Among their criticisms of Mao, Chang and Halliday argue that despite his having been born into a relatively rich peasant family, he had little well-informed concern for the long-term welfare of the Chinese peasantry. They hold Mao responsible for the famine resulting from the Great Leap Forward and state that he had created the famine by exporting food when China had insufficient grain to feed its own people. They also write that Mao had arranged for the arrests and murders of many of his political opponents, including some of his personal friends, and they argue that he was a far more tyrannical leader than had previously been thought.