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

[CELTICEMPIRE]

諸言-Intoduction​

China has been a great civilization since antiquity. But with greatness comes envy. For thousands of years, China’s enemies sought to plunder and conquer. Since these enemies usually came from the North, a Great Wall was built to keep them out.

But no one had expected that China’s enemies would ultimately come from across the sea. The Western powers humiliated China, taking over port cities and selling opium to the people.

It didn’t help that China was ruled behind the scenes by a woman who prevented China from doing what it needed to get out of its predicament.

Since efforts to reform the last dynasty failed, it was determined that there was only one course of action left: Revolution. China’s last emperor, a young child, was overthrown. But after the revolution, China was fragmented, ruled by quarrelling warlords. The revolutionaries who had overthrown the emperor, led by Sun Yat-sen, sought to unite the country.

The Kuomintang and allied warlords launched the Northern Expedition to crush the enemy warlords and reunify China. Another group they allied with were the Communists, who shared the Kuomintang’s Anti-Imperialist views. Then Sun Yat-sen died, succeeded by Chiang Kai-shek.

While at first Chiang Kai-shek saw the Communists as allies, he would soon see them as enemies needing to be vanquished. A civil war broke out with the Kuomintang on one side and the Communists on the other. As Nationalists fought against Communists, Chinese sovereignty was increasingly being encroached upon by Japan. The Nationalists were winning. But right before the Nationalists could deliver the final blow, Chiang was kidnapped by two of his generals and forced to sign a ceasefire. The Nationalist and Communist forces would work together against a common enemy once more.

Japan invaded China, hoping they could quickly break China’s will to fight. But China continued fighting. Japanese soldiers, indoctrinated to see their race as superior, committed horrific acts against those they viewed as inferior. But China never surrendered. For eight years, at first alone and later with allies, China fought back. The Japanese vowed to never surrender.

But they eventually changed their minds.

And now, Japan has been defeated. But will there be peace? Even as Japanese soldiers evacuate China, Nationalists and Communists are both trying to be move in to the territory they once occupied. It seems that civil war may soon erupt once more. And if hostilities resume, will the Republic of China survive under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, or will China become a Communist nation under Mao Zedong?

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

中國國民黨如能存在一天，則中國國家亦必能存在一天。如果今日的中國，沒有中國國民黨，那就是沒有了中國。如果中國國民黨革命失敗了，那亦就是中國國家整個的失敗。簡單地說：中國的命運，完全寄託於中國國民黨。

If the Chinese Kuomintang can exist for a day, the Chinese state will also exist for a day. If there is no Chinese Kuomintang in today's China, there will be no China. If the Chinese Kuomintang revolution fails, it is also the failure of the Chinese state as a whole. Simply put: China's fate rests entirely on the Chinese Kuomintang.

-Excerpt from China's Destiny, written by Chiang Kai-shek and Tao Xisheng

On August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced that Japan would surrender to the allies. The war that had cost millions of Chinese lives, both military and civilian, had ended. Celebrations erupted across China. Chiang Kai-shek addressed the victorious nation by radio:

“Right will triumph over might-this great truth which we never once doubted has been finally vindicated. Our faith in justice through black and hopeless days and eight long years of struggle has today been rewarded. The historical mission of our National Revolution has at last been fulfilled…

We have won the victory. But it is not yet the final victory. The universal power of righteousness has not simply achieved one more triumph. We and the people of all the world fervently hope that this war may be the last war in which civilized nations engage…”

(Soong Mei-ling, First Lady of China)​

Chiang knew that the victory over Japan would in all likelihood not bring lasting peace in China. Even before the war with Japan had ended, when both sides were supposed to temporarily put aside their differences, there had already been battles between the Nationalists and Communists. With the common enemy gone, the situation would likely escalate into full out war.

Chiang Kai-shek met with Mao Zedong at Chongqing, the capital of Nationalist China. At the negotiations, the two sides agreed to a democratic election to determine which party would rule China. Neither side intended on keeping the agreement, and the Nationalists and Communists had been pressured into negotiations by the US and USSR respectively. In 1946, the Chinese Civil War resumed.

(Left: Mao Zedong, Right: Chiang Kai-shek)​

The Nationalists were strong in the South and in urban areas, while the Communists were strong in the North and in rural areas. The Communists, by this point, had greatly expanded their territory by occupying land recently occupied by Japan. The Communists were particularly strong in the Northeast. The Nationalists launched an offensive to take the cities of Siping and Changchun in the Northeast. The Nationalists were led by Du Yuming, while the defending Communist forces were led by Lin Biao. Lin Biao was ordered by Mao Zedong not to retreat from Siping, orders that Mao would regret giving [1]. Despite outnumbering the Nationalists two to one, the Communists were defeated. Most of the 200,000 soldiers defending Siping were killed or captured. Lin Biao himself was killed in the fighting. Du Yuming’s forces marched into Changchun on June 2. The campaign was an outstanding success. The Nationalists gained the upper hand.

