TL idea: Chairman Deng.

historybuff

Here's an idea for a colab TL we could work on together if you wish. What if during the 1959 conference, Mao was voted out of the chairmanship of the CPC and replaced by Deng Xiaoping, with Liu as President and Zhou Enlai as Premier. Let's put together a TL of what China would be like under an earlier Deng Xiaoping government.
 

Rediv

Good idea -- this would make an interesting timeline.
I don't know if Mao could be totally voted out of the chairmanship, since that would be an awfully humiliating loss of face for a man whom plenty of people in the leadership, even Peng Dehuai, still respected. But I'm sure you could discretely shuffle Mao out of the corridors of power and make his post more ceremonial than real, and since Deng is the CCP's general secretary, he'd be best-placed to be making the real decisions.
 

tallwingedgoat

It's possible Mao can get sidelined, but Deng was too junior to take leadership in '59. With Mao out of the way the logical replacement is Liu Shaoqi with Deng groomed as successor.
 

historybuff

Excellent idea Wing.

Hmmm, depending if more people wanna help me with this, how could we start, and if Liu's chairman, who's President?
 

Rediv

historybuff said:
if Liu's chairman, who's President?
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How about Zhu De? In OTL, he was made acting head-of-state in the late 1970's. He's got plenty of prestige and would likely be content to stay a figurehead, leaving Liu and Deng to make the real decisions.
 

tallwingedgoat

Rediv said:
How about Zhu De? In OTL, he was made acting head-of-state in the late 1970's. He's got plenty of prestige and would likely be content to stay a figurehead, leaving Liu and Deng to make the real decisions.
Click to expand...

Very likely. The question is what happens to the Chairmanship of the Central Military Commission. Mao could lose Chairmanship of the CPC, but it would take a coup to get him to step down as Chairman of the CMC.
 

historybuff

Zhu De would make a good president with Liu and Deng.

Now, how could Mao be removed from the CPC chairman's position and still be head of the CMC?
 
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