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s, icy rivers, swampy marshes, and Kuomintang forces would leave only a handful alive at the end. The Long March had begun. It would end in 1949, the same time the Peoples Republic of China was formed. Mao had come out on top through extraordinary means. However, the civil war was not quite over. While living in Taiwan, Chiang was still getting backing from the United States and again took the title of President in 1950.
Mao recognized, however, that he would need to set up a government immediately in order to support the close to a billion people living in China. He then turned to the Soviet Union for financial help. Mao went on to create the Great Cultural Revolution: an effort to get China up to the status a major world power. This was a major motivating force for Mao until his death in 1976 (Long March, 22-165). Deng Xiaoping eventually emerged as the paramount leader in 1978, and promptly launched his economic reform program. One of the most significant developments in recent history was the death of Deng, on February 19, 1997.
While he has not been active in politics for some time and has not appeared in public for more than three years, the deaths of senior leaders has always had an unsettling impact on Chinese politics (China). On the other hand, Deng retired in 1989 and he placed Jiang Zemin in the powerful post of chairman of the Central Military Commission. In 1993 Jiang was named president of China. Jiangs policy, like that of his mentor, is to effect market reforms while keeping the country politically and socially conservative(Profiles).
That is going to be difficult though with Hong Kong having been returned to China on June 1, 1997. President Jiang Zemin himself will preside as the motherland reclaims a piece of itself, instantly replacing the councils and crown symbols of British rule with the new authority of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. If only it were that simple. The people of Hong Kong embrace neither of these extremes. They share pride in the reunification of China, and they harbor some misgivings about their new landlords, but theyre ready to give their new system a chance. The west is casting a skeptical eye, however.
But if Beijing wants to be welcomed into the community of nations with the stature its size and wealth ought to command, China will have to convince the west that it is ready and able to live by the worlds new rules (Handover). With the Soviet Union no longer in existence, the worlds countries are turning their attention to the last major communist nation that has influence. China will have to tread lightly, especially now with the return of a valuable port that was the refuge for millions of democratic citizens. China has promised a “one country, two systems” policy, but that is only drawing more criticism.
Communism can no longer grow, it can only mature. However, the maturing process is turning it into more of a capitalist country. Bibliography Salisbury, Harrison E. The Soviet Union: The Fifty Years.
New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1967. At the beginning of Harrison Salisburys book, he includes a complete timeline from the first bread riots to 1967. It is a very concise book that also gave me a greater understanding of the complexity of the situation in Russia. Rieber, Alfred J.
A Study of the U.S.S.R. and Communism: An Historical Approach. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1962. This book provided a very clear background of the influence of Marxism on Russian Communism.
It also gave a good reliable background as to the line of rulers that came to power. Kaiser, Robert G. Russia: The People and the Power. New York: Atheneum, 1976.
I gained knowledge of the peoples perception of communism through this book. It provided me deeper insight and information on the rulers. Lawson, Don. The Long March.
New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1983. This was my main source for information on Chariman Mao and the Long March. It enabled me to get a better feel for what the Chinese that endured the Long March went through.
The information about Chairman Mao was especially helpful. Cable News Network Inc. “CNN Plus: Newsmaker Profiles.” 1997. http://cnnplus.cnn.com/resources/newsmakers/world/ asia/jiang.html This web site gave me good background information on Jiang Zemin and the way in which he achieved his current position in the Chinese government.
Frankenstein, Paul. “The Birth of Modern China.” 1997. http://asterius.com/china/china4.html This web site was able to give me excellent information on the change of power within the Chinese government and the death of Deng Xiaoping. McGeary, Johanna. “The Big Handover.” 1997. http://www.pathfinder.com/time/hongkong/politics/p article12/12particle1.html From this site, I gained valuable information as to the current viewpoints and public opinion of the handover of Hong Kong back to China.
“Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.” Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Vers. 7.0. Boston: Grolier, 1995. I got all of the recent information concerning Russia and the U.S.S.R.
from this source. It had valuable information as to the last few moments of the communist regime. Marx, Karl. Capital. New York: The Modern Library, 1906.
This book provided me with direct information from the person that influenced the spread of communism to China and Russia. Sowell, Thomas. Marxism. New York: William, Morrow and Company Inc., 1985. This book provided me with excellent critiques of Marxs theories and system of beliefs.
It enabled me to get a deeper understanding of what Marx was thinking of. Bibliography Salisbury, Harrison E. The Soviet Union: The Fifty Years. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1967.
At the beginning of Harrison Salisburys book, he includes a complete timeline from the first bread riots to 1967. It is a very concise book that also gave me a greater understanding of the complexity of the situation in Russia. Rieber, Alfred J. A Study of the U.S.S.R. and Communism: An Historical Approach. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1962.
This book provided a very clear background of the influence of Marxism on Russian Communism. It also gave a good reliable background as to the line of rulers that came to power. Kaiser, Robert G. Russia: The People and the Power. New York: Atheneum, 1976.
I gained knowledge of the peoples perception of communism through this book. It provided me deeper insight and information on the rulers. Lawson, Don. The Long March. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1983.
This was my main source for information on Chariman Mao and the Long March. It enabled me to get a better feel for what the Chinese that endured the Long March went through. The information about Chairman Mao was especially helpful. Cable News Network Inc. “CNN Plus: Newsmaker Profiles.” 1997.
http://cnnplus.cnn.com/resources/newsmakers/world/ asia/jiang.html This web site gave me good background information on Jiang Zemin and the way in which he achieved his current position in the Chinese government. Frankenstein, Paul. “The Birth of Modern China.” 1997. http://asterius.com/china/china4.html This web site was able to give me excellent information on the change of power within the Chinese government and the death of Deng Xiaoping.
McGeary, Johanna. “The Big Handover.” 1997. http://www.pathfinder.com/time/hongkong/politics/p article12/12particle1.html From this site, I gained valuable information as to the current viewpoints and public opinion of the handover of Hong Kong back to China. “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.” Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.
Vers. 7.0. Boston: Grolier, 1995. I got all of the recent information concerning Russia and the U.S.S.R. from this source.
It had valuable information as to the last few moments of the communist regime. Marx, Karl. Capital. New York: The Modern Library, 1906. This book provided me with direct information from the person that influenced the spread of communism to China and Russia. Sowell, Thomas.
Marxism. New York: William, Morrow and Company Inc., 1985. This book provided me with excellent critiques of Marxs theories and system of beliefs. It enabled me to get a deeper understanding of what Marx was thinking of.
