So once in power, Mao and the PRC were faced with the task of creating a new socialist state. He promised early on that the working class in China would be the leaders of a people's democratic dictatorship. Oh, democratic dictatorships, you're the best. It's all the best parts of democracy and all the best parts of dictatorship. You get to vote, but there's only one choice. It takes all the pesky thinking out of it. The PRC promised equal rights for women, rent reduction, land redistribution, new heavy industry, and lots of freedoms.