(Left: Du Yuming, Right: Lin Biao)​

The war was far from over, however. The Nationalists’ next move was an offensive against the Communists in the North China Plain. The heavily outnumbered Communists couldn’t win in a conventional fight, so they planned on having half their force of 60,000 retreat while the other half would engage in guerilla warfare. In their retreat, many Nationalists were killed. The Communists claimed victory. Part of the failure of the Nationalists was due to Nationalist soldiers that could have helped in the North China Plain were diverted to fight Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping in Central China. In July, the Nationalists failed in their attempt to retake the Datong-Puzhou Railway in Southern Shanxi province. Hu Zongnan failed to link up his forces with those of Yan Xishan. In the Northern part of Shanxi, the Nationalists were successful, however, inflicting heavy casualties on the Communists. The Nationalists also captured Huaiyin and Huai’an in Jiangsu Province. Nationalists moved into the highly economically important region and captured several important Communist bases [2].

(Yan Xishan)​

The Nationalist victories in 1946 were well-earned and decisive. As a result, many Communists began to question Mao Zedong’s effectiveness as a leader. The victories, especially those in Manchuria and Jiangsu, outweighed the defeats suffered elsewhere on balance. The Kuomintang and its military arm, the National Revolutionary Army, looked to be in a good position. After all, they outnumbered the Communists and controlled much more territory. But victory was not yet assured. Chiang Kai-shek had plans to retreat to the Island of Taiwan, recently returned to China, if he lost the war on the mainland. The Communists still held two advantages. The first was that their spies had infiltrated the Nationalist government and military. Nationalist spies knew very little compared to their Communist counterparts. The second advantage was propaganda, where the Communists once again did a much better job than the Nationalists. The Nationalist government was losing popularity and more Chinese turned to the Communists. Leadership on both sides were aware that the outcome of this war was very much unsure.

1: This is the PoD, OTL Lin Biao disobeyed Mao's orders, which was a good strategic decision.
2: This is basically what happened OTL.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

中華民國基於三民主義，為民有民治民享之民主共和國。

The Republic of China, founded on the Three Principles of the People, shall be a democratic republic of the people, to be governed by the people and for the people.

-Article I of the Constitution of the Republic of China

As the year 1947 began, Nationalist troops under Du Yuming were in the middle of an offensive against Communists in Jilin Province. While it was a victory for the Nationalists, the Communists were able to retreat with most of their forces surviving. Similar battles would play out across China. In a conventional war, the Communists would have been quickly wiped out, but their use of guerilla warfare made it possible for them to compete with the well-equipped professional Nationalist army. The Winter and Spring of 1947 saw a series of small-scale battles being fought in Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces, with the majority of them being won by the Communists. The Nationalists under Hu Zongnan scored a victory at Yan’an in March, capturing the Communist headquarters and forcing Mao and the rest of the Communist leadership to retreat. This was more of a propaganda victory for the Kuomintang than a major strategic victory, however [1].

(Left: Hu Zongnan, Center: Nationalist soldiers in Yan'an, Right: Mao Zedong's retreat from Yan'an)​

Some Communists were dissatisfied with the leadership of Mao Zedong. General Peng Dehuai was one such Communist who dared to voice his disagreements with Mao. Others, like Deng Xiaoping, stood firmly behind the Chairman. Attempts by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics [2] to exploit divisions within the ranks of the Communist Party were unsuccessful, and mainly resulted in dead Juntong [3] agents. Chiang Kai-shek faced opposition to his rule as well, and not only from the Communists. Many Chinese, especially students and intellectuals, saw Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang as obstacles to China becoming a democracy. While Chiang said that he supported a transition to democracy guided by Kuomintang rule, the fact remained that in the 1940s China still was not a democracy. In 1947, Chiang Kai-shek outlawed the China Democratic League and placed its leader, Zhang Lan, under house arrest.

(Zhang Lan)​

Chiang Kai-shek was also criticized for the Civil War. There were many in China who wanted the Nationalists and Communists to stop fighting. This viewpoint was also supported by many in the Chinese military and government. Anti-Chiang sentiment was present throughout the country, but it was particularly strong in Beiping [4]. While the other major cities of Nanking, Chungking, and Shanghai were strongholds of KMT support, Beiping Mayor He Siyuan was an opponent of Chiang. There were even Communist sympathizers in the military leadership in Beiping. Northern China, especially Northeastern China, would continue to be where opposition to the Kuomintang was highest. This political division in China can be seen to this day, where the Kuomintang is stronger in the South and the West while it is weaker in the North.

While Du Yuming was a hero for the Nationalists for his victories against the Communists in the Northeast, there was a new rising star in Shandong Province. In 1947, General Li Mi attacked the Communists in Shandong throughout the summer and won victories for the Chinese government. Li Mi wanted more troops sent to Shandong, hoping that with more men he could finish off the Communist threat in the province. But it was not to be. Other generals wanted Chiang Kai-shek to take troops out of the Northeast and send them to fight Communist forces in Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi. Generals like Yan Xishan and Hu Zongnan did not see the fighting in the Northeast the same way as Chiang did. Chiang Kai-shek continued to order Du Yuming to go on the offensive against the Communists there.

(Li Mi)​

As 1947 drew to a close, Communist forces went on the offensive and won minor victories in Shandong, Hebei, and Hubei provinces. On December 25, the new Constitution of the Republic of China came into effect. The man behind the text of the new constitution was John C. H. Wu, who served as ambassador to the Vatican City. The constitution established political rights for the people, equality between the nationalities, and the division of powers. There would be five branches of government; the Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, the Judicial Yuan, the Examination Yuan [5], and the Control Yuan [6]. Elections were scheduled to be held in January 1948. In addition to elections, Chiang Kai-shek had also planned new offensives, which he hoped would finally destroy the Communists in 1948.

(John C. H. Wu, father of the Chinese Constitution)​

1: As in OTL
2: The Intelligence Agency of the Republic of China
3: 軍統, What the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics was commonly called
4: Modern Day Beijing
5: The Examination Yuan validates the qualifications of civil servants.
6: The Control Yuan has the power to impeach and censure government officials, to audit budgets, and to propose corrective measures.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

From January 21-January 23, the 1948 Chinese Legislative Elections were held. An estimated 150 million people went to the polls (more than three times as many than in the American Presidential election later that year). 759 legislators were elected. Most represented districts in their provinces, but some represented specific professions or minority groups as well. The Communist Party boycotted the elections and the China Democratic League was banned. Thus, the only two opposition parties that took part in the election were the left-wing Chinese Democratic Socialist Party and the right-wing China Youth Party. The Kuomintang won over 700 seats. The Legislative Yuan would be led by Sun Fo, the son of Sun Yat-sen. The China Youth Party was given two cabinet positions; Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and Minister of Industry and Commerce.

(Sun Fo)​

The 1948 elections were good for the Kuomintang’s image, both at home and abroad. However, the Communists were still gaining new recruits in the Chinese countryside. They pursued land reform, making them increasingly popular with the peasantry. Chiang Kai-shek wanted to enact land reform, and crack down on the rampant corruption in the government as well. However, he did not want to alienate the allies he needed in order to defeat the Communists. Chiang was seen as corrupt by many, and westerners who didn’t like him referred to him as “General Cash-My-Check.” This was not a reflection of the reality. Chiang Kai-shek tolerated corruption, but was not himself corrupt. After the Communists were defeated, Chiang could attack corruption. In the meantime, the Communists took advantage of the weaknesses of the Kuomintang regime [1].

In the opening months of 1948, the Communists went on the offensive, taking territory in Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi. Communist offensives failed in Shandong, repelled by General Li Mi. As the Communists won victories, they also won new recruits for the People’s Liberation Army. But Chiang Kai-shek had his own offensive planned for the Spring. This offensive would involve three generals; Yan Xishan, Fu Zuoyi, and Li Mi. These three generals would attack, encircle, and annihilate Communist forces in Hebei. The Communist forces were situated between the three cities of Beiping, Tianjin, and Baoding and led by Nie Rongzhen. The planned encirclement failed, as Fu Zuoyi’s staff was infiltrated by Communist spies. Nevertheless, Nie Rongzhen was forced to retreat. Communist forces in Western Hebei were under attack from Yan Xishan and in Eastern Hebei from Li Mi. While Communist casualties were relatively low, the Nationalists took a lot of ground, mostly confining the Communists to the Southwestern part of the province by June.

(Left: Fu Zuoyi, Right: Nie Rongzhen)​

While battles were raging in Hebei, the Legislative Yuan agreed to temporarily grant more power to the President in order to combat the Communist threat. Du Yuming attacked Communist forces in Songjiang Province in June. Most of the province was pacified but some Communists retreated into what would soon be known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Communists were on the offensive in Henan, and by September forces under Xie Fuzhi had surrounded Kaifeng. Hu Zongnan was also under attack from Peng Dehuai in Southern Shanxi. In September and October, Nationalist forces under Tang Enbo broke the encirclement of Kaifeng and relieved the city’s garrison. Tens of thousands of soldiers were killed on both sides in the fight to relieve Kaifeng, with the Nationalists suffering higher casualties. The rest of 1948 saw mostly minor skirmishes, some won by the Communists and some won by the Nationalists.

(Tang Enbo)​

1: Contrary to popular belief, Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang were not, in general, a bunch of corrupt, far-right puppets of the West.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

President: Chiang Kai-shek
Home Province: Zhejiang

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Vice President: Li Zongren
Home Province: Guangxi

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Premier: Weng Wenhao
Home Province: Zhejiang

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Vice Premier: Gu Mengyu
Home Province: Hebei

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Minister of the Interior: Chang Li-sheng
Home Province: Hebei

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Minister of Foreign Affairs: Wang Shijie
Home Province: Hubei

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Minister of Defense: He Yingqin
Home Province: Guizhou

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Minister of Finance: Wang Yunwu
Home Province: Jiangsu (Shanghai)

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President of the Legislative Yuan: Sun Fo
Home Province: Guangdong

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President of the Judicial Yuan: Wang Chung-hui
Home Province: Hebei

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President of the Examination Yuan: Chang Po-ling
Home Province: Hebei

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President of the Control Yuan: Yu Youren
Home Province: Shaanxi

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[CELTICEMPIRE]

The 1940s saw great changes in the world of geopolitics. The losers of the Second World War had their empires dismantled, but even some of the victors saw their power and influence wane in the postwar years. The United Nations, founded in 1945, sought to prevent a similar conflict from taking place in the future. The Republic of China was one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, along with The United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France. They had all been allies during the war, but that didn’t mean they would get along well after the war ended. Relations between the US and USSR soured very quickly. In 1946 former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a speech in the American town of Fulton, Missouri in which he spoke of an Iron Curtain that separated the free West from the unfree East. In 1947 US President Harry Truman announced the policy of containment of Communism.

China wasn’t on the best terms with the Soviet Union either. The two nations had signed a treaty in 1945, in which China recognized the independence of Outer Mongolia. In return, the Soviets agreed to cease their support of the Chinese Communists. The Soviets continued to support the Chinese Communists anyway. But this did not mean that China was necessarily friendly with the West. Britain and France had given up their extraterritorial rights already, but Chiang Kai-shek was still a committed anti-colonialist. He opposed France’s ongoing efforts to keep control of Indochina. No European country was willing to help the Nationalists in the Chinese Civil War. American Secretary of State George C. Marshall and US Ambassador to China John Leighton Stewart wanted the fighting to stop and were not admirers of Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang’s anti-Communist crusade did win him a significant amount of support in America, however, and in 1948 the US sent aid to the Nationalist government.

(Left: George C. Marshall, Right: John Leighton Stuart)​

In 1947, India and Pakistan gained their independence from Britain, as did Burma in the following year. While China claimed territory belonging to all three countries, Chiang sought to maintain good relations. He already had a friend in Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, though the two would drift apart later. Throughout the 1940s, China developed relations with countries in the Middle East such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Saudia Arabia. There were many Muslims in China and many high-ranking Muslims in the Kuomintang, and they were helpful when it came to establishing friendships in the Muslim world. In contrast, there were not very many Chinese Jews. China abstained from voting on the 1947 partition plan that would establish a Jewish state. After Israeli nationhood was achieved, however, China established diplomatic relations with the new country. Sun Fo, President of the Legislative Yuan, was a strong supporter of Zionism and advocated for Chinese friendship with Israel. In future decades, Chinese foreign policy in the Middle East would become much more important, but for now it was an afterthought for Chiang Kai-shek and most of the Chinese government.

(Jawaharlal Nehru)​

China now shared a border with the Soviet Union and three other Communist countries; East Turkestan, Mongolia, and North Korea. East Turkestan was a Soviet puppet that occupied the western part of China’s Xinjiang Province. China would never recognize its independence. China did give up its claims in Outer Mongolia, however. China had no claims to any of the land ruled by North Korea. The two countries would not establish official diplomatic relations. Relations between the two countries, which were not great to begin with, got even worse as North Korea became a haven for Communist guerillas to retreat into. China recognized the government of the Republic of Korea as the legitimate government of all Korea. China soon established an embassy in Seoul, and South Korea established an embassy in Nanking. China supported the Korea Independence Party, which was led by Kim Gu. The party was founded by Korean exiles in China and was pro-Chinese. Though Kim lost the 1948 Presidential Election in a landslide, China would continue to support him and his party.

(Kim Gu)​

The Kuomintang would give support to other like-minded political parties and movements around the world. The KMT was itself active in British Hong Kong and Portuguese Macau. There was even a Vietnamese party modeled after the KMT, the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng or VNQDD. In 1948, however, China was too busy to give them much support against the French or the Viet Minh. There was also the Tibet Improvement Party, which supported Nationalist China and opposed the government of the Dalai Lama. Chiang Kai-shek took an interest in American politics as well. He sent Chen Lifu of the influential Chen family, then Vice President of the Legislative Yuan, to the United States to campaign for Republican Thomas Dewey for President in 1948. While Harry Truman unexpectedly triumphed over Dewey and won reelection, the Kuomintang continued to work with Republicans. America had a dedicated China Lobby, made up of mostly Republicans but also some Democrats. No other major power had a significant China Lobby.

(Thomas Dewey)​

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

From December 1948 to February 1949 Nationalist general Xue Yue eliminated most of the remaining Communist forces in Jiangsu Province. In February, Li Mi went on the offensive in Shandong Province. After a few days of fighting, the Communists began to retreat. Ten thousand Communists fled into Hebei where they were killed or captured by Nationalist troops stationed there. Meanwhile, Communists advanced from Henan into the Western part of Shandong Province. Communists also took over much of Chahar Province as there were not many Nationalist soldiers to oppose them there. Nie Rongzhen launched an offensive to take back lost land in Hebei. His forces were met by those of Fu Zuoyi south of Baoding in May. General Fu’s forces suffered high losses but they repelled the Communist attack.

(Xue Yue)​

In June, Du Yuming attacked the Communists in Nenjiang. Though he gained ground, he was unable to take the provincial capital of Qiqihar. The forces under his command were increasingly overstretched, and he would cease all offensives for the rest of the year. Minister of Defense He Yingqin and Chief of Staff Gu Zhutong were able to convince Chiang Kai-shek to divert soldiers from the Northeast to more critical fronts. Thousands of soldiers were being transferred from other fronts in order to fight in Shanxi. Yan Xishan, his forces bolstered by reinforcements, attacked the Communists in Eastern Shanxi and Western Hebei. Thousands of Communists were killed and thousands were captured. Many fled into Henan, which was already home to many Communist soldiers. Throughout the rest of Summer and Autumn, Communists and Nationalists clashed in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Henan.

(Left: He Yingqin, Right: Gu Zhutong)​

In July, China was hit with a natural disaster, Tropical Storm Irma. It was the worst recorded storm in the history of Shanghai. Over 1,600 people lost their lives and over 60,000 homes were destroyed. People from across China and even some foreigners came to help the people of Shanghai. Chiang Kai-shek also travelled to the damaged city. He spoke to the locals, hoping to endear himself to the people. While he was walking down a street in Shanghai, a young man shot at him with a pistol but missed, shattering a nearby window instead. The would-be assassin ran away but was chased down and captured by the Shanghai police. He confessed to attempting to assassinate Chiang Kai-shek and being a Communist. Surprisingly, he was not given the death sentence. He was instead given a long prison sentence in exchange for ratting out Communist agents.

On October 1, 1949, Chiang Kai-shek gave a speech to the Legislative Yuan, which was broadcast on radio for the whole country to hear. He assured the audience that China would be victorious over the “red bandits.” He denounced the Soviet Union. He praised the progress of decolonization, but he also warned that “As European Imperialism is fading away, a new Red Imperialism rises.” He spoke of two Asian countries already under this red imperialism; Mongolia and North Korea. He condemned the Soviet Union’s creation of a puppet state in Xinjiang, which he viewed as a violation of Chinese sovereignty. He also denounced Soviet interference in Iran. Chiang Kai-shek’s vision for China was for it to be a country free from both Western Imperialism and Soviet aggression. He believed that China must set the example of this third path for the rest of Asia to follow. This would be the basis of Chinese foreign policy for decades to come.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

In January 1950 in Beiping, 20 Communists were executed. Among the condemned was General Yan Youwen, who had served under Fu Zuoyi. He had given military information to the Communists, and this was discovered by the Juntong in late 1949. The names of more Communist agents were uncovered and there were more executions throughout China. Mao Renfeng, who was head of the Juntong after Dai Li’s death in 1946, was starting to turn the tide in the espionage war. There was an increased fear that Communists had infiltrated all levels of the Chinese government, and there was some truth to those fears. Hundreds of people, not only in the government, but also in educational institutions, were fired or imprisoned for being suspected Communist sympathizers. Other Communist sympathizers, like Chiang Kai-shek’s sister-in-law Soong Ching-ling, were not affected at all.

(Mao Renfeng)​

The Communists launched attacks on Du Yuming’s overstretched army in the Northeast. Thousands of Nationalist soldiers near the Soviet border in Hejiang Province were cut off from supplies and surrendered in March. Some minor skirmishes between Communists and Nationalists were fought in Henan, Hubei, Shandong, and Suiyuan. But the most important battles were being fought in Shaanxi Province. Shaanxi was home to the Communist headquarters in Yulin, where they had been moved from Yan’an after the city was taken by Nationalists in 1947 (though Yan’an had since fallen back into Communist hands). Chiang Kai-shek tasked General Ma Bufang with fighting the Communist forces in the province. Throughout 1949, his forces battled against the Communists in Shaanxi and Gansu.

(Ma Bufang)​

In July, Ma Bufang’s forces captured Yan’an, and moved North to take Yulin as well. The Republic of China Air Force carried out air strikes against Communist positions, but the bombers mostly missed their targets. On August 5, the bloody battle of Yulin began. Nationalist artillery attacks were followed by assaults from the East, South, and West. 30,000 Nationalists and 25,000 Communists died with many more wounded before the Communists retreated on the 8th. Most of the survivors fled to Suiyuan Province. During the battle, Mao Zedong died, killed by artillery. It was hailed as a major victory, and Ma Bufang’s popularity and prestige rose rapidly. The Communists were devastated by the loss of Chairman Mao. Later in August, General Peng Dehuai would assume control of Communist forces.

(Mao Zedong, 1893-1950)​

In September, Nationalist forces under Bai Chongxi encircled Communists in the border regions of Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Hunan province. While some managed to escape the encirclement, the majority were killed or captured. General Bai Chongxi declared in October that Southern China had now been pacified (this was mostly, but not entirely, true). Li Mi continued to campaign against and defeat the scattered Communist forces in Shandong. A wave of optimism spread through the Nationalist ranks. Minister of Defense He Yingqin remarked to Chiang Kai-shek in November that, barring Soviet intervention, the Communists cannot win. The Soviet Union was not interested in getting into a war with China, but was content to continue aiding Communists in order to weaken the Chinese state. Chiang Kai-shek was himself optimistic, and was making plans for the reconstruction of China and the possibility of future intervention in Tibet and Indochina.

(Bai Chongxi)​

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

In 1951 China as a whole was not yet at peace, but large parts of the country were peaceful. Southern China saw very little activity from Communist guerillas by this time. Thus, foreign investors started to feel safe to invest in China again. While the Nationalist government was still busy with fighting the Communists, provincial governments began to spend more on infrastructure and social services. The private sector was growing as well, as more businesses were opening every day. 1951 saw the founding of one of China’s most famous companies. Former Finance Minister H. H. Kung, founded 民國電子 [1], known outside of China as Minkuo Electronics. Working with his brother-in-law former Premier T. V. Soong (who was also Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek’s brother-in-law), he got government backing for his venture. Minkuo Electronics would be owned by the Chinese government until the 1980s. The company would mostly make radios and television sets in its early years, and would not expand into overseas markets until later.

(Left: H. H. Kung, Right: T. V. Soong)​

Further North, the Communist threat remained. Chinese Communists in North Korea crossed over the border into Songjiang and Andong, where they would be a distraction for the Nationalist troops stationed in the Northeast. Four Chinese generals were tasked with fighting Communist forces in Henan Province; Tang Enbo, Yan Xishan, Hu Zongnan, and Ma Bufang. They were opposed by Communist generals Peng Dehuai and Nie Rongzhen. The Nationalist forces were aided by new tanks and planes, and were much better armed than their opponents (in addition to their numerical superiority). In March they began their attack, and were quickly able to cut Communist armies off from each other. Thousands were killed and thousands more taken prisoner. Pockets of Communist troops were surrounded and were destroyed. For the rest of the year, Nationalists chased retreating Communists all around Henan and Hubei.

(Nationalist Sherman Tank)​

As the fighting took place in Henan, the province saw outbreaks of diseases. Thousands of Communist and Nationalist soldiers, as well as civilians, died. There were also food shortages, not only in Henan but in other parts of central and Northern China. The food situation was bad China had to import food in order to prevent starvation. The United States sent shipments of both food and medical supplies. China imported food from Brazil and Venezuela as well. China even bought grain from the Soviet Union, despite the bad relations between the two countries. Minister of Food Guan Jiyu, an ethnic Manchu and one of the few high-profile Kuomintang figures from Northeastern China, was always visible in the efforts to make sure everyone had enough to eat. Chiang Kai-shek saw in Guan Jiyu a man who could help him in a region of the country where he was not particularly popular.

(Guan Jiyu)​

On July 1 the Organization for East Asian Cooperation was founded. Delegates from China, India, Burma, Thailand, and South Korea met in Canton. The organization would promote closer economic ties between its members. Each member of the OEAC agreed not to declare war on another member. The delegates passed a resolution calling for France to withdraw from Indochina. France ignored the resolution, and continued to fight to keep its colony. Britain was also fighting to hold onto one of its Asian colonies, Malaysia. The Republic of China and the United Kingdom had one thing in common in Malaysia; both supported the Malaysian Chinese Association. There was an ongoing Communist insurgency in Malaysia that was largely backed by members of the Chinese community there. Britain and China saw the Malaysian Chinese Association as a way to counter the popularity of Communism in the country.

1: Minguo Dianzi

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

In 1952, China held its second Legislative Yuan election. These elections were free in some areas and unfree in other areas. Nationalist soldiers often guarded polling places in Northern China. Officially, they were there to protect voters from Communist attacks or intimidation, but some reported that they were intimidated into voting for the Kuomintang candidate. The Kuomintang maintained its overwhelming majority as the Chinese Democratic Socialist Party and the China Youth Party won very few races. Sun Fo remained as President of the Legislative Yuan. Chiang Kai-shek was pleased by the results, as it meant that most of the Legislative Yuan would support his agenda. Chiang’s agenda in 1952 was still focused on suppressing the main Communist threat. However, the year would also see increased social spending and spending on infrastructure in order to rebuild the nation.

1952 would see the elimination of most Communist armies South of the Great Wall. Nationalist generals Tang Enbo and Ma Bufang engaged in a series of operations to mop up the remaining Communist forces in Central China. Some Communist guerillas fled into Western China, but they were defeated by Ma Bufang’s brother, Ma Buqing. By October, the only Communist forces South of the Great wall were small, irregular bands that posed no serious threat to the Chinese Army. In April Yan Xishan began his campaign against Communists in Suiyuan Province. There were few engagements, as the Communists retreated from battle against the vastly numerically superior Nationalist forces. 5,000 Communist soldiers fled into Mongolia. Li Mi led the Nationalist forces in Chahar Province, where events played out similarly to Suiyuan. At the same time, half a million soldiers were transferred to the Northeast, with more on the way. These troops helped guard the border with North Korea to prevent Communists from launching raids from there.

With victory almost certain in the Chinese Civil War, Chiang Kai-shek could use the military for purposes besides suppressing the “red bandits.” More attention was paid to the Chinese Navy, which saw very little action in the Civil War. At the time, the Chinese fleet was mostly made up of decommissioned American ships and Japanese destroyers that had been surrendered to the Allies. Chen Cheng, Commander in Chief of the Chinese Navy, envisioned something greater. His long-term goal was to build a navy that could project power around the Pacific. Chinese shipyards began construction of destroyers, cruisers, and submarines. The Chinese Army sent soldiers to the border with French Indochina. This was intended to send a message to France that China was willing to intervene in Indochina. Aid to the VNQDD was increased. Troops were also sent to guard the border with East Turkestan.

(Chen Cheng)​

Chiang Kai-shek was faced with the daunting task of land reform. China was a vast country where millions lived as peasants. Their farms were not ultimately owned by them, but by their landlords. The Communists were so popular among the peasantry precisely because they redistributed land to the peasants. Land reform had taken place in parts of China already, not only by the Communists. Ma Hongkui, a warlord, already implemented land reform in Ningxia Province. Unlike the Communists, the Nationalists would need to compensate the landlords. While government officials discussed possible solutions, the Legislative Yuan passed the 1952 Farm Act. The act, which would give unused land to peasant farmers, was signed into law by Chiang Kai-shek. Most of this land was in Western China, though the government also promised that Northeastern farmland would be available once the Communists were cleared out of the region. Some have criticized the 1952 Farm Act, saying that it was intended to displace minorities in Western China. However, Chiang’s motivations were more likely a desire to bring people loyal to the national government into provinces where warlords held sway in order to further integrate the country.

(Ma Hongkui)​

 

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This is a triumph of Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People over Communism.

-Chiang Kai-shek, October 10, 1953

The Northeast saw the longest fighting of any region of China after the resumption of the Civil War. By 1953 it was the last place where Communists had any significant forces. Communist generals Luo Ronghuan and Liu Yalou fought well against Nationalist Du Yuming over the years. But time was running out. The Communists had been defeated in the rest of the country, allowing for Nationalist soldiers to be redirected to the Northeast. Xing’an and Heilongjiang Provinces were still mostly under Communist control, and Communist forces controlled parts of Liaobei, Nenjiang, and Hejiang Provinces as well. The Chinese air force flew over Communist-held territory in January, dropping leaflets. The leaflets proclaimed the impending Nationalist victory and urged Communist fighters to surrender and spare their lives. In March, Qiqihar fell to the Nationalists under Du Yuming. Li Mi’s forces captured all of Liaobei Province.

(Communists in Northeast China)​

In June, Du Yuming defeated the outnumbered defenders of Bei’an. Some Communists continued to put up a fight in Dedu County for a few more days. Most of the rest retreated into the Soviet Union. From June to September, Nationalist forces under Li Mi and Chiang Ching-kuo secured Xing’an. Their last engagement with Communist forces was when 1,500 Communists were surrounded by 50,000 Nationalists in Oroqen Banner and defeated on September 30. Nationalist troops quickly started occupying the land along the border with the Soviet Union. Forts and other defenses would be constructed in order to keep Heilongjiang Province secure. The Communist resistance to the Chinese government went underground after this point. Though the Civil War had not officially ended yet, Chiang Kai-shek claimed he had won the war. On Double Ten Day he gave a speech in which he proclaimed the victory of the Three Principles of the People [1] over Communism.

(Chiang Kai-shek's son Chiang Ching-kuo participated in the Civil War)​

In total, 55,000 Communist soldiers had fled to Mongolia, the Soviet Union, or North Korea. Their leader was Deng Xiaoping, who set up base in Eastern Mongolia. Over the following years, Communist sympathizers from China would join them. After all, there were millions of Chinese who saw them as freedom fighters. They would, from time to time, launch raids into China. Some of them would end up being integrated into the militaries of their new home countries. The Soviet Union would use the Chinese Communists to crack down on unrest in Eastern Europe. While the exiled Communists still sought to overthrow the government of Chiang Kai-shek, the Soviet Union was losing interest in helping them realize that goal. Joseph Stalin died in March, and the USSR was under new leadership that was more conciliatory towards China.

(Deng Xiaoping)​

Chiang Kai-shek announced his plan for land reform. He claimed that by 1959 every farmer would own his own land. Some believed him, others did not. In November, thousands of landlords in his native Zhejiang were given compensation for having their land distributed to peasants. This compensation came in the form of government jobs or shares in state-owned enterprises. These steps helped ensure his continued support from the left-wing of the Kuomintang. Much of the Chinese populace was unsure of whether or not Chiang actually intended on following through with his promise. Many peasants who had relocated because of the provisions of the 1952 Farm Act discovered that the lands they were given were not great for growing crops. Much of the country was still in ruins. There was still much to do.

1: Nationalism, Democracy, and Welfare/Livelihood or Socialism

 

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In 1952, US President Harry Truman sought a third term as President. Harry Truman was the last person who was legally allowed to do that. Due to the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution, no one after him was allowed to serve more than two terms. There was some opposition to him at the Democratic Convention from progressives, Dixiecrats, and people who didn’t want him to run for a third term, but he was renominated. When he learned that the Republicans nominated Senator Robert Taft, he felt confident that he would win. But many Americans were tired of 20 years of Democrat rule and were looking for something different. Taft defeated Truman 51-48% in the popular vote and 353-178 in the electoral college. Truman lost long time Democrat states such as Texas, Virginia, and Florida. The conservative isolationist Robert Taft was inaugurated in 1953 but did very little as president because he died later that year. He was succeeded by his Vice President, William F. Knowland.

(The 3 presidents of 1953, from left to right: Harry S. Truman, Robert A. Taft, and William F. Knowland)​

Joseph Stalin, the man that some viewed as a hero and others viewed as the worst person to ever live, died in 1953. His successor was Georgy Malenkov. Even though Malenkov defended the legacy of Stalin, he was a much more lenient ruler than his predecessor. He would criticize some of the excesses of the Stalin years, and upon his ascension to power he released some gulag inmates. The next few years would see a fierce rivalry between Georgy Malenkov and Nikita Khrushchev. There was initially some hope that Malenkov could ease tensions between the West and the USSR. He suggested a united neutral Germany. He also was an opponent of nuclear weapons. With the United States being led by Robert Taft, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to end the Cold War. But it was not to be. By the end of the year, he turned his attention to forming an anti-imperialist bloc with China and India.

(Georgy Malenkov)​

 

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Chiang Kai-shek was loved by many and hated by many. He could take solace in the fact that the majority of the Kuomintang backed him for President. Presidential elections in the Republic of China were decided not by the popular vote, but by the National Assembly [1]. Just like presidential elections, the Republic of China Constitution in 1947 stipulated that National Assembly elections would occur every six years. In 1953, the Kuomintang once again won an overwhelming majority of seats in the National Assembly. This meant that any serious challenge to Chiang Kai-shek’s reelection the following year would have to come from within the Kuomintang. There would be a high-profile challenger from within the KMT, Vice President Li Zongren. Li Zongren was supported by members of the National Assembly from his native Guangxi Province and also by people who didn’t particularly like Chiang Kai-shek. He and Chiang were not on the best of terms, and Chiang believed that Li had been too conciliatory towards the Communists.

(Li Zongren)​

Chiang Kai-shek overwhelmingly won the presidential vