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

Would the State of Vietnam become the Republic of Vietnam? That and it does not seem like the Monarchy is coming to power anytime soon, and I could see Diem in alliance with the DVQDD and VNQDD declare a Republic. Plus with the DVQDD and the VNQDD being backed by China, I could see both the Viet Quac and the Dai Viet Parties merging to form a single unified Nationalist Party of Vietnam (Albeit split between Left-Wing and Right-Wing Factions).
 
Would the State of Vietnam become the Republic of Vietnam? That and it does not seem like the Monarchy is coming to power anytime soon, and I could see Diem in alliance with the DVQDD and VNQDD declare a Republic. Plus with the DVQDD and the VNQDD being backed by China, I could see both the Viet Quac and the Dai Viet Parties merging to form a single unified Nationalist Party of Vietnam (Albeit split between Left-Wing and Right-Wing Factions).
Ngo Dinh Diem, if he cooperates with the VNQDD, will have a place in the new government.
 
Tbh IOTL the VNQDD were a spent force by the 1940s (French suppression and Communist subversion had done a number on the VNQDD's strength) ; any VNQDD government that GMD China supports ITTL will be just that—collaborators. And if there's one thing us Vietnamese don't like, it's collaborators—collaborators with hated China no less
 
Tbh IOTL the VNQDD were a spent force by the 1940s (French suppression and Communist subversion had done a number on the VNQDD's strength) ; any VNQDD government that GMD China supports ITTL will be just that—collaborators. And if there's one thing us Vietnamese don't like, it's collaborators—collaborators with hated China no less
Time will tell if they succeed.
 
二十一, Domestic Troubles
China’s intervention in the Vietnam War began in 1958. The decision to invade would have major consequences in China and beyond. The immediate consequence was that the China and the Soviet Union were back to being open rivals again. This meant that Communists within China went back to seeking to overthrow the government. Throughout 1958, Chinese Communists attacked Kuomintang officials throughout China, but particularly in the North. The progress of land reform was held back as the government prioritized military spending. Chiang Kai-shek’s pivot to the left had ended. Both Chiang and China moved to the right during these years. The CC Clique gained more influence, and Chiang Kai-shek began to take more advice from President of the Legislative Yuan Chen Lifu.

Even before the intervention, there were a large number of Vietnamese refugees in China. They mostly went to Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan Provinces. Among the refugees were some criminals, and the locals soon turned on the refugees. Drugs poured into the Chinese border. In some areas, Vietnamese gangs came in and displaced the local Chinese gangs. Gang wars ensued in parts of Southern China. In some cases, local government officials worked with triads or other organized crime syndicates. Gangs that had ties to government officials started to receive military weapons to fight the new Vietnamese gangs. Sometimes Vietnamese gangs fought other Vietnamese gangs. In addition to drug trafficking, human trafficking was also an issue as many were being brought across the border unwillingly. Anti-Vietnamese riots led to the refugee population of Qinzhou fleeing from the city in August 1957. The refugees mostly returned to Vietnam by late 1958.

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(Triad members)

Communist rebels were back in China. They weren’t enough to become a major threat to the government, but dealing with them was a headache for Chinese authorities. Two men were arrested in Chaoyang for plotting to assassinate Chiang Ching-kuo. Bombings in Harbin, Jiamusi, and Daqing killed hundreds. Oil wells were attacked in the Northeast. In June 1958, Communists in Qitaihe killed Mayor Xie Wendong, a local hero among KMT supporters in Hejiang for fighting Communists during the Civil War. In July 1958, there was an assassination attempt on Chiang Kai-shek while he was in Beijing. While the 1949 failed assassin was given mercy, the three men who planned the assassination this time were given public executions. The government would use this as an opportunity to launch a purge of all suspected Communists in the government.

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(Xie Wendong, 1887-1958)
 
二十二, The 1958 Purges
The wave of Communist attacks in China caused widespread outrage. Something had to be done about it. The people responsible for the attacks were executed if caught. But there was also concern that Communists had infiltrated the government. The concerns were not unfounded. There were government officials in China who were Communists or had ties to the Soviet Union. Some had been purged earlier during the Civil War, but some remained. Legislative Yuan President Chen Lifu and Minister of the NBIS Ye Xiufeng both claimed that Communist infiltration was one of the greatest threats, if not the greatest threat, facing China. Chiang Kai-shek was increasingly agreeing with them. The two men were asked to make lists of which members of the Legislative Yuan they thought were Communists. Chiang asked Premier Weng Wenhao to do the same.

