translate English to German: Authors such as Jung Chang have alleged that the Hundred Flowers Campaign was merely a ruse to root out "dangerous" thinking. Others such as Dr Li Zhisui have suggested that Mao had initially seen the policy as a way of weakening those within his party who opposed him, but was surprised by the extent of criticism and the fact that it began to be directed at his own leadership.
Insgesamt wurden 400'000 bis 700'000 ihm als „ Volksfeind e“ erscheinende qualifizierte Angestellte entlassen und durch neue kommunistische Kader aus den Bauernschichten ersetzt.