HW 5

Identify at least one economic, social, political and foreign policy effect of Chinese Civil War. Refer to China Chapters 12 and 13 and The Lowe Text pages 415-419

Social:

Women's rights were prominent on the Communist agenda in the early years of its rule. In April 1950, the Marriage Law was introduced. This put a stop to arranged marriages, the marriage of children, murder of unwanted girl babies, and bigamy. Women were given more power, such as joint control over property with their husbands (rather than their husbands just having complete control), and divorce laws were updated (mutual consent in divorce was introduced). Another law in February of 1951 also introduced maternity leave and benefit, giving women two months wages after the birth of a child. There were 270 million women in China at the time, and before the Communist rule had virtually no rights and were subject to traditions such as footbinding that were ultimately harmful. This was the first step towards social equality between men and women.

Economic:

At the time of the Communist victory, China was very far behind most other countries economically. In addition, there was not enough food and a rapidly growing population; all things that led to economic strife. To combat this, the communists made major banks, the railway network, and a third of heavy industry into state property, the profits of which went straight to the State Treasury; this accounted for 2/3 of its yearly income. A People's Bank was opened in 1951 to replace private banks, and it had control of the issuing of money and over all transactions. This led to inflation being eradicated by the mid 1950s. Evidence of a single-party state's emergence was the treatment of food shortages: farmers had to sell 15 - 20% of their grain to the government at a fixed, low rate, and had to pay an agricultural tax.

Political:

Free speech was a casualty of Mao's single-party state. Due to the strain of the Five Year Plan, Mao's government became quite unpopular with the people. To combat this, Mao declared in his "Hundred Flowers" speech that his government was for the people and therefore it would be taking the complaints of the people and improving where they saw dissent. However, this ended in June 1957 when Mao swiftly took action against his critics. Some were fired from their jobs, others were sent to the country for "thought reform"; press was censored and free speech was banned. This is a sign of a dictatorship emerging.

Foreign Policy:

The PRC and the USSR entered a political relationship in 1949 after Mao came to power. Mao asked Stalin for financial help and, traveling to Moscow to talk to Staling, came to the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance. This gave China both financial aid and "technical advice". Ultimately it was much more helpful to industry because it provided 10,000 engineers and planning experts who "planned China's economy"; the amount of money given was only $300 million over the course of 5 years, mostly in credits rather than cash. This relationship developed further under the influence of the Russian advisors with plans such as the First Five-Year Plan (1953-57).