The People's Republic of China
On October 1, 1949 Mao Tse-Tung declared the founding of the People's Republic of China, saying that "the Chinese people have stood up!" The republic, which is a single party socialist state, followed the Communist Party of China's victory in the Chinese Civil War.

Land reform and the suppression of counter-revolutionaries were central to the republic at the start and Mao claimed that more than 700,000 people were killed during the first four years, although many believe the figure to be 4 or 5 times higher. It is estimated that around over 70 million more people died because of Mao's policies, most notably the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward.