Seizure of power (Cultural Revolution)

The seizure of power (simplified Chinese: 夺权; traditional Chinese: 奪權), or power-seizure movement (simplified Chinese: 夺权运动; traditional Chinese: 奪權運動) during the Chinese Cultural Revolution was a series of events led by the "rebel groups (造反派)", attempting to grab power from the local governments in China and local branches of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The seizure of power began in the "January Storm" of Shanghai in 1967, and rapidly spread to other areas of China. The power seizure usually culminated in the establishment of local revolutionary committees, which replaced the original governments as well as communist party branches, and wielded enormous power that often caused much chaos in the Chinese society. rdf:langString