Building
Reform-era China 1977-89
What problems faced Deng
when he succeeded Mao?
o Government had 6.5
billion yuan deficit
o 20 million Chinese
were unemployed
o Estimated 100
million were undernourished
o Military was
woefully out of date
o Technology and
scientific research out of date
How did he try and tackle
these problems?
o 4 Modernizations
overseen by Zhao Ziyang
o Agriculture reform
was most important because 80% of population derived their income from
primarily agriculture
o In Sichuan, to
speed economic recovery, in 1975 Zhao began modest reforms that proved
successful
o Called for renting
commune land to individual farming families. Farmers’ crops had to be sold to state at state-mandated
prices. Only a percentage was sold
to the state, the remainder could be sold to newly established ‘free markets’
in village – Contract Responsibility System
o Increase crop
production and rural incomes doubled
o By 1983, 98% of
country’s peasants had shifted to new system
o 1980s agricultural
production increase an average of 9% each year
o Rise of town and
township enterprises
o By 1989,
enterprises produced textiles, small electronics or component parts, and
plastics
o 25% run by women
whose financial contribution to family increased
o Arrival of
electricity
o The majority of
government-owned enterprises made little profit
o 1984 govenrment
granted autonomy to many state enterprises
o Over 400,000 such
organizations could now set wages and prices; profits could be reinvested to
upgrade equiptment or to offer workers bonuses
o Pressure on
unprofitable ventures grew to improve their products and cut losses
o Workers resisted
their iron rice bowl jobs – security, housing, medical care, pensions, and
other benefits from their employer, the state. Impossible to be fired, lateness and absence was frequent.
o Mid-1980s warned
enterprises making no profit would be shut down
o Govenrment lowered
tax on total revenue to 55% to 33%
o By 1990 54% of
industry remained state-owned
o To stimulate
economy in 1980 China secured first loans from IMF – upgrade machinery, and
establish manufacturing and industrial development
o Opened China
further to Western investment: the Special Economic Zones
o Four Southern
costal towns
o Advantage of these
areas for investors were considerable; 15% tax was waived for the first and
second years of profitability and exemption provided further incentive in the
third and firth years
o No import duties
were attached to production materials and equipment
o Authorized 14 costal cities to offer
special privilege to foreign investors as further sign of China’s desire to
stimulate growth of technology and international trade
How did Deng try and reform
the Communist Party?
o 1982 initiated plan
to encourage senior members to retire
o By 1986 1.8 million
did
o Sough to cleanse
the ranks; between 1983-1987 CCP expelled 150,000 cadres for various
wrongdoings
o Raise education
level of cadres
o 60% of part
membership bellow Politburo consisted of younger men and women with college
educations
o Still communist –
proclaiming Four Cardinal Principles: China remained committed to following
socialist road, China remained a ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ as it
continued toward Communism, CCP’s leadership was inviolate, claimed supremacy
of Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thought
What was the ‘one-child
policy’? Was it successful?
o Government’s
concern with burgeoning population in 1950 led to campaign for couples t have
fewer children
o 1970s campaign to
curtail population growth
o Asked families to
limit 3 children
o By 1977 dropped to
2
o Campaign successful
dropping fertility rate from 6 to 3 children per women
o 1980 marriage law
required use of birth control
o Campaigns goal was
one child per family – each area could establish rewards for compliance and
penalties for ignoring
o Forced late-term
abortions and abandonment of girls
o Undermining
national efforts to control population, however, was new economic system
o As China reverted
to family farms, the family became basic economic unit of countryside
o By reinforcing
patriarchal values of China, the family-planning policy undermined previous
efforts to improve status of women
o Did not have 100%
compliance
o Official population
growth fell 1.1
Why did the democracy
movement ultimately fail in China?
