Mao's Maintainence of Power

Mao Zedong is one of the most influential people in Chinese history and is often known as the creator of modern China. Many historians have argued that the radical changes made by Mao liberated China and led to the prosperity while many argued that Mao caused one of the greatest damage to a civilization in world history. The success and failures of Mao Zedong as a political leader would be analyzed in this essay.

Mao Zedong’s regime as leader was met with little resistance and he was successful in controlling his oppositions. First of all, Mao was able to successfully suppress all oppositions against him. Michael Lynch stated that Mao was able to crush the Tibetan resistance within six months and the PLA detachments had imposed Communist control all over the region of Xinjiang by 1951. This swift assertion of its military power enabled the CCP to direct its attention to administrative reform and social construction. Furthermore, in 1949, there were over ten identifiable political parties in China but by 1952, under Mao’s rule they have been destroyed in a set of repressive moves leaving the CCP the only party in China. In addition, Mao’s position as chairman of the Chinese Communist party gave him the power to influence the political structure of the party and thereby giving him the opportunity to exercise the administrative power granted to him and transforming it into political power. Mao was able to maintain his power by placing members who were loyal and had shared experiences of the Long March and Chinese Civil War in high positions. This guaranteed his influence would spread throughout the party and allowing his power to influence party decisions and the running of party activities. In addition, he was able to integrate his own personal interests into the party’s actions manifesting the removal of members he perceived as being a direct threat and ordering their persecution . Therefore, Mao could preserve his power with his presence dominating the...