China, 1955 — dissident coup attempt
Event Summary
The dataset records an attempted dissident coup in the People's Republic of China dated 18 June 1955, during a period when Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party were consolidating power through intense internal political campaigns rather than facing conventional military coups. The year 1955 saw the CCP move against alleged internal enemies, most prominently in the campaign to purge the writer Hu Feng and his literary circle as a counterrevolutionary clique, which broadened into the Sufan movement to root out hidden counterrevolutionaries within party and state institutions, and in the leadership's earlier condemnation of the Gao Gang and Rao Shushi anti-party alliance. Whatever specific plot the dataset assigns to June 1955, it did not shake Mao's position; the party's grip tightened, and Mao remained the paramount leader until his death in 1976.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
71006181955
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The Chinese Communist Party leadership under Mao Zedong survived and consolidated power; Mao remained paramount leader until 1976.
Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
Daily Boston Globe
Los Angeles Times
South China Morning Post
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →