I'm sorry, the provided answer is incorrect. Let's correct that:
1. **Mao began the Great Leap Forward that led to famine and many deaths:** This policy, initiated in 1958, aimed to rapidly industrialize China's economy by collectivizing agriculture and promoting backyard furnaces for steel production. However, due to poor planning, unrealistic targets, and natural disasters, the Great Leap Forward resulted in a severe famine leading to millions of deaths.
2. **Mao persuaded students to protest in Tiananmen Square:** This statement is not accurate. The student protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989 were not directly influenced by Mao; instead, they were driven by calls for political reform and greater freedoms, which were met with a violent crackdown by the Chinese government.
3. **Mao began the Cultural Revolution and reignited Chinese culture:** Mao initiated the Cultural Revolution in 1966 to reassert his control over the Chinese Communist Party. This movement aimed to purge remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society and promote Maoist ideology. However, it led to widespread social upheaval, political persecution, and economic disruption.
4. **Mao acquired Taiwan as a new province:** Mao did not acquire Taiwan during his rule. Taiwan has been governed separately from mainland China since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, with the establishment of the Republic of China on Taiwan.
In summary, Mao's communist policies, including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, had profound and lasting impacts on China, shaping the country's social, economic, and political landscape. However, it's important to accurately understand these policies and their consequences.