Post-Revolutionary Period 1977 --> 90

1977 Hua Guofeng introduced a version of the 4 Modernisations as part of a 10 Year Plan --> called for greater industrial emphasis --> resulted in the est. of many large-scale industrial projects, somewhat beyond China’s financial and material capacity --> led to Hua’s political demise

1977/8 Deng Xiaoping reinstated --> he questioned the ‘leftist’ idea of blindly following ‘Mao Zedong thought’ without seeking truth or integrating theory with practice --> the Democracy Wall was put up in Beijing and called for a 5th Modernisation - democracy --> those that pointed out China’s lack of democracy were named ‘counter-revolutionaries’ and imprisoned --> pro-democracy movements were dealt with harshly

1979 Household Responsibility System --> formed to replace all communes and previous systems --> land remained public but each household was given a plot for cultivation and these could now be inherited --> a portion of produce was to be sold to the gov. for a set price, the rest could be sold or kept by the farmer --> purchase of customer goods (better homes, furniture, TVs) and the standard of living rose --> income and productivity increased --> less workers needed on farms so many moved to cities - however, there was little work their either so many ended up living in slums --> rich-poor gap re-emerged

1979 Economic Reform Program --> aimed to modernize China and eliminate economic imbalances --> Special Economic Zones set up to carry out special econ. policies under special econ. management --> within a few years the zones had est. the infrastructure and facilities for investors and an exporting economy --> Deng said ‘when you open the door, a few flies get in’ --> changes to China included an inflow of western ideas, cultures and goods; a booming economy; a re-emergence of the rich-poor gap and an increase in demands for freedom of political speech

1979 One Child Policy --> introduced to alleviate social, economic and environmental problems in China --> caused an increase in forced abortions and female infanticide --> parents with multiple children weren’t given the same benefits as those with one child

1980/1 Zhao Ziyang became Premier A resolution was passed on CCP history, admitting that the Party (and Mao) had made mistakes due to a lack of experience

1982-87 Hu Yaobang became the General-Secretary of the CCP --> his open contempt for ‘Maoist excesses’ and previous support for the pro-democracy movement made him the perfect scapegoat for Deng Xiaoping --> he was forced to submit a humiliating self-criticism and resign (1987)

1989 Hu Yaobang died --> students gathered to demand a reversal of the verdicts against him --> they began a hunger strike which won a great deal of public support --> they continued their previous pro-democracy movements, the largest of which occurred at Tianenmen Square in Beijing - they were joined by urban workers who had been alarmed by new econ. reform, rising inflation and corruption --> protests were no longer just pro-democracy but anti-government

1989 Zhao Ziyang, the CCP General-Secretary, who was sympathetic to the movement, was ostracised from the CCP and failed to prevent the introduction of martial law --> May 20 - PLA troops attempted to reach the Square but were stopped by citizens and urban workers --> the troops opened fire on the unarmed crowd --> although called the Tianenmen Square Incident, most casualties occurred in the surrounding streets

1990 China was a society divided The people lost faith in their government Human rights were non-existent Gov wanted to modernise the economy but not the system that ran it

THEnd The post-revolutionary society did not reflect the ideology of the revolution itself - China had become capitalist again, the government controlled everything and human rights were non-existent, and there was a huge divide between the rich and poor.