沒有國民黨就沒有中國, Without the Kuomintang there would be no China, A Republic of China Story

一百三, The 1992 Legislative Elections
Li Ao’s agenda would be difficult to enact while the Kuomintang controlled the Legislative Yuan. Fortunately for him, President of the Legislative Yuan Liang Surong was much more amenable than any of his predecessors would have been. He had been a controversial figure in the party for a while, and even more so since 1989 when he had been seen as overly conciliatory towards the protesters. Some of the more reactionary members of the KMT attempted to remove Liang from his leadership position. This attempt was shut down by none other than former President Chen Lifu, who wanted to keep the party united. Both he and party leader Hau Pei-tsun understood that party infighting would destroy the party if went unchecked. Things were already looking bad for the party, there was no reason to make things worse.

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(Chen Lifu, who was 90 years old in 1990)

In 1990 and 1991, a series of bills were passed to increase freedom in China. Laws that had been used to arbitrarily imprison critics of the government were overturned. The laws against advocacy of Communism and separatism remained, though they would be enforced less often than in earlier years. Government controls on television and movies were relaxed. One of the major changes was that expression of sexuality would be much less limited. This came at the same time as the legalization of pornography and wider availability of contraception to make China a more sexually permissive society. The relaxation of film censorship in China would lead to the rise of mainland Chinese cinema, and the fall of Hong Kong cinema. These things were all made possible by the aid of the KMT’s reformist wing.

The China Youth Party, the China Democratic Socialist Party, and the Liberal Party were all part of one coalition supporting Li Ao. The Kuomintang and the Tibet Improvement Party were in a coalition seeking to preserve their majority. By the end of 1991, the KMT and TIP majorities had been reduced to 407. The New Democratic League was on its own. KMT leadership was aware that it was unlikely for them to keep their majority, but they would try anyway. The KMT could still outspend their opponents, though not nearly by as much as they used to be able to. The KMT still had the advantage of institutional support. The media and the corporate world were largely in support of the KMT.

While the media was largely pro-KMT, Li Ao had friendly media outlets. The relaxation of censorship led to an explosion of newspapers and news stations. There was a coordinated effort between Li Ao allies and their friends in the media to release a barrage of negative stories about the KMT and its politicians in the months leading up to the election. Every accusation of corruption was brought up. Rumors of ties to the drug trade were brought up. Dozens of people gave testimonies of vote rigging by KMT officials. These media outlets also made sure to remind the Chinese people that the policemen who killed Yuan Jia had only been sentenced 18 months in prison at their trial in 1990. The KMT ran a disorganized campaign. Even though the infighting had mostly stopped, the party lacked a clear, unifying message.

The CYP-CDSP-Liberal coalition won 54% of the vote. The KMT-TIP coalition won 40% of the vote. The NDL won 6% of the vote. The KMT had managed to slightly improve on its showing in the presidential election, but did significantly worse than in the 1988 Legislative Yuan Elections when they won a plurality of the vote and a majority of seats. Hau Pei-tsun was replaced as KMT leader with Lien Chan, who had won reelection in a district he was expected to lose. Li Ao would have a friendly majority in the Legislative Yuan, with 441 out of 773 members. The KMT and TIP coalition lost over 100 seats. The Tibet Improvement Party lost a seat for the first time in its history, with the CDSP winning one out of Tibet’s five seats. The Liberal Party more than quadrupled its number of seats.

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Here's a map showing which party each province's governor is part of.

Kuomintang
Tibet Improvement Party
China Democratic Socialist Party
China Youth Party
Liberal Party
New Democratic League
Independent


The KMT controls six provinces: Guangdong (a long-time power base of the KMT from even before Chiang Kai-shek), Hunan, Jiangxi, and the provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, and Qinghai, which were traditionally ruled by KMT Muslim warlords. The TIP still controls Tibet, though 1992 was the first year they were seriously challenged. Chiang Kai-shek's home province of Zhejiang now has an independent governor. As you can see, the Liberal Party's base of support is in the Northeast and the NDL is primarily based in what is Inner Mongolia OTL. The CDSP and CYP have much more broad support.
 
