Talk:Three-anti and Five-anti Campaigns

Anonymous contrib.
I am the "anonymous" contributor (I always forget to log into this damned thing) that added the expert flag a minute ago. If no one objects and if no one comes by with a better edit or suggestion in a few days or so, I'm going to gut the article and turn it back into a stub.

As it stands, I'm afraid the information we've got here is worse than nothing. --Roman à clef 16:12, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Gutted text
I gutted the article and moved its text here. Chinese history is hardly my strong suit -- please help me fix this. --Roman à clef 18:29, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Original text on page
The “Three Anti Campaign” and “Five Anti Campaign”

The suppression of reactionaries and the land reform mainly affected the countryside, while the subsequent “Three Anti Campaign” and “Five Anti Campaign” (also called the "Three-striking campaign" and "Five-striking campaign") could be regarded as the corresponding genocide in cities.

The “Three Anti Campaign” began in December 1951 and targeted corruption, waste and bureaucracy. Some corrupt CCP officials were executed. Soon afterwards, CCP attributed the corruption of its government officials to temptation by capitalists. Accordingly, the “Five Anti Campaign,” against bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheating on government contracts, and espionage of state economic information, was launched in January 1952.

The “Five Anti Campaign” was essentially the taking of property and even life from the capitalists. Chen Yi, the mayor of Shanghai at that time, was debriefed on the sofa with a cup of tea in hand every night. He would ask leisurely, “How many are airborne today?” meaning, “How many businessmen jumped out of high buildings to commit suicide?” None of the capitalists could escape the “Five Anti Campaign.” They were required to pay taxes “evaded” as early as Guangxu Period (1875-1908) in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when the Shanghai commercial market was initially established. The capitalists could not possibly afford to pay such “taxes” even with all their resources. They had no choice but to end their lives, but they didn’t dare to jump into the Huangpu River, because if their bodies could not be found, the government would accuse them of fleeing to Hong Kong, and their family members would still be held responsible for the taxes. The capitalists instead jumped from tall buildings, leaving a corpse so that the CCP could see proof of their death. People didn’t dare to walk next to tall buildings in Shanghai during that period for fear of being crushed by people jumping from the windows.

According to Facts of the Political Campaigns after the Founding of the People’s Republic of China co-edited by four departments including the CCP History Research Center in 1996, during the “Three Anti Campaign” and “Five Anti Campaign,” more than 323,100 people were arrested and over 280 committed suicide or disappeared. In the “Anti-Hu Fang campaign” in 1955, over 500 were arrested, over 60 committed suicide, and 12 died from unnatural causes. In the ensuing suppression of the reactionaries, over 21,300 people were executed, and over 4,300 committed suicide or disappeared.

What the Antis were
According to my source, Michael Lynch's "The People's Republic of China since 1949" the 3 antis were waste, corruption and inefficiency, rather than waste, corruption and bureaucracy. Yes I realise there's a source listed there for bureaucracy, but I think it needs to be confirmed as to which is correct. Note that Lynch quotes Mao as saying that one of the general objectives of the campaign was to destroy the "Bureaucratic capitalist class," so this may be where the inconsistency comes from. Also, Lynch's 5 antis list industrial sabotage and fraud instead of 'cheating on government contracts' and 'stealing state economic information.' The other 3 are consistent. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.243.99.2 (talk) 09:09, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

Checked this in a document from author of 'Red Star Over China' given to my school history teacher. Bureaucracy was correct. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.219.254.130 (talk) 04:12, 17 October 2009 (UTC)