Review Unit #17B: Communism in China/Other Areas

COMMUNISM IN CHINA

The Chinese Republic:    

• the government of China before communism came to power  
• it had replaced the dynasties in China (they were letting too many foreigners in)
• it was begun by Sun Yixian  After he died, Jaing Jieshi replaced him as head of the Nationalists

Rise of Communism;

• Communism was attractive to the peasant classes (the same as in Russia!)
• Communism in China was led by Mao Zedong
• The Nationalists defended their rule from the Communists in the Chinese Civil War
• Mao led the Communists on The Long March
  1. to train as fighters   
  2. to learn Communism    
  3. to recruit supporters
• the war stopped as Japan invaded during WWII  after, Communists win (peasant support)
• China became Communist (People’s Republic of China) the Nationalists fled to Taiwan

Mao’s China:

• Great Leap Forward:  Mao’s attempt to improve the economy in China  it failed
• Cultural Revolution:  Mao’s attempt to strengthen Communism in China  it failed
  (Red Guard [Student supporters], Little Red Book, anti-intellectuals)

Deng’s China:

• Deng Xiaoping replaced Mao Zedong  -  he saw China needed to change from Mao’s strict ways to survive
• Deng introduced economic reforms  but NOT political changes
  • allow some private ownership (capitalism)     
  • some foreign companies in China
• Deng crushed a student demonstration against Communism in Tiananmen Square

Recent China:  

• today China is run by Hu Jintao (2003)
• Hong Kong was given back to China from Great Britain in 1997 (it’s capitalist ways influence China)
• a major focus of China is to reduce the population growth rate (they try to limit families to 1 child)

COMMUNISM IN OTHER PLACES

Korea:

• North was Communist – South was not
• Korean War: North invaded the South
• South supported by the United Nations
• neither side won (stalemate)

Vietnam:

• Vietnam had been a French colonial possession 
• Under Ho Chi Minh the French were driven out
• The French divided Vietnam before they left:  North was communist—South not
• the South was supported by the United States—unsuccessfully. North won

Cuba:

• had been a Spanish colony—turned over to the U.S. after Spanish American War—became an American play land (1950’s)
• &Communist rebels led by Fidel Castro took over and made Cuba communist (1959)
• Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviets put nuclear missiles in Cuba (1962) America demanded their removal
• the closest the world has come to a nuclear war  (US vs. USSR)
• Fidel Castro still runs communist Cuba—its failing economy leads some to believe communism may not last there