TP2apo8.png


Here's a map showing which party each province's governor is part of.

Kuomintang
Tibet Improvement Party
China Democratic Socialist Party
China Youth Party
Liberal Party
New Democratic League
Independent


The KMT controls six provinces: Guangdong (a long-time power base of the KMT from even before Chiang Kai-shek), Hunan, Jiangxi, and the provinces of Ningxia, Gansu, and Qinghai, which were traditionally ruled by KMT Muslim warlords. The TIP still controls Tibet, though 1992 was the first year they were seriously challenged. Chiang Kai-shek's home province of Zhejiang now has an independent governor. As you can see, the Liberal Party's base of support is in the Northeast and the NDL is primarily based in what is Inner Mongolia OTL. The CDSP and CYP have much more broad support.
Cannot wait for upgraded map with Siberia and Far East included :)
 
Cannot wait for upgraded map with Siberia and Far East included :)
honestly, I can see China reclaiming Tuva and Outer Manchuria and Amur if the Soviets implode harder than they did OTL. Given Mongolia is ruled by Communists, they might nab that too and press historic claims.
 
一百四, Paul Laxalt
Paul Laxalt defeated Robert Kennedy and became President of the United States. He was firmly on the conservative wing of the party. He had bare majorities in the House and Senate, though he would lose them in the 1986 midterms. Laxalt’s presidency saw an increase in American power projection. At first, this was focused on Africa and Latin America, where Communists and other far-leftists were gaining support. Countries like Brazil had good relations with the Soviet Union, even if its government was not Communist. Nicaragua was a Soviet ally in all but name. Communist rebels in El Salvador, Venezuela, and Chile were a major concern for the United States as well. Even the Philippines, ruled by Laxalt’s friend Ferdinand Marcos, was suffering from a Communist insurgency. The United States, either overtly or covertly, would help fight these rebels.

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(Paul Laxalt)

The Laxalt Administration’s most important moment was the March 1987 coup and the subsequent Soviet Civil War. America aided East German rebels. The rebels were able to overthrow their Communist government, paving the way to German reunification. In 1988, he had US troops invade Nicaragua. His goal was to overthrow Daniel Ortega, who he called a destabilizing influence in the region. He hoped that Ortega’s removal from power would send a message to the rest of Latin America to side with the US, not the Soviet Union. Anastasio Somoza Debayle was put back in power as President of Nicaragua. Some critics alleged that the war was meant to boost Laxalt’s poll numbers going into the election. Nevertheless, it was supported by nearly all Republicans and most Democrats.

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(Daniel Ortega)

In 1988, Paul Laxalt would run for reelection, touting his foreign policy successes. The candidates in the Democratic primaries were Senators Gary Hart of Colorado and Dick Gephart of Missouri, and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson of South Carolina. Gary Hart won and selected Senator and former Astronaut John Glenn as his running mate. Victory seemed unlikely, but still possible, when Hart won the nomination. Things would get worse. And extramarital affair was revealed on the part of Hart right before the election. This combined with Laxalt’s popularity doomed the Democrats’ hopes to win the White House, though they barely maintained control of the House. The Laxalt/Kemp ticket won in a landslide, winning the popular vote 55-44% and the electoral vote 522-16. Hart only carried Massachusetts and DC.

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(Gary Hart)

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, there were still enough conservative Democrats in office to cooperate with Laxalt. Thus, America saw several tax cuts throughout the Laxalt Administration. The American economy would also be more deregulated. His economic policies, though popular at the time, had their critics. While Laxalt and Republicans argued that the increased wealth, though disproportionately enjoyed by the rich, was bound to “trickle down” to everyone. The 80s and 90s were, for the most part, conservative decades, and few men personified the conservatism of that era like Paul Laxalt. The Democratic Party and liberals and progressives in general, seemed lost in the wilderness during his presidency. Laxalt continued to have foreign policy successes, with Poland joining NATO in 1990.

