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Chapter VI
"The most peculiar leader" is a common expression when one describes the successor to Jiang Qing. For many, the idea that the man who once ruled as Emperor of China, once waged war against China, and was only redeemed through a lengthy prison stay, would ever become leader of China once again.
The rise of Puyi into a position of power in the Communist system came through as a result of his stay in his prison for a lengthy ten year spell. His mind matured and he came to realize that perhaps things were better off under the People's Republic than anything else.
From his release in 1959, he, along with many of his fellow former Manchukuo collaborators, were reintegrated in the Communist system. Puyi found himself as a popular administrator in Manchuria, and from there, he rapidly advanced in power by demonstrating loyalties to the Communist Party and praising the name of the Chairwoman.
He was given a position in the Central Committee in 1963 by the Chairwoman as a rare sign of reconciliation, and hopes by Jiang to show the reactionaries that if their precious Emperor had joined the Revolution, what chance did they have? Little did Jiang realize that this set herself up for failure. Puyi, a crafty man, began to use the misfortunes emerging in the mid-1960s to further his own political agenda over Jiang, and to win power back for some of the moderates.
After Jiang's quiet resignation in 1965, Puyi seemed to be the only viable candidate who wasn't ravenously mad, or ravenous in favor of reforms. The Central Committee was reluctant to name the elderly former monarch as the new leader of China, but after a speech to the Central Committee, they decided to cast for Aisin-Gioro.
Almost immediately after coming into power, fighting erupted in Vietnam between the Empire of Vietnam in the South, and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the North. The People's Liberation Army had already been meddling in Indochina's affairs for over a decade by this point; and had been in a protracted political war with the United States over Laos. Shortly after rising to power, Puyi pulled the PLA and Chinese advisors from the leftists involved in the Laotian Civil War, whom rapidly collapsed. He then reinforced China's position in Cambodia and North Vietnam.
Puyi decided that perhaps one of the best means to an end to ensure peace in Vietnam was to hold high-level talks between the two combatant powers in Beijing. Ho Chi Minh and the Emperor, Bao Dai, were the leaders of their respective diplomatic teams as they entered Beijing to meet with Chairman Aisin-Gioro.
These high-level talks brought a measure of success, as the two sides agreed to affirm to the Demilitarized Zone, and to call for a ceasefire; as well, prisoners and dead were repatriated across the line, and the two sides agreed to hold continued talks at a specific site on the DMZ every year to ensure continued peace between the two sides.
The United States felt slighted that South Vietnam had made such an agreement by herself, and shortly after the announcement of the Beijing Accords, a group of Vietnamese military officers attempted to seize power away from Emperor Bao Dai.
However, the officers were heavily outmatched by the remaining officers, and South Vietnam was even offered covert aid by the Chinese to "bolster their resistance against American imperialism". The officers were captured, and most of them admitted the CIA's complacency in the actions, enraging South Vietnam, and giving China further legitimacy in the eyes of governments for their peace-making capacity versus the United States' aggression against South Vietnam.
With tensions flaring up again, President Nelson Rockefeller did perhaps one of the most daring actions in recent memory for a sitting President, with the help of his Secretary of State, he conducted the first American state trip to the People's Republic of China, to speak to Chairman Aisin-Gioro.
President Rockefeller and Puyi discussed the situation in Vietnam, and Puyi expressed his disapproval of America's bolstering of radical right-wing governments in Thailand, Burma, South Vietnam, Formosa and South Korea. Similarly, Rockefeller pointed out the protracted PLA influenced over Cambodia and the bloodsport going on there.
The two came to no agreement, but Puyi managed to extract a promise of the United States to allow the People's Republic to ascend to the United Nations Security Council as the proper representative of China. In the following year, the United States Congress passed the "China Recognition Act", formally establishing diplomatic relations with the People's Republic, and disinheriting the Republic of China on Taiwan. By the end of 1968, the PRC had formally joined the United Nations, taking over Taiwan's positions.
However, in discussions, Taiwan was allowed to remain a member of the United Nations, but was instead referred to in a general sense as either "Chinese Taipei" or "Republic of China on Taiwan"; and was not a member of the UNSC.
