Following the end of the Korean War, the People's Republic of China's leadership focused on internal development. As part of this, Mao Zedong created the Hundred Flowers Campaign, through which intellectuals throughout China were encouraged to critique the government's policies. His idea was that socialism would, through reason and logic, come out on top as the dominant and undisputed ideology of the intelligentsia. Unfortunately, the sheer amount of letters, and the sharpness of the critics, forced Zedong to reconsider. In mid 1957, the PRC's secret police began arresting every single person who participated in the campaign, killing many of them, by Mao's orders. Whether the campaign was a ruse or a genuine attempt at reflection turned sour, few know.
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