Once in power, the Chinese Communists wrote a new constitution. On paper, it set up a National People’s Congress, permitted free elections, and protected other democratic rights. In practice, China became a one-party dictatorship. Communist party members held all the important jobs and controlled the government and the economy. Supported by the army, the Communists silenced critics and enforced their own views. As head of the Chinese Communist party, Mao Zedong became chairman of the People’s Republic of China.
