Manchu People's Republic

The Manchu People's Republic (: '; : ') was a that was the predecessor of modern day Manchuria. It was created in 1946 following the Soviet invasion and occupation of the   and the unrecognised short lived Second Manchu Republic, with independence being negotiated by members of the Communist Party of Manchuria led by Xu Xiaobao after the signing of the Manchu-Soviet Treaty of Friendship.

Following the Soviet withdrawal a communist government was established with Xu at its head. In accordance with Stalinist principles the new government created a  whilst implementing collectivisation, nationalisation and literacy campaigns. Power was monopolised into the communist party's hands with the First Secretary being the de facto dictator of Manchuria. In 1948 a massive purge known as the Red Terror was launched by the Shūjìchù (the ) which saw around 1 million people killed or sent to reeducation or prison camps. In 1950 with Manchurian launched the  against  which resulted in military disaster for Manchuria. The signing of the Tianjin Agreement forced Manchuria to cede a portion of its territory to which resulted in Xu Xiaobao being ousted by Qian Yiu-tong.

Under Qian Manchuria embarked on the Black River Protocol a variant of that tried to transform Manchuria into a regional power. The cult of personality was dismantled as Manchuria militarised its society and embarked on a nuclear weapons program. There was also a campaign of of  people and culture as part of a Manchunisation policy. Most infamously thousands of Han Chinese were deported to China in the so-called Great Exchange. In there 1970's there was tepid economic reform as less focus was placed on heavy industry and more on consumer goods and light industry as Manchuria became more interventionist in the third world. There was also some cultural relaxation in the Zhongshan Movement led by Wan Shuangjiang which was ended in the Anti-Reactionary Campaign that purged the party of moderates and reformers. In 1979 the October Crisis broke out which almost saw an escalation into nuclear war, weakening an ailing Qian and giving rise to reformist Tao Shiyou. In 1981 Qian died resulting in Tao Shiyou consolidating his position as paramount leader.

Under Tao some liberal reforms were made under so-called New Communism which Manchuria opening up to the west. Nevertheless as economic problems increased during the 1980's repression tightened as factionalism became more pronounced. In 1989 following the in Eastern Europe the Orchid Revolution broke out in Manchuria with the Popular Front for Democracy and Revolution led by former communist Du Changhao demanding political liberalisation. After weeks of protests Tao was ousted and his replacement Yuan Xiang finally announced it would hold democratic elections. In both the premierial and constituent assembly elections the Popular Front won overwhelming resulting in the dissolution of the Manchu People's Republic in 1990 with it being replaced with the Third Manchu Republic.

Politics
Manchuria along with the and the  was a  based upon the principles of. Fundamentally an, the Manchu People's Republic was a with its ruling political organisation being the Democratic Front for Socialism, which was dominated and run entirely by the Communist Party of Manchuria (CPM). The was the Premier of the National Democratic Council led an  cabinet known as the National Democratic Council which consists of Premier and ministers (known as Secretaries) who led government departments known as Orgburos. However, real power rested in the leader of the CPM, known as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Manchuria who was by default also the leader of the Democratic Front for Socialism. The First Secretary was also the Chairman of the Central Military Commission which controlled the army, making them the de facto commander in chief. The CPM and the Manchurian government were practically interchangeable, with the party controlling all aspects of Manchuria, leading to political scientists to characterise the Manchu People's Republic as being and.

Originally Manchurian politics revolved around a strict ideology, but in 1954 First Secretary Qian Yiu-tong laid down a series of policies collectively known as the Black River Protocol, a form of  that sought to transform Manchuria into a regional power in the. in nature the Black River Protocol saw a dismantling of the as well as some economic concessions made, whilst also leading to the development of nuclear weapons and the  of Han Chinese people. In 1981 Qian's successor Tao Shiyou introduced New Communism which saw economic reforms be carried out as well as a relaxing of cultural controls and a with the.

