-Ancient Chinese Proverb
If 1997 can be considered the end of the British Empire, then the empire where the sun never set ended not with a bang, but a whimper. Even if the British Empire was a thing of the past, Britain itself certainly was not. The United Kingdom would continue to be a power in its own right, even if most of its colonial holdings were gone. The same could be said for France, which kept more of its colonial empire (though only a fraction of what it controlled at the beginning of the century. Germany, newly reunified and having lost all its colonies 80 years earlier, continued to be an economic powerhouse.
On the other side of Europe, things were very different. The British Empire outlived the Soviet Union. In 1996, attempts were made to keep the USSR together. In most of the Republics, separatists won the elections, and in Russia, non-Communist candidates generally defeated reformist Communist candidates. By the Summer of 1996, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Armenia had seceded. Azerbaijan soon followed. There was still some hope that Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova might be able to stay unified, however. Ukraine and Kazakhstan would both declare independence in September, dealing a major blow to those who wanted to see the Soviet Union survive. Moldova declared independence, though there would be conflict with the newly declared Republic of Transnistria. By the end of 1996, the Russian and Belarussian SSRs formed a treaty to replace the USSR with the RBFR, Russian and Belarussian Federal Republic.
Though the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1996, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union continued to function in the post-Soviet states. The remaining Communist governments would fall too. North and South Yemen reunified in 1996, and North Korea’s regime was destroyed by Chinese and South Korean forces. By 1997, The People’s Revolutionary Party of Mongolia had moved away from Communism. The party would lose power to an explicitly anti-Communist party in 2002. Somalia’s Communist government fell. The Communist government in Mozambique was overthrown in 1998. The Iranian government moderated its version of Communism, which led to a failed coup in 1997. Tehran fell to US-backed Islamists in 1999 and the final Communist pockets surrendered in 2000. 1999 also saw the fall of Albania’s Communist government. In 2005, Angola became the final country to abandon Communism.
America declared victory in the Cold War. It was a major accomplishment for the right. This was a major factor in Jack Kemp and Bob Dole’s victory over Bill Clinton and Joe Biden in 1996. The Republican Party had won its fourth presidential victory in a row. The Democrats would make a comeback in the 1998 midterms and the 2000 presidential election. America would enter the 21st century as the undisputed military and economic power in the world, though it was uncertain how long this would continue.
In the third world, China was surpassing America as the top trade partner. At the same time, most of these countries saw and increasing standard of living. The demand for Chinese products would only increase. However, the Chinese standard of living would increase too, and Chinese wages would rise. Other countries would take advantage of this. The rise of China would cause fears worldwide of a future dominated by China. Time would tell if these fears were reasonable or not.
In China itself, Lien Chan had won the 1996 election, but not by much. An unpopular incumbent who had received less than 30% in the first round had come close to winning. The KMT looked at these results and determined to work hard to repair the party’s image. The Lien Chan administration, while not universally popular, cemented the KMT as a permanent fixture in Chinese politics. The KMT would be one of many parties competing for the votes of Chinese people.
October 31, 1997 was Chiang Kai-shek’s 110th birthday. Though he was no longer living, his grandson Chiang Hsiao-wu was. Chiang gave an interview in the Central Daily Magazine, where he talked about his grandfather. This is an excerpt from the interview:
Because my grandfather was present for so many of the great events in Chinese and world history, I’ve heard people speculate about how the world would be today if he had never taken power, or if he had done things differently while in power. This is my opinion of course, but I don’t think that any other political figure during the 1920s could have unified China. Chiang also understood what many back then did not. He knew that Communism was dangerous. He said that the Communists are a disease of the heart, and that the Japanese are a disease of the skin. He was referring the old Imperial Japan of course, not the modern Japan we know and love. Even Sun Yat-sen was fooled by the reds.
If Chiang Kai-shek had failed in repelling the Japanese, we’d live in a very dark world. Imagine the Rape of Nanking, but in every major city in China. And then there was the Civil War. I don’t know which outcome would have been worse; Japanese victory or Communist victory. If China had gone Communist, then there would be nothing to stop the spread of that deadly ideology throughout Asia. The Communists would destroy Chinese culture just like they did in Mongolia, North Korea, and Russia. Though I can’t say that it was only my family that prevented such great evils from befalling China and the world. I have to give credit to the Chinese soldiers who fought invaders and traitors. After the Civil War, Chiang was a unifying figure, who put China on its path back into greatness. Without him, China is in a worse place.
But I don’t know what would have happened, there’s no way of finding out.
Others had different things to say about the former Chinese leader. They pointed out the authoritarianism and human rights abuses. China is still grappling with what to make of the legacy of Chiang Kai-shek. It’s a debate that continues to divide China, and one that is unlikely to end any time soon.
Premier Chiang Hsiao-wu would evade questions about a possible future presidential run. The question would soon be irrelevant as he died of congestive heart failure in 1998. He was survived by Chiang Ching-kuo’s two remaining children; his sister Chiang Hsiao-chang and his half-brother Chiang Hsiao-yen, who are still alive today. Chiang Kai-shek’s adopted son Chiang Wei-kuo died of kidney failure in 1997, only a few months after the transfer of Hong Kong. Soong Mei-ling would live to be 105, dying in 2003.
Soong Mei-ling was one of a shrinking number of people alive during the 21st century who were born during the Qing Dynasty. Chen Lifu was also among them, dying in 2001 at the age of 100. Some have said that Chen Lifu broke the Soviet Union by supporting Islamic anti-Communism worldwide. Another former president, Wang Sheng, would die in 2006. Former Vice President Lin Yang-kang took over the China Youth Party and died in 2013. Former President Li Ao would continue to be involved in politics, telling the media what he would be doing differently if he was in charge. He made no secret of his intentions to run for president in 2002. He died in 2018. Finally, Lien Chan is still alive, though he is no longer the president. He is currently enjoying his retirement in Shenyang. He occasionally gives interviews to the press.
As the Chinese Civil War grows more and more distant, its easy to forget about it. Every year, there are less and less living veterans. No one who fought in the early years of the war is still alive, though some who fought during the later years are. But it’s important to remember that their sacrifices helped make the world what it is today. As the ancient Chinese proverb says about the flaps of a butterfly’s wings, one event leads other events. History is full of such “What if?” moments. Who knows, if a Nationalist military offensive in Northeastern China in 1946 had gone differently, the world might be a very different place.
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