in many other countries and engaged in
similar attacks in 30 countries
What happened in Hong Kong?
a. Mao encouraged Chinese terrorism against the British colonial government hoping to provoke a
violent crackdown
b. The tactic failed and Mao shrank from invading Hong Kong
21. Why was the Red Guard eventually reined in?
a. Industrial production had plummeted
b. Most schools and universities ceased to function
c. Red Guard violence had escalated to the level of civil war in some provinces after factory
workers began to organize militarized units to counter the Red Guards
22. How was the Red Guard reined in?
a. PLA gradually “took over” the task as fighting counter-revolutionaries
b. All along the violence of the Cultural Revolution had been orchestrated and allowed from the
top, despite the appearance of spontaneity
c. To get rid of urban gangs youth were encouraged to go into villages and mountain areas and
live and work alongside the peasants to acquaint them with real life
i. 12 million youth complied
ii. Most had a poor experiences of very low standards of living and encountered very unrevolutionary attitudes and became disillusioned with Maoist ideals
Chapter 5 – Life in Mao’s China, 1949-76
1. What was the place of religion in the PRC?
a. Worthless supersitition
b. A tool of bourgeoisie to suppress and exploit the masses
c. Mao: “Religion is poison”
d. Religion would be replaced by loyalty to the CCP
2. How did the PRC attack religion?
a. Christian churches were closed, seized, and their staff were deported or jailed
b. Propaganda constantly denounced Christianity, Buddhism and Confucianism
c. All public religious devotion was banned
d. religious buildings were converted to other uses or closed
3. What other customs and traditions were attacked?
a. Songs, dances, and village festivals were replaced with political discussions organized by the
CCP
b. Agit-prop performers toured the country performing political skits
i. Skits condemned landlords and bourgeoisie and extolled Mao and communism
4. How was religion attacked in the Cultural Revolution?
a. No public worship was allowed
b. All clergy were imprisoned
c. “Confucius and Co” was a common epithet hurled at those accused of being traditionalists and
counter-revolutionaries
5. Why was the PRC concerned about provincial separatism?
a. Tibet, as a strongly Lama region, may wish to break away
b. Xinjiang, as a strongly Muslim region, may wish to break away
c. Govt attempted to dilute cultural identity by settling many Han Chinese in these regions
6. How did Mao combat the practice of forced marriage?
a. Condemned the Confucian subjection of women
b. Refused to comply with his own arranged marriage
c. Denounced forced marriage as amounting to legalized rape
7. To what degree did the CCP do to improve women’s rights?
a. Progressive
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i. Outlawed foot binding
ii. Banned concubinage
iii. Banned arranged marriages
iv. Banned dowries
v. Divorce made easy
b. Regressive
i. Mao became a notorious womanizer in later life
ii. Party elite was entirely dominated by men (only 13% women)
iii. In their private lives, party leadership continued to enforce strict gender roles
iv. Soldiers were given the right to refuse a divorce request
What kinds of economic rights did women gain?
a. Right to own and sell land and property
b. No longer had to cook because in the communes everyone ate in mess halls
c. Women in the workforce quadrupled
By what measures did women’s rights remain static?
a. Families still preferred baby boys and female infanticide was common
b. Women continued to be regarded by most as subordinate and submissive
How did these policies undermine the importance of family?
a. Most resented the attack on the importance of family and ancestor worship
b. Most women resented the low priority giving to the raising of children
c. In some communes husbands and wives lived separately
d. Many were confused and unsure how to establish new social networks
How did the famine affect women and families?
a. Many peasants were forced to decide which children to feed
b. Many were reduced to cannibalism
c. Divorce skyrocketed
d. Husbands would sell wives to raise money for food
e. Many children were left motherless and were sold or abandoned
f. Prostitution became widespread
g. CCP set up brothels designated for party members
What happened to China’s population during this period and why?
a. Increased by 56%
b. Mao saw a large and vigorous population as important for economic achievement
What did Mao do to reshape China’s culture?
a. Believed culture to be an express of the social system
b. The bourgeoisie culture of China must be violently eliminated by a new proletarian culture
c. All writers and artists must serve the cause of revolution
d. Mao’s wife Jiang Qing was put in charge of cultural affairs
What kinds of control did Jiang Qing exert over cultural forms?
a. Controlled all arts during 1966-76
b. Heavy censor to ban non-revolutionary work
c. Only permitted work with relevant and approved political themes (political correctness)
d. Banned Western music and traditional Chinese opera
e. Created communist opera ballets that were performed throughout the country
What were the consequences of such artistic censorship?
a. Many musicians, artists and writers whose work failed to meet arbitrary guidelines were sent to
“re-education camps”
b. Other leaders publicly endorsed the new rules but some privately criticized them
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c. Few denounced such rules out of moral cowardice or self preservation
d. Produced an era devoid or significant cultural accomplishments
How did Mao reform education?
a. Literacy jumped from 20% to 70%
b. Mandarin was standardized and an alphabet was created which made writing easier (pinyin)
c. Many new schools were built and teachers trained
What evidence is there that education reforms were more superficial?
a. Fewer than 1% had a university degree
b. Only 35% had schooling beyond age 12
c. Only 6% of party leadership had schooling beyond age 16
Why did education remain so poor?
a. Cultural Revolution disrupted education
b. Most young people stopped going to school for several years
c. Learning and study were dismissed as worthless, and all education became highly politicized
What measures did Mao take to improve public health?
a. Patriotic health movements: teams of party workers went into rural areas to educate peasants
about hygiene and disease
b. Local groups were organized to drain swamps and combat rodents in order to deal with
dysentery, malaria, etc.
c. Govt trained many new doctors and nurses and dispatched many of them to remote parts of
China (over 1 million new doctors by 1973)
d. A new 6-month training program was created to equip medics with basic skills and then send
them into the field (barefoot doctors)
To what degree were health reformers not successful?
a. There continued to be a shortage of qualified doctors, largely as a result of the Cultural
Revolution’s disruption of education
b. During the Cultural Revolution doctors were often attacked as members of the elite
c. Doctors were increasingly expected to perform manual labor, even it was a waste of their time
and talents
d. Many doctors vowed not to use anaesthetics for political reasons
e. Most medical equipment continued to be extremely outdated
What was the idea behind China’s laogai system?
a. Camps were to be a place of re-education, not punishment
b. Those who criticize the regime are simply misguided
What was life like for prisoners in such camps?
a. Prisoners forced to do humiliating and back-breaking work
b. Denied adequate food
c. Built in regions with extreme weather
d. Those who maintained innocence were tortured, starved and severely beaten
e. 10 million prisoners per year on average
f. 25 million prisoners died during Mao’s reign
g. 10,000 camps existed throughout China by 1976
What were some of the other purposes of the camps?
a. Provided a source of slave labor to build public works projects
b. Existence of these camps scared many into silence
c. Families of prisoners also automatically came under suspicion and considered guilty
d. Govt charged families for the cost of the bullet used to execute prisoners