Vice President Jack Kemp defeated Senator Bob Dole of Kansas and Senator Pete Wilson of California to win the Republican nomination. He chose Bob Dole as his running mate. In the Democratic primaries, Dick Gephart defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis and Jesse Jackson. Dukakis would be his running mate. Many conservatives saw the Kemp/Dole ticket as too moderate. Former Representative Ron Paul of Texas ran a campaign decrying the big-spending of the Laxalt administration. Polls showed a very close race. The debates were largely inconclusive, and America went to the polls not knowing who would win. Jack Kemp would win in a very close election. He won the popular vote 49-48% and the popular vote 292-246.
 
So, even without a Reagan presidency, we still get "trickle down" BS? That's a shame.

Kinda hoping for a swing to liberalism later in the 90s.
Laxalt is pretty much the TTL version of Reagan. Ronald Reagan himself, however, is a liberal Democrat, but he hasn't been important enough to warrant a mention in this TL.
 
Even the Philippines, ruled by Laxalt’s friend Ferdinand Marcos, was suffering from a Communist insurgency.
The ironic thing is, Marcos, overhyped the power of the actual Filipino Communist Party in the 60s OTL. They were down to single digits by then, but his years in power allowed them to grow into the group they are today. Of course with Mao gone, North Korea isolated, and Vietnam having a non-Communist Big Brother up north, perhaps the butterflies decided to throw the dice in favor of the Philippine communists.

You also failed to mention the Moro separatist movement in the south!
 
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What about the political evolution of the non-communist unified Vietnam?
Is Vietnam also undergoing democratization like China?
And is Hanoi the capital of Vietnam?
 
The ironic thing is, Marcos, overhyped the power of the actual Filipino Communist Party in the 60s OTL. They were down to single digits by then, but his years in power allowed them to grow into the group they are today. Of course with Mao gone, North Korea isolated, and Vietnam having a non-Communist Big Brother up north, perhaps the butterflies decided to throw the dice in favor of the Philippine communists.

You also failed to mention the Moro separatist movement in the south!
The US would never allow Communism to rise in the Philippines and they still maintained troops there throughout the Cold War IIRC
 
The US would never allow Communism to rise in the Philippines and they still maintained troops there throughout the Cold War IIRC.
True, true. Still, the effect of a Mao-less China would be interesting. Would the local CP be emboldened or weakened? Because as long as Marcos is around, there will be dissent.
 
True, true. Still, the effect of a Mao-less China would be interesting. Would the local CP be emboldened or weakened? Because as long as Marcos is around, there will be dissent.
Very much weakened. The loss of Communist China cripples near every Communist movement in Asia from the lack of precedent and support.

And if by some miracle a communist nation still rises? Well China and the US would overthrow that govt with ease
 
Very much weakened. The loss of Communist China cripples near every Communist movement in Asia from the lack of precedent and support.

And if by some miracle a communist nation still rises? Well China and the US would overthrow that govt with ease
Well, there is a joke from my dad's generation: Marcos was the CCP's biggest recruiter. By the strength of his cruelty and the corruption his cronies were getting involved in, he certainly gave the Philippine CP a lot of angry recruits. So maybe those angry recuits don't become CP members but maybe form their own anti-Marcos underground?
 
Well, there is a joke from my dad's generation: Marcos was the CCP's biggest recruiter. By the strength of his cruelty and the corruption his cronies were getting involved in, he certainly gave the Philippine CP a lot of angry recruits. So maybe those angry recuits don't become CP members but maybe form their own anti-Marcos underground?
Certainly possible.
 
This should be a good opportunity for the existing Nacionalista Party to adopt the Three Principles with Filipino Characteristics. That and Marcos was no longer a member of the Nacionalistas, with Marcos splitting from the Nacionalistas and forming his new party - the New Society Movement of United Nationalists. It would be interesting seeing the Nacionalistas becoming an opposition opposing Marcos' Kleptocracy but also trying to prevent the rise of the Communists inspired by Marcos' Corrupt Regime, with the Nacionalistas reaching out to the Kuomintang in China.
 
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