Quote:
Originally Posted by ace16807
Out of curiosity then, what is a relatively accurate number for the legitimate loss of life (In this case, I suppose a non-existent baby isn't living, so it isn't life.) during his reign? I suppose this includes those killed by famine, disasters facilitated by Great Leap Forward policies, political deaths, so on?
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Still speculation here. As stated, the Chinese population did not go down by 50 million. In fact, it still went up, just not as fast as predicted.
These were hungry times to be very sure. But there was no evidence of an Ethiopia. No villages disappear with people going off in search of food. There were reported days ... but not weeks where people had no food.
So, I don't doubt that people did die either directly or indirectly through the scarcity of food but nothing on the scale of a Somalia or an Ethiopia. Also, did the old die faster ... or was it that they were just old? We don't know. You have to remember that before this was WWII, so that people generally were not living any longer before.
Political deaths are somewhat easier though not for certain. Over 3 million were displaced from their homes and sent elsewhere. Very few came back home ... but then, some just stayed where they were instead of coming back home.
I have some confidence in the 2 million dead mark but that's based upon a lot of assumptions not shared by others, especially those who tout the 50 million mark.