Hypocrisy In China's Consolidation of Power

While looking at the various stages of the Chinese Revolution, I noticed multiple instances in which the government contradicted its self in an attempt to either gain or hold on to power. First, I noticed how Mao Tse-tung encouraged revolution and rebellion as a way to gain power, but at the same time poured much of his effort as ruler into suppressing rebellion in order to secure power. A Red Guard manifesto states that, "Revolution is rebellion, and rebellion is the soul of Mao Tse-tung's thought." (McKay, 984) Tse-tung encourages rebellion in a Red Guard manifesto; however, the Red Guard was set up to suppress the very thing that it "supported". Mao Tse-tung encouraged people to speak out and rebell against all who opposed the current regime, yet, during Great Cultural Revolution and the establishment of the Red Guard, put a great amount of effort into restricting all opposition to and rebellion against his absolutist government. Today, China still puts a huge amount of effort into censoring its media and suppressing all attempts of rebellion, examples of which include the Tiananmen Square massacre and the attempts to hide it from the public, and the current-day censorship of the internet.

Another example of hypocrisy within the Chinese government is the self-claimed "Communist" government's transition to an essentially capitalist society. When Deng Xioaping ended collectivization of agriculture and encouraged "dare to be rich", the Chinese government completely contradicted the fundamental communist principles that initially brought it to power, and compromised its core beliefs in not only a realization of how to achieve economic success in the new-age economy, but more importantly an attempt to consolidate power over China via economic success. From these examples of hypocrisy, I can conclude that in order to maintain a strong hold over a country, governments need to constantly change their policies to fit the needs of the current world in which they rule. Although the changes in China can be viewed as simple reform, to me, the fact that they so blatantly contradict previous policies was an unofficial recognition of the failure of communism. By drastically contradicting its earlier standpoints, the Chinese government unofficially admitted the failure of its initial policies, and, in its failure to acknowledge its mistakes, used hypocrisy as a way by which to consolidate power over China.

image- http://theclick.us/2009/06/behind-the-scenes-tank-man-of-tiananmen/

Will & Jeremy's Life in 1955 China Post

Dear Diary,
My name is Xiao Hun. I am a 30 year old woman, with a husband and 8 year old son, who lives on a farm just outside of Beijing. Recently, Chairman Mao has made new plans for our country. He has taken away many civil rights from the people, and nationalized all agriculture. Now, my family and I must work very hard to please Chairman Mao with all the grain that he demands. Mao has also started plans to industrialize our country, similar to the Soviet's 5 Year Plan. He plans to follow in the Soviet's footsteps to lead our country into the future. Although Mao has taken away many of our rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of the press, he recognizes women's rights, and is making strides towards equality between men and women. He tells all women to be strong, and encourages us to fight in the army, and rebel against non-revolutionaries. There are some setbacks to living under Mao's rule, he is a great leader with good intentions, and although life is hard, Mao helps my family and I prosper and live happy lives.

Life In China-1967

Dear diary,

My name in Guang Xiao Hong and I grew up and still live in Beijing. I am 20 years old, and work in a small factory next to my dormitory. Revolution is brewing in my city, and I intend to be a part of it. Chairman Mao has told us common people to work together and overcome all of our society's problems. Many of my friends have been chosen to go to war to protect our country, and same of the remaining workers here fear the same fate. But I follow the teachings of our great leader, who said “When we die for the people, it is a worthy death." (“Serve the People,” speech from Mao Zedong on September 8^th, 1944). Every day, local bureaucrats try to assert their authority, but my friends and I listen to Mao and maintain revolutionary spirit to better our country. Chairman Mao tells us, "Marxism consists of thousands of truths, but these truths can be summarized in the statement: It is right to rebel!” (Mao Zedong’s speech on December 20^th, 1939). I know that it is right to rebel against non-revolutionary forces, but I will never oppose our great leader, Chairman Mao. Long live Chairman Mao and the revolutionary people of China!

-Will & Jeremy

Why Ghandi's Practices Work or Don't Work

Ghandi's methods of non-violent protesting, such as satygraha, rely on the willingness of authority to cooperate with protesters. What promotes authority to bend to the will of protesters practicing satyagraha is the authority's public image, and how it will be affected by their reaction to protests. In India, satyagraha forced the British government to change the way it ruled India because the British government was worried about its international image. If the British refused to cooperate with protesters, they would be perceived as a cruel absolutist government that didn't care about its people. However, non-violent protesting might not always work the way in which it did in India. With a government that pays little attention to what the rest of the world thinks of it, for example, Muammar Gaddafi's absolutist regime in Libya, satyagraha or any other method of non-violent protesting will not work. The current Revolution in Libya began with non-violent protests, which were quickly smothered by the government's use of violence. While the UN-enforced no-fly zone over Libya, put into effect of March 17th, caused Gaddafi forces to stop firing on civilians, it failed to convince Gaddafi to step down. While the situation in Libya is extreme, it is an instance in which force, rather than non-violent protesting, seems to work best in accomplishing a goal. Ghandi's non-violent practices can and will be successful in most cases; however, there are rare cases, when a government refuses to cooperate, during which force can be applied to more effectively accomplish a goal.

*Picture- a group of Libyan protesters fleeing violent Gaddafi troops

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/04/libya-uprising-gaddafi-live