Anti-Right Deviation Struggle

History

In 1957, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Mao Zedong launched the Anti-Rightist Campaign in mainland China, mainly targeting critics and intellectuals outside the CCP. According to official published data, more than 550,000 people were persecuted during this campaign.

In 1958, Mao launched the Great Leap Forward as well as the people's commune, but soon met criticisms within the CCP, notably from Marshal Peng Dehuai and his supporters. During the Lushan Conference in July 1959, Peng submitted a letter of opinion to Mao, expressing concerns and disagreement over the radical policies of the Great Leap Forward. As a result, Peng and his supporters including Huang Kecheng, Zhang Wentian and Zhou Xiaozhou were labelled as "anti-Party clique" and were subsequently purged. Peng was persecuted to death later during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).

Immediately after the Lushan Conference, Mao launched the "Anti-Right Deviation Struggle" at the Eighth Plenary Session of the Eighth CCP Central Committee in August 1959. Mao insisted that "Right opportunism is the main danger right now." According to him, the Lushan Conference revealed the existence of a large group of rightists who were vulnerable to Western influence. As a result, more than 3 million CCP members were labelled as right-deviationists or right-opportunists (1962 official data), and were subsequently purged or penalized.