The Premier of the National Democratic Council was the de jure head of state and government. The National Democratic Council was the executive branch of government, appointed by the Premier who was elected until 1983 by the legislature known as the People's Supreme Assembly. Both the Premier and the National Democratic Council were responsible to the Assembly who had the power to remove them in a vote of no confidence. Members of the National Democratic Council led government department known as "Organisational Bureaus" (commonly referred to abroad as "Orgburo"). The Premier had the official declare war, dissolve the Supreme National Assembly (with judicial support), ratify treaties, grant pardons, and exercise executive power. In 1983 Premier Tao Shiyou carried out constitutional change that had the Premier elected directly by the general populace, although members of the National Democratic Council were still picked from the People's Supreme Assembly. The People's Supreme Assembly was a unicameral legislature, comprising of 685 members who were formally elected from one of the organisation who made up the Democratic Front for Socialism, with the CPM retaining the majority of seats.

The Democratic Front for Socialism was dominated by the CPM, but included several minor parties. These included the Manchu Revolutionary National Congress (a split off from the original organisation of the same name), Party of Agrarian Reform and Korean People's Socialist Party. There were also several mass organisation represented in the Democratic Front for Socialism such as the Manchu Trade Union Federation, Young Communist League, National Women's Congress, Manchurian Cultural Confederation and the Manchu-Comecon Co-operation Society. Nevertheless, the CPM remained in firm control of the Front with thee organisations having little autonomy.

In practice however the Premier, National Democratic Council and People's Supreme Assembly were all considered to be a rubber stamping bodies with the Communist Party's apparatus being the real centre of power. Organised on the principles of, the highest governing body of the CPM was the Central Committee which consisted of 56 members chosen at the party presidium. The Central Committee officially approved of all executive and legislative decisions within the party. The Central Committee often makes the senior decisions within the party, and in theory dominates the political system. The members of the Central Committee were elected at the party's presidium which convened every five years to elect the Central Committee. The Presidium was made up of delegates from each local party branch, but was largely a ceremonial body with little power. When the Central Committee was not in session the Standing Committee stood in its place. The Standing Committee consisted of 23 of the Central Committee's members and was led by a Chairman appointed by the Politburo, who oversaw the Standing Committee's actions. After the politburo the Standing Committee was the most powerful organ of government.

The party's Politburo held de facto control of the party and thus the government as a whole, with the Central Committee in practice being too unwieldy an institution to govern through. Consisting of 8 senior party cadres, the Politburo set the policy within the party making the executive decisions from within the party. The Secretariat was the other centre of power and had the power to observe and administrate governmental institutions, although it officially only had power over the CPM. The head of the politburo and secretariat was the First Secretary of the CPM, who appointed the members of the party and the politburo as well as controlling the secretariat. As such the First Secretary effectively functioned as the leader of the Manchu People's Republic having a monopoly of government power.

Elections
Local elections for party representatives were held every two years, with all citizens over the age of 18 allowed to vote unless they are incarcerated or deemed mentally unstable. Every five years elections are held for the People's Supreme Assembly. Ballots listed only the candidate of the Democratic Front for Socialism. Voting was not a private process - there were two boxes people placed ballots in, one for the Democratic Front for Socialism's candidate and one for invalid votes which were inspected when they were cast. If one put their vote in the invalid box they could face serious repercussions (eg. demotion in their profession).

Law
The judicial branch of the Manchu People's Republic was based upon the with the Judicial Yuan functioned as the  of Manchuria. Unlike other communist countries the Supreme Court could not be overruled by the legislature. The leader of the Judicial Yuan was the Procurator General. The People's Courts functioned as both the civilian and criminal courts in Manchuria. Manchurian law dictated by the People's Supreme Assembly and was not a separate branch of the government. Judges are picked from within party ranks, and are generally hold more sway in trials then juries. Members of the jury must hold no criminal records and not be acquainted with the accused. Juries mainly existed to rubber stamp the decisions made by the court. The Constitution of the Manchu People's Republic defined that the courts of Manchuria must ensure loyalty to the state, the overseeing of the abolishment of private property, and erosion of the class structure. There was little focus upon with  being the primary obligation the state provided.

Human rights
The Constitution of the Manchu People's Republic officially granted, , and. However, in reality these rights were rarely if ever observed. Manchuria was known for having one of the worst human rights records in the world - according to Manchu dissident Hua Jieshi the communist regime engaged in "systematic brutalisation" of its citizens mainly performed by the known as the Shūjìchù. The jailing and torture of political prisoners was extremely common as was extra-judicial executions. The human rights record was propagated partly because of the influence of but also as a nationalist method of legitimising the Manchu state, being a continuation of the  pursued under Zhao Guangping.

Human rights were at their worse between 1946-54 under the rule of Xu Xiaobao who launched the Red Terror in 1946. The Red Terror saw thousands purged as "counter-revolutionary rightists" with many being sent to be either tortured through "reeducation" or to prison camps. Prison camps in Manchuria were notorious for their poor conditions and harsh punishments for prisoners who often performed hard labour. Many died of malnutrition or of the cold. The Red Terror was ended in 1948, but severe repression continued throughout communist rule. Following Xu's ousting in 1954 and the rise of Qian Yiu-tong the Shūjìchù were brought under control having been autonomous from the CPM under Xu. In 1967 the Zhongshan Movement was launched which saw a gradual liberalisation of culture and the economy with some censorship controls being lifted. However in 1976 the Zhongshan Movement was crushed in the Anti-Reactionary Campaign which saw a huge purge of party moderates. Under Tao Shiyou censorship was tightened but the Shūjìchù was weakened, with mass terror campaigns being discontinued.

Censorship was used extensively in the Manchu People's Republic, with all media having to be approved by the Committee of Public Information. All independent journalism was banned with foreign journalists rarely if ever allowed in the country. All those who did not conform to the state's censorship standards were punished. There was no fair trials in Manchuria with courts being rubber stamping bodies that approved of sentences sometimes before a trial even began. Cultural oppression in Manchuria was exercised in a Manchunisation mainly towards people who made up the overwhelming majority of the population. Attacks were made against, and  all of which were derided for being "un-Manchu" and "reactionary". Religious people faced persecution by the state, and those labelled to be bourgeoisie or counter-revolutionary faced intense social ostracisation. During the collectivisation campaign land owners and rich peasants where derided in a similar manner as s in the. Through land confiscation and death squads landlords were by 1950 eliminated as a class.

Other targets for the state were those accused of, and later. Both those on the political left and right were repressed unless they followed the party line. Independent trade unions were banned and workers were given no rights such as collective bargaining. In 1974 the Manchurian Union of Free Workers (an underground trade union) attempted to stage several strikes in protest of their wages being cut and working hours extended - the strikes were brutally crushed by the government. Freedom of movement was restricted with Manchu citizens being required to own internal passports. Those on collective farms had to have permission to move to a different region, and those looking to go abroad had to have permission from the party. This resulted in very little immigration from Manchuria (bar some in states, most notably ). Foreigners outside of the communist bloc were rarely allowed to enter the country. Freedom of movement was relaxed under Tao Shiyou who abolished internal passports, allowed collective farmers to move freely, liberalised immigration to Eastern Bloc countries and allowed western tourists to enter Manchuria en masse as part of his détente foreign policy.

Despite this women's rights in Manchuria improved massively under the communist regime. Concubinage and polygamy were outlawed as divorce was legalised, with women being for the first time equal with men in 1946. In 1948 arranged marriages were also criminalised as the age of consent was set at the age of 18 for both men and women. Affirmative action for women was also adopted to help integrate them in education and the workplace. Despite this conservative attitudes especially in rural areas meant that women still faced de facto discrimination. In 1968 ji jian (sodomy) laws were abolished in Manchuria effectively de-criminalising homosexuality - however it was still taboo to be openly homosexual with there being no legal protection of homosexual rights.

