Political Science

The Xinhai Revolution also known as the Revolution of 1911 totally brought the two thousand year dynasty to its end. The revolution was a big blow to Chinas condition and it caused several political commotions to arise. But the May Fourth Movement was the event that roused the birth of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It was led by thousands of students from Beijing. They rallied and protested against the Versailles Conference that will award Japan the leasehold of Shandong province. Soon the students elicited the same response from workers, businessmen, and students from other parts of the country. After the historical May Fourth Movement, another event shook the mending state of Chinathe Japanese invasion. The Japanese occupation of China began at 1931 causing numerous resistance wars that killed thousands of people Japan surrendered in 1945. One of the early leaders of CCP was Mao Zedong. He fought in the Xinhai Revolution and became an important figure in the rise of the CCP to the government. He overthrew Chiang Kai-shek who was then the leader of Kuomintang. Mao is a Marxist and he applied it in his leadership. The mass consisted of the nationalists intellectuals, peasants and workers participated well in Maos endeavors for the country. Gaining the support of the mass, Mao brought the CCPs power to the peak.

Maos revision of Marxism can be observed through his reliance on the peasants rather than the industrial workers. He empowered the peasants by delegating them as the forefronts of revolution. Mao focused on the needs and grievances of the underprivileged people who were oppressed by the warlords. He also stressed political volunteerism that means only our human will is capable of achieving social change and not through reliance on material changes. The use of propagandas, campaign, and ideologies like the Little Red Book and the banding of the Red Guards and the so-called Cult of Mao are some examples. Another manifestation of Maos adaptation of Marxism is the mass-line. He states that  the right way to lead is from the masses to the masses which means that leaders should listen and understand the concerns of the masses, concentrate and study about it until they can produce a systematic and complete idea, and disseminate it to the masses until they accept it wholeheartedly and bring those ideas into life.

The Great Leap Forward aims to solve Chinas economic problems by utilizing the countrys dense population through intensive labor. But the campaign was hastily executed, leaving ample rooms for errors. A series of natural disasters followed the campaign including the degradation of agriculture. It was the primary cause of the largest famine in Chinese history.  The GLF also caused the Soviets to withdraw their support from China. In the Cultural Revolution however, violence was rampant as the Red Guards who were banded by Mao went to numerous rebellious bouts. Because of this, the country faced another struggle to end the large number of deaths. The Red Guards were also held responsible for the destruction of ancient artifacts. The economy struggled because of the 12 decline in industrial production. Social life and entertainment were also condemned. The cult of Mao was extremely felt during the revolution where Maos ideas are to be exalted.

The concept of fragmented authoritarianism is very important if we are to analyze Chinese politics today. Mao Zedong stands as the reference point of the height of communism in China. His attempts to establish Chinas growth had led to deaths, disorders, and destruction. Leaders worldwide have learned from Maos ideologies. An example to this is Maos successor, Deng Xiaoping, who abandoned most of the orthodox communist doctrines and became an effective reformist by free-market economic system.
The February 28 Incident in Taiwan serves as a reminder to all the Taiwanese people of the inhumane and unjust treatment of the authority to the citizens. The insurgency that day started when a woman who sells smuggled cigarettes died at the feet of a policeman when he hit her on the head with his revolver. More people were killed as the case goes along. But the people in Taiwan did not surrender from searching justice. Taiwan became a democratic country because of the brave and courageous people who emancipates their rights. The February 28 Incident caused the people to form a movement towards Taiwans independence.

The land reform occurred when the Kuomintang took control of Taiwan after its defeat by the Chinese Communist Party in 1949. The Kuomintang redistributed the lands to solve economic problems and to carry out Sun Yat Sens economic strategies. The land reform served as a starter of the industrialization phase.

Aside from the February 28 Incident, there were several incidents that followed in the 1970-1980 that made people create movements to attain democracy. The following incidents are the Chungli Incident of 1977 where the supporters of the Hsu Hsin-Liang, a former candidate for magistrate in Taoyuan County rioted when he was defeated. It was followed by the Formosa Magazine Incident of 1979, considered as the force that moved Taiwan to democracy. The said incident took place on December 10, 1979 where the celebration of the Human Rights day closed with disruption when the police incited violence over the peaceful mob. The incident deemed to be fruitful when Chiang Ching-kuo lifted the 50 year old martial law.