Why was Peng Dehuai removed from office after criticizing the Great Leap Forward?

Peng Dehuai, who served as China’s minister of national defense, was removed from office in 1959 following his vocal criticism of the Great Leap Forward at the Lushan meeting of the Central Committee.12

Peng denounced the campaign as impractical, specifically targeting its emphasis on ideological purity over professional expertise in both the military and the economy, as well as the resulting economic disasters and chaos caused by the establishment of people’s communes.12

Mao Zedong viewed Peng’s dissent as a direct challenge to his leadership. Following this confrontation, Mao increasingly regarded any criticism of his policies as a crime of lèse-majesté that warranted exemplary punishment. Consequently, Peng was stripped of his party and state positions and placed in detention, marking a shift where Mao prioritized his own revolutionary vision over collective decision-making processes within the Chinese Communist Party.21