Foreign relations
Manchuria was created as a by the  with its independence being granted by the Manchu-Soviet Treaty of Friendship. was keen to exploit the resource-rich lands of Manchuria, thus the Treaty of Friendship was balanced in favour of the Soviets. Up until 1954 the Soviet kept a military garrison in Harbin and sent in numerous military and economic advisor's to hep run Manchuria. Soviet influence resulted in a strict system being created in Manchuria whilst also guaranteeing Manchuria's independence from China as well as Manchuria's membership into. From the beginning of its existence Manchuria was recognised by the countries of, , ,  and. Manchuria was one of the first nations to recognise the communist governments of in 1947,  in 1948 and,  and  in 1949. From the offset Chinese-Manchu relations were poor as China claimed large tacts of Manchuria as being Chinese land. Chinese  wrote that the independence of Manchuria was one of the USSR's Great betrayals against China. Manchuria's government severed relations after the in 1948 with the government subsequently purging " counter-revolutionary elements". Manchuria was largely unrecognised by western nations during its early years.

In 1950 Manchu leader's grew worried that China would attempt to annexe Manchuria, leading them to support the  when it declared against the pro-American authoritarian regime of. The end of the war saw South Korea officially recognise the Manchurian communist regime, the first non-communist country to do so as well as see China annexe eastern Manchuria as a result of the Tianjin Agreement. The death of Stalin in 1953 and ousting of Stalinist Manchurian leader Xu Xiaobao in 1954 resulted in the rise of Qian Yiu-tong who initially followed a pro-Stalinist line. Manchuria gave full backing to the Soviet Union during the criticising the Hungarian government as being "reactionary fascist-capitalist roaders". Following the which saw   declare the so-called "Polish way to socialism" Qian ha Manchuria become more assertive in international affairs, declaring the Black River Protocol which sought to make Manchuria into a regional power.

During the 1950-60's Manchuria started to expand its foreign influence, gaining diplomatic recognition with more nations. Crucially however the refused to recognise Manchuria, which was also denied recognition from  and. During the 1960's Manchuria supported many revolutionary movements in the such as the, , , , , ,  and. Manchuria also supported third world socialist regimes such as, Qatif and with financial and military hardware. Following the Manchuria severed relations with and became a supporter of Arab states such as  and. Manchuria nevertheless followed a pro-Soviet line throughout, enthusiastically supporting the. In the 1960's communist leader Qian Yiu-tong was able to negotiate with Mao Zedong for the Manchu Great Exchange to take place with thousands of ethnic Han Chinese being deported to China - however the policy was halted due to ongoing, with Manchuria supporting the Soviet Union.

1970 saw Manchuria both join the as the United States established full diplomatic relations - the same year Manchuria became an observer in the  as well. Manchuria also allowed many of its workers to immigrate to Poland after the country was facing economic downturn - for the rest of their history the Manchu and Polish People's Republic's maintained extremely close relations, even for Eastern Bloc states. In 1971 Manchuria re-opened relations with China which had been frosty since the start of the as well as cultivating better relations with Yugoslavia and Romania who had been pursuing independent foreign policies from the USSR. Manchuria also became actively involved in the following 's independence from  as well as supporting the  regime during the. Tensions arose with Korea thanks to Manchuria's nuclear weapons program and sheltering of Korean dissident Lee Kwan-jin, which along with the death of led to the October Crisis which seriously damaged Manchu ties to the, a fact further exacerbated by Manchuria's unwavering support for the  in the  against  forces.

In 1981 Tao Shiyou rose to power and emphasised a détente foreign policy with the west whilst still supporting third world regimes. Tao allowed much more western tourists to enter Manchuria in order to boost its ailing economy whilst visiting major western leaders such as US  and British Prime Minister. In 1983 Tao in a historic visit met Japanese  who officially recognised Manchuria. The next year Tao re-established ties with Israel. During the Tao like other pro-Soviet leaders supported  providing them with military equipment and financial aid. During the 1980's Tao also covertly supported the in, the   in  and  in.

The ascension of in 1985 and subsequent scrapping of the  led to uncertainty amongst the Manchu leadership. Tao's regime had been able to cast itself as the most enlightened and reformed of the communist states, but with the launching of and  put pressure on the the Manchu government to pursue similar reforms. This created growing tensions between the USSR and Manchuria with Tao refusing to lift draconian cultural controls or compromise on the principle of one-party rule, allying himself with Stalinist Eastern Bloc leaders such as, , and. During the the Manchu supported the Chinese  with Tao calling it a "triumph of socialism overcoming counter revolution". However by the time of the Orchid Revolution Manchuria's erstwhile communist allies had all collapsed with the exception of China, and with the adoption of the so-called "" by the USSR the communist regime received no international support when it was toppled in December that year.

The Manchu People's Republic was a member of the UN, and an observer of the.

Economy
Like other members, the Manchu People's Republic operated a. Five-Year plans were published by the Central Economic Policy Directorate which directed the economy. These plans would set targets for all major industries. Sometimes the plans would be met ahead of schedule, other times they would fail. The means of production in Manchuria were completely owned by the state after a nationalisation programme in the 1940's. Agriculture was collectivised around the same time, although at a much slower rate.

Under the communist regime Manchuria placed a great degree of economic focus on with  and  being neglected. During the 1960's through to the 1980's there were efforts to address this issue, although the economy still remained overwhelming unbalanced with too much focus given to heavy industry. Under communist rule Manchuria made huge economic and technological progress, with strong economic growth and standard of living up until the 1980's when the economy entered crippling stagnation. Labour productivity also saw steady growth until the 1980's. However, there were constant shortages of consumer goods leading to thriving black market as well as corruption at all levels of the economy with target figures being falsified to meet targets. The government tried to address the stagnation of the economy by opening up the tourist industry in 1981, but the economy continued on a downturn until the regime's collapse in 1990.

Heavy industry
A key policy of the communist government was investment in heavy industry. Manchuria had been the first industrialised region of the and under the  regime the Japanese expanded this industrialisation to help provide resources for the. However during the Soviet occupation much of Manchuria's industrial assets were dismantled and shipped to the USSR, who subsequently created many joint Soviet-Manchu enterprises. When the first Central Economic Policy Directorate was created to draft the first five year plan many of those who were members of the Directorate were Soviet advisers who themselves were central planners in the Soviet Union. These advisers proposed that Manchuria should follow a similar economic direction to the USSR, advocating for a massive push to develop heavy industry. The reason for the emphasis on heavy industry was mainly idealogical - Manchuria was ostensibly a "" but for there to be an industrial proletariat heavy industry had to be developed.

Under the first five-year plan coal extraction and steel production were billed as top economic priorities. ,, , and  were chosen to produce steel, and large coal reserves meant that coal mines and refineries were set up around the country. deposits in the saw oil refineries being built, with the aim being that Manchuria would help export coal and oil  to other eastern bloc states. The reasoning behind this was two-fold - on the one hand Manchuria would be forced to import oil from other countries to keep up its rapid rate of industrialisation thus making it dependent on the USSR and on the other the postwar Soviet-style economies in Eastern Europe could accelerate their own industrialisation with Manchu coal and oil. Machinery, electronics, metal refining and automobiles were the main products produced in Manchuria.

The overwhelming focus on heavy industry meant that consumer goods were neglected. However more seriously there was a lack in chemicals and plastics, especially in the Stalinist period between 1946-54. This was somewhat alleviated with the expansion of Manchuria's chemical weapons programme, which saw research into chemical manufacturing broadened. Nevertheless the focus on heavy industry remained unchanged during Qian Yiu-tong's rule. This focus resulted in many industrial plants receiving modernised equipment whilst other sectors of the economy (notably agriculture) suffered serous neglect, whilst old factories were rarely closed down. A focus on quantity over quality resulted often in poor goods which were hard to sell to non- states coupled with artificially low prices. The conservative leadership believed that the systems failings were down to a lack of discipline and thus implemented military like rules in factories to clamp down on corruption and inefficiency

Under Tao Shiyou there was an effort to modernise heavy industry. In 1973 had launched "an alliance of the working class with science" after he fused together industrial complexes with scientific research institutions, a measure Tao quickly implemented in Manchuria to moderate success. Inefficient factories were bequeathed with new equipment that helped them become more productive which somewhat allowed Manchurian industrial goods to become more competitive on a world stage. A greater focus on quality was emphasised although it was still trumped by quantity. However Tao also borrowed heavily from the west to finance heavy industry modernisation considerably raising the deficit of Manchuria. By 1989, Manchuria's heavy industry was the most developed in the Eastern Bloc, but still served as a centre for chronic corruption.

Shortages
Shortages were long recognised by the Communist Party as the most serious economic problem in Manchuria. The root of the shortages could be traced to the implemented by the regime. Taking the structure of a typical certain consumer goods - most importantly food - were kept at artificially low prices whilst rationing after 1954 was outlawed. This created shortages, exacerbated by a lack of consumer goods and in the production of such goods. These shortages caused a thriving to spring up with bartering and hoarding becoming more common. In 1976 the government attempted to address shortages by buying food from abroad, cracking down on the black market and encouraging people to ration their goods. This coupled with increased investment in consumer goods helped alleviate the worst shortages especially in urban areas. However, this did not completely eliminate the black market and rural areas still suffered from chronic shortages.

Healthcare
When the communists came to power healthcare in Manchuria was extremely poor. Life expectancy stood at 36 years old in 1946, with there also being periodic outbreaks of, , , and. Personal hygiene was also poor as was sanitation. The Constitution of the Manchu People's Republic guaranteed a with all citizens possessing to health free of charge. As such the party was confronted with the issue of ensuring that healthcare would reach the entire nation whilst eradicating the worst diseases which would undoubtedly put strains on the system.

Healthcare reform was thus spilt into three areas - encouraging prevention through programmes, eradicating diseases altogether and building a robust system of hospitals for the population. In 1947 the Orgburo of Health published a report establishing poor sanitation as one of the root causes of many of Manchuria's diseases, leading to a mass campaign to rehaul the sanitation systems. The Orgburo of Waterworks was created to oversee the task, overseeing the building of numerous canals and a nation-wide sewage system. was used mainly in urban areas, resulting in many diseases to be wiped out in Manchuria such as dysentery, cholera and typhoid. Similarly the communists implemented strict pest control in order to prevent any outbreaks of the plague. Public awareness campaigns were used to spread health information around the country. When agriculture was collectivised the practice of using human faeces (so-called "") as fertiliser was banned - however this was quickly reversed as peasants were instead encouraged to put such fertiliser in silo's provided to communes to prevent the spread of disease. A three-tier hospital system was created. Communes and local districts managed health centres that dealt in basic medical and dental treatments whilst providing preventative medicines. More specialised treatment was given at township hospitals. Above township hospitals were provincial General Hospitals with a maximum bedspace of 500,000 people.

The healthcare reforms pursued by the communist government were relatively successful. Life expectancy rose from 36 in 1946 to 74 in 1989 and infant mortality dropped dramatically. Nevertheless there were still serious problems. Health reform was uneven - in urban areas access to healthcare facilities were much better then in rural areas. Hospitals in rural areas often faced supply shortages and the training of rural doctors was haphazard in comparison to their urban counterparts. Healthcare was subsidised completely for industrial workers from 1949, but it took until 1973 for peasants to receive full subsidies. By 1989 the health system was in decline, with most equipment being outdated. Nevertheless, Manchuria maintained some of the best healthcare in East Asia at the time, outdoing its neighbours and the  as by 1989 after the military healthcare took up the second most amount of the governments budget.