China celebrated its 70th anniversary today as the People’s Republic of China(PRC). Over 100K people performed in the event including 15K military personnel.
The celebration started with a parade and a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping who said, “There is no force that can shake the foundation of this great nation”.
A large portion of the parade showed off 160 aircraft and 580 pieces of military equipment. China also decided to show off its new DF-41 missile which they believe is the most powerful missile on the planet.
The People’s Republic of China was founded 70 years ago and is a Communist-run Government.
The first ruler of the People’s Republic of China was Mao Zedong who was known for implementing his grandiose idea called, “The Great Leap Forward” in 1958.
According to Mao Zedong, the goal of the Great Leap Forward was to turn the country from a crop and farming society into a more socialized one. Although the Great Leap Forward only lasted from 1958-1962 it was considered the most disastrous policy ever introduced to China. The policy resulted in the deaths of over 50 million people.
In 1966 Mao Zedong introduced the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution later renamed the Cultural Revolution with the goal of preserving Chinese Communism. The policy was known for damaging China politically and economically. The policy resulted in the deaths of over 1 million people.
The policies under Mao Zedong came to an end in after his death in 1976 and in 1981 China stated that the policies under the Cultural Revolution were, “responsible for the most severe setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the Party, the country, and the people since the founding of the People’s Republic”.
Deng Xiaoping ruled as the paramount leader starting in 1978 and began a policy of Chinese economic reform referred to also as the policy of “Opening of China”. The first part of the new policy, which started in the late 1970s, opened the country to foreign investors, collective and communal farming, and the encouragement of entrepreneurship. The second part of the new policy, which started in the late 1980s, involved the lifting of regulations, price controls protectionist policies and the contracting out of industries.
Xiaoping also introduced a two-consecutive-term limit policy in 1982 to avoid China being put under limitless Authoritarian rule by a leader whose policies are failing.
The policies implemented under Deng resulted in lower poverty, increases in standards of living, creation of an urban middle class, increased personal rights, increased freedoms and increased wealth.
The new leader of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, who took over the party in 2012, has rolled back many of the reforms(including removing term limits) that were implemented by Deng Xiaoping. There is now global fear that China will once again slide into a similar situation it was in before Deng Xiaoping ruled the party.