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(Weng Wenhao)

The three lists were handed in to Chiang Kai-shek in September 1958. Each list was separated into three columns. One column for those who might be Communists, one for those who were probably Communists, and one for those who were almost certainly Communists. Ye’s list included some names in read, which indicated they should be executed [1]. The lists ranged from between fifteen names (Weng Wenhao) and over fifty (Ye Xiufeng). Most of the names did not surprise Chiang. There would also be investigations into the Judicial, Control, and Examination Yuan as well as the National Assembly and the military. In October, the Juntong discovered, captured, and killed a KGB agent in Nanking, fueling further concerns about infiltration of the government. During the same month, two Juntong agents were killed in Moscow.

Wang Kunlun, a member of the Legislative Yuan, fled the country by boat in October. He reached North Korea and was held captive until his captors figured out who he was. He was then sent to the Soviet Union. Wang was a Communist and had given classified information to the Soviets. He was denounced as a traitor throughout China. The public was supportive of the government’s investigation of suspected Communists. The Central Daily News, the official newspaper of the Kuomintang, was sounding the alarm against Communist infiltration. Investigations would be held in the Legislative Yuan from fifth to the tenth of November. Several members of the Legislative Yuan would be questioned by Juntong agents and members of the control Yuan. Premier Weng Wenhao presided over the hearings.

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(Wang Kunlun)

There were hundreds of witnesses brought to the stand throughout the hearings. They were people who had interacted with the accused at some time, or at least they claimed they had. It was revealed that some members of the Legislative Yuan were actually Communist sympathizers. Though none were discovered to be full-fledged Marxists themselves or have ties to the Communist exiles in Mongolia so none of them would receive the death penalty. The accused were usually those who had advocated for peace between the Communists and Nationalists during the civil war. Li Feng of Songjiang was the first to be expelled from the Legislative Yuan. He denied the allegations brought forth against him. Chiang Ping-chiang of Sichuan, a Kuomintang leftist, was accused of being a Communist, and was expelled from the Legislative Yuan despite her denials. Mei Ju-ao of Jiangxi was a respected judge who participated in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Several witnesses attested to Mei’s sympathies for the Communists. He was purged from the Legislative Yuan.

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(Left: Chiang Ping-chiang, Right: Mei Ju-ao)

Many members of the Legislative Yuan began to express disapproval that Mei Ju-ao had been purged, and some began to question the necessity of the hearings. But the hearings continued. Lei Chen, an independent from Zhejiang, was accused of being a Communist. Lei had been highly critical of many government policies. He believed that China was not democratic enough. He was not a Communist, however, and he had no Communist sympathies. His friend Fei Hsi-ping of Liaoning, who was still a member of the Kuomintang at this time, was also one of the accused. More and more people in the government, convinced that many of the accused were innocent, believed that the investigations had gone too far. The young independent Liang Su-yung of Liaobei spoke out against the hearings. Other members of the Legislative Yuan spoke out as well.

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(Left to right: Lei Chen, Fei Hsi-ping, Liang Su-yung)

Chiang Kai-shek and Weng Wenhao agreed to end the purge of the Legislative Yuan, and declared that the Communist threat from within the chamber had been taken care of. In total, 21 members of the Legislative Yuan were purged. Members of the National Assembly were purged, along with politicians in the Judicial, Control, and Examination Yuan. General Fu Zuoyi, who had fought against the Communists in the civil war, was accused of being a secret Communist. The evidence for this was that Communist spies had worked for him in the past. He received a demotion. General Zhao Shoushan was purged from the army. At the provincial and local level there were purges as well, though they failed to generate as much attention. By January 1959, the country and the government had largely moved on.

1: A cultural thing, if you ever go to China, don't write anyone's name in red.
 
Thought the purges would be more thorough and involve mass executions of dissidents and was surprised that the purges largely involved forced retirements and demotions.
 
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