o Public calls for
greater changes in democratization
o Students posted
dazibao or Big Character liberalization
o Democracy Wall
became meeting place for students and urban residents to listen to speeches and
voice complaints about system
o 1978 posters
criticizing Deng – no action was taken to curtail movement
o Democracy movement
in 1979, new era
o Wei Jingsheng, a
young worker, called on Deng to institute a ‘Fifth Modernization’; democracy
o 1979 government
arrested Wei and accused him of crimes against the state
o Democracy wall wad
moved to remote and inaccessible part of Beijing
o ‘Four big Rights’
from constitution revoked; citizens no longer had the rights to speak freely,
air views fully, hold great debates, and write Big Character posters
o Quiet investigation
and detention of most active supporters of democracy movement
o Student
demonstrations at China University of Science and Technology drew over 17,000
people calling for greater reform
o 1989 government
announced new regulations for all college graduates required two years of
assigned labor before began career and 30% if graduating class was to accept
jobs assigned by government
o 1988 student
organizers circulated petition for wider reform
o Summer 1988 saw
demonstrations across cities in China
o June 1989 –
memorial service of Hu Yaobang quickly grew to demonstrations
o Students, workers,
and Bejing residents paraded the square, calling on government to institute
greater democracy and end growing corruption among officials
o Government ordered
marches to disperse, but supporters ignored
o 26 April 1989
government denounced students in official newspaper and labeled them
‘conspirators’
o Students continued
to rally, and demanded dialogue with top officials
o Bejing Spring
o 4 May 1989 – police
efforts to control the massive demonstration was ineffective
o In May Mikhail
Gorbachev was scheduled to arrive in Beijing as the first Russian leader since
1959 – historic visit would be covered by international press
o Students called a
hunger strike
o Prime Minister Li
Peng agreed to televised interview with students
o Central Committee
voted 20 May to impose martial law
o Students ignored
announcement and continued occupation of Tiananmen Square
o 3 June – troops
began coverage on Beijing
o June 4 – armed
units advanced on square, shooting random people
o Military secured
the square and China denounced the movement as ‘counter-revolutionary’ and
castigates against its leadership
o Government-controlled
media publicized the arrest warrants issued for student leaders and outspoken
critics
‘4
Modernisations’: goal of the CCP (originally put forward by Premier Zhou in
1970s: modernization of agriculture, industry, national defense, and science
and technology
Zhao
Ziyang:
former premier of China, hand-picked by Deng in 1980 and to reform the commune
system. Zhao’s introduction of the
contract responsibility system brought rapid agricultural expansion and helped
launch China’s economic revival
Contract
responsibility system: adopted in early 1980s, this system allowed
peasant-farmers to lease land and plant crops of their choice. Because of its successes in increasing
agricultural output, it replaced the commune system
Danwei: Chinese term for
work unit. In the Maoist era,
every worker belonged to a danwei which not only paid his salary, but also
provided healthcare, housing, childcare, and other services.
‘Iron
rice bowl’:
a term used to designate a permanent position that guaranteed the basic
livelihood of rice
Special
Economic Zones (SEZ): instituted by Deng to jump start economic economy,
these zones offered foreign investors generous terms in the form of tax relief
and low cost
Shenzhen: former village
across border of Hong Kong, made an SEZ in 1980; in the next two decades its
population grew to 4 million, including large, well trained workforce employed
by international corporations manufacturing a wide range of goods
Marriage
Law (1980):
revision of original law raised minimum age for marriage to 22 for males and 20
for females. It also required all
married couples to practice birth control
Democracy
Wall:
located in central Beijing in 1978, this wall was covered by Big Character
Posters in early years of democracy movement. After 1980, the wall was off limits.
Fifth
Modernisation: Democracy; students called for the addition of fifth modernization,
demanding government not only modernize industry and agriculture, but the
government itself.
Four
Big Rights:
in the 1978 Chinese constitution, the Chinese people were given the rights to
speak out freely, air views fully, hold greater debates, and write big
character posters. These were all revoked in 1980 as part of government efforts
to curtail emergent democracy movement.
Hu
Yaobang:
Secretary-General of CCP in 1980s.
In 1987 his support for student activists led to his dismissal from his
post. His death, from heart
attack, led to student demonstrations that marked the beginning of Beijing
Spring.
Beijing
Spring/Tiananmen Square: period of April, May, early June of 1989 when
student-led demonstrations in Beijing appeared to be pushing CCP toward
democracy
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