Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Montgomery compares that figure to the total population of the states of Alabama, Alaska,
Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.—every single person
dead within three years, thanks to one man's bad policies, which were compounded by a
year of inclement weather. It was the worst famine in the world's recorded history.
Following the disaster of the Great Leap Forward, the government lost confidence in
Mao, and he was forced to resign from his position as Head of State (though he still got
to keep his powerful position of Party Chairman). Moderates Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, and
Deng Xiaoping then took over the running of the country, and, in late 1960, the Great Leap
Forward was abandoned.
Like a cat with nine lives, however, Mao made a comeback in 1966, and this time it was
with an attack on what he believed were growing capitalist elements within the party and
country. It became known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, and it ran from 1966
to roughly the time of his death in 1976. The revolution's goal was to impose Maoist the-
ory and socialism on society. So-called “revisionists” were to be removed, through violence
if necessary. China's youths rallied to the cause and responded by forming the Red Guard.
The Red Guard went around attacking anything or anyone that represented the West, capit-
alism, religion, or old traditions. Any rivals were purged from the political system, and the
country's medical and educational systems were destroyed, along with its culture and many
of its religious and historical relics. An intense and pervasive sense of distrust developed
among the people. People were “outed” for alleged anti-socialist behaviors, and millions
were abused, tortured, publicly humiliated, and displaced.
Stability within China didn't really begin to take shape until two years after Mao's death,
when Deng Xiaoping took control in 1978. In 1980 he began a process of “reform and open-
ing up.” Though he never officially held office as the head of state, head of government, or
the general secretary of the CCP, Deng was the country's paramount leader until 1992 and
is greatly respected for the gains that he brought to the nation.
One smear on his glowing career, however, came in 1989, when the country was re-
minded that things were not yet completely open. For seven weeks, starting April 15, thou-
sands of students gathered at Tian'anmen Square, calling for economic reform, freedom of
the press, accountability of officials, and political liberalization. The government at first
offered some concessions, but when students wouldn't budge the military was called in and
on June 4 brutally suppressed the demonstration. No official figures were released, but re-
ports of the numbers killed range from many hundreds to several thousand, and even more