The famine gradually came to an end after Puyi halted the agricultural collectivism and began devolving the power of agriculture to local authorities to ensure the proper management therein. In 1968, the Laotian Civil War finally came to an end after the remaining leftists stopped fighting and scattered into Cambodia and North Vietnam; a loss for China, but a victory in geopolitical reorganization, as the strength of Chinese influence was bolstered in both communist states.
Much to the relief of Puyi and the Central Commitee, the successor to Nelson Rockefeller, former Vice President Harold Stassen, didn't renge on the promises Rockefeller had made to establish relations with China. Stassen and Puyi promised to meet for more talks in 1970.
In 1969, the fruits of China's labours came to bloom in Indochina once again, after pro-Chinese rebels overthrew the military government of Burma and announced the People's Republic of Myanmar. The military dictatorship had been socialist in it's own right, but the People's Liberation Front had felt it was not leftist enough, and the restoration of civilian government in this manner strengthened China's political power.
The same year, Puyi organized a large conference of nations. Representatives of the People's Republic of China, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, People's Republic of Khmer and the People's Republic of Myanmar came together in Beijing and formed the Beijing Pact, a military alliance of nations to counter SEATO and the Soviet Union's meagre influence in the region.
The exclusion of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea came from the fact that the DPRK was primarily under the influence of the Soviet Union, and attempts by China to win over the leadership had been solidly rebuffed.
In 1970, a terrible typhoon impacted "East Pakistan" (otherwise known as Bangladesh), causing catastrophic levels of destruction, death and despair. Puyi capitalized on the situation and China's intelligence bureau began to influence the growing discontent in Bangladesh; smuggling aid and other things into the country, and helping ferment revolutionary attitudes against Pakistani authority. The growing rebelliousness of Bangladesh, and the Chinese involvement therein fueled paranoia in New Delhi.
Tensions creeped up as India began to place military units near East Pakistan's border, as well as Myanmar and the disputed Arunachal Pradesh region. The United States and their ally Pakistan requested that high-level talks be held between China, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and the United States.
This summit was held in Geneva, and was attended by all the powers involved. Pakistan accused India of being involved in growing rebelliousness in Bangladesh, India accused China of being involved, China accused India of militarizing the disputed territory, and taking "aggressive steps by mobilizing on the borders of a Chinese ally."
The talks went in a cycle of accusations and disputes, but the United States' influence came to terms with one thing -- Bangladesh would have to be independent; that much was apparent. Pakistan was unhappy to have to swallow such a pill, but they agreed on the principle that it was far more troublesome to govern Bangladesh than it was worth.
India also agreed to withdraw soldiers from the border of Myanmar and Arunachal Pradesh; and China agreed to pull back her soldiers as well from the borders. Bangladesh received independence from Pakistan on Christmas Day, 1970. In the first elections, the pro-Chinese parties received the majority of the votes, and became the first democratically elected leaders of Bangladesh. They refrained from abolishing the democratic system, but instead reworked the state to be more "socialist-friendly".
The People's Republic of Bangladesh became a signatory to the Beijing Pact in early 1971, leading to India crying foul, at which point Bangladesh stated their affirmation to the Geneva Accords, and that no Chinese soldiers would be stationed in Bangladesh under "any circumstances".
In early 1972, Puyi pardoned the members of the People's Party for their "counter-revolutionary transgressions", and stated that "China should be a nation of brothers, not a nation of Byzantine intrigue". This would prove to be his final act as Chairman, as Aisin-Gioro Puyi succumbed to terminal cancer on August 18, 1972, bringing his reign to a peaceful end.
His administration is looked on with impressive respect; the Boy Emperor of China, known for punishing eunuchs for minor transgressions, thrown off his throne by Republicans for things he did not do; the Man Emperor of Manchukuo, waging war against China out of a bitter hate for what had happened to him, had become one of China's more respectable rulers in the 20th century, entirely by his own maturing during the 1950s, and his aptitude for dealing with the Central Committee and the cadres of the party.
His successor would have big shoes to fill, it wasn't very surprising who, after many years in the wilderness, returned to power in China...
Qilai! Qilai!
A history of Modern China
Aisin-Gioro Puyi (Communist Party)
(1965 - 1972)
"The Red Emperor"
A history of Modern China
Aisin-Gioro Puyi (Communist Party)
(1965 - 1972)
"The Red Emperor"
"The most peculiar leader" is a common expression when one describes the successor to Jiang Qing. For many, the idea that the man who once ruled as Emperor of China, once waged war against China, and was only redeemed through a lengthy prison stay, would ever become leader of China once again.
The rise of Puyi into a position of power in the Communist system came through as a result of his stay in his prison for a lengthy ten year spell. His mind matured and he came to realize that perhaps things were better off under the People's Republic than anything else.
From his release in 1959, he, along with many of his fellow former Manchukuo collaborators, were reintegrated in the Communist system. Puyi found himself as a popular administrator in Manchuria, and from there, he rapidly advanced in power by demonstrating loyalties to the Communist Party and praising the name of the Chairwoman.
He was given a position in the Central Committee in 1963 by the Chairwoman as a rare sign of reconciliation, and hopes by Jiang to show the reactionaries that if their precious Emperor had joined the Revolution, what chance did they have? Little did Jiang realize that this set herself up for failure. Puyi, a crafty man, began to use the misfortunes emerging in the mid-1960s to further his own political agenda over Jiang, and to win power back for some of the moderates.
After Jiang's quiet resignation in 1965, Puyi seemed to be the only viable candidate who wasn't ravenously mad, or ravenous in favor of reforms. The Central Committee was reluctant to name the elderly former monarch as the new leader of China, but after a speech to the Central Committee, they decided to cast for Aisin-Gioro.
Almost immediately after coming into power, fighting erupted in Vietnam between the Empire of Vietnam in the South, and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the North. The People's Liberation Army had already been meddling in Indochina's affairs for over a decade by this point; and had been in a protracted political war with the United States over Laos. Shortly after rising to power, Puyi pulled the PLA and Chinese advisors from the leftists involved in the Laotian Civil War, whom rapidly collapsed. He then reinforced China's position in Cambodia and North Vietnam.
Puyi decided that perhaps one of the best means to an end to ensure peace in Vietnam was to hold high-level talks between the two combatant powers in Beijing. Ho Chi Minh and the Emperor, Bao Dai, were the leaders of their respective diplomatic teams as they entered Beijing to meet with Chairman Aisin-Gioro.
These high-level talks brought a measure of success, as the two sides agreed to affirm to the Demilitarized Zone, and to call for a ceasefire; as well, prisoners and dead were repatriated across the line, and the two sides agreed to hold continued talks at a specific site on the DMZ every year to ensure continued peace between the two sides.
The United States felt slighted that South Vietnam had made such an agreement by herself, and shortly after the announcement of the Beijing Accords, a group of Vietnamese military officers attempted to seize power away from Emperor Bao Dai.
However, the officers were heavily outmatched by the remaining officers, and South Vietnam was even offered covert aid by the Chinese to "bolster their resistance against American imperialism". The officers were captured, and most of them admitted the CIA's complacency in the actions, enraging South Vietnam, and giving China further legitimacy in the eyes of governments for their peace-making capacity versus the United States' aggression against South Vietnam.
With tensions flaring up again, President Nelson Rockefeller did perhaps one of the most daring actions in recent memory for a sitting President, with the help of his Secretary of State, he conducted the first American state trip to the People's Republic of China, to speak to Chairman Aisin-Gioro.
President Rockefeller and Puyi discussed the situation in Vietnam, and Puyi expressed his disapproval of America's bolstering of radical right-wing governments in Thailand, Burma, South Vietnam, Formosa and South Korea. Similarly, Rockefeller pointed out the protracted PLA influenced over Cambodia and the bloodsport going on there.
The two came to no agreement, but Puyi managed to extract a promise of the United States to allow the People's Republic to ascend to the United Nations Security Council as the proper representative of China. In the following year, the United States Congress passed the "China Recognition Act", formally establishing diplomatic relations with the People's Republic, and disinheriting the Republic of China on Taiwan. By the end of 1968, the PRC had formally joined the United Nations, taking over Taiwan's positions.
However, in discussions, Taiwan was allowed to remain a member of the United Nations, but was instead referred to in a general sense as either "Chinese Taipei" or "Republic of China on Taiwan"; and was not a member of the UNSC.
The famine gradually came to an end after Puyi halted the agricultural collectivism and began devolving the power of agriculture to local authorities to ensure the proper management therein. In 1968, the Laotian Civil War finally came to an end after the remaining leftists stopped fighting and scattered into Cambodia and North Vietnam; a loss for China, but a victory in geopolitical reorganization, as the strength of Chinese influence was bolstered in both communist states.
Much to the relief of Puyi and the Central Commitee, the successor to Nelson Rockefeller, former Vice President Harold Stassen, didn't renge on the promises Rockefeller had made to establish relations with China. Stassen and Puyi promised to meet for more talks in 1970.
In 1969, the fruits of China's labours came to bloom in Indochina once again, after pro-Chinese rebels overthrew the military government of Burma and announced the People's Republic of Myanmar. The military dictatorship had been socialist in it's own right, but the People's Liberation Front had felt it was not leftist enough, and the restoration of civilian government in this manner strengthened China's political power.
The same year, Puyi organized a large conference of nations. Representatives of the People's Republic of China, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, People's Republic of Khmer and the People's Republic of Myanmar came together in Beijing and formed the Beijing Pact, a military alliance of nations to counter SEATO and the Soviet Union's meagre influence in the region.
The exclusion of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea came from the fact that the DPRK was primarily under the influence of the Soviet Union, and attempts by China to win over the leadership had been solidly rebuffed.
In 1970, a terrible typhoon impacted "East Pakistan" (otherwise known as Bangladesh), causing catastrophic levels of destruction, death and despair. Puyi capitalized on the situation and China's intelligence bureau began to influence the growing discontent in Bangladesh; smuggling aid and other things into the country, and helping ferment revolutionary attitudes against Pakistani authority. The growing rebelliousness of Bangladesh, and the Chinese involvement therein fueled paranoia in New Delhi.
Tensions creeped up as India began to place military units near East Pakistan's border, as well as Myanmar and the disputed Arunachal Pradesh region. The United States and their ally Pakistan requested that high-level talks be held between China, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and the United States.
This summit was held in Geneva, and was attended by all the powers involved. Pakistan accused India of being involved in growing rebelliousness in Bangladesh, India accused China of being involved, China accused India of militarizing the disputed territory, and taking "aggressive steps by mobilizing on the borders of a Chinese ally."
The talks went in a cycle of accusations and disputes, but the United States' influence came to terms with one thing -- Bangladesh would have to be independent; that much was apparent. Pakistan was unhappy to have to swallow such a pill, but they agreed on the principle that it was far more troublesome to govern Bangladesh than it was worth.
India also agreed to withdraw soldiers from the border of Myanmar and Arunachal Pradesh; and China agreed to pull back her soldiers as well from the borders. Bangladesh received independence from Pakistan on Christmas Day, 1970. In the first elections, the pro-Chinese parties received the majority of the votes, and became the first democratically elected leaders of Bangladesh. They refrained from abolishing the democratic system, but instead reworked the state to be more "socialist-friendly".
The People's Republic of Bangladesh became a signatory to the Beijing Pact in early 1971, leading to India crying foul, at which point Bangladesh stated their affirmation to the Geneva Accords, and that no Chinese soldiers would be stationed in Bangladesh under "any circumstances".
In early 1972, Puyi pardoned the members of the People's Party for their "counter-revolutionary transgressions", and stated that "China should be a nation of brothers, not a nation of Byzantine intrigue". This would prove to be his final act as Chairman, as Aisin-Gioro Puyi succumbed to terminal cancer on August 18, 1972, bringing his reign to a peaceful end.
His administration is looked on with impressive respect; the Boy Emperor of China, known for punishing eunuchs for minor transgressions, thrown off his throne by Republicans for things he did not do; the Man Emperor of Manchukuo, waging war against China out of a bitter hate for what had happened to him, had become one of China's more respectable rulers in the 20th century, entirely by his own maturing during the 1950s, and his aptitude for dealing with the Central Committee and the cadres of the party.
His successor would have big shoes to fill, it wasn't very surprising who, after many years in the wilderness, returned to power in China...
- Asami
- Word Count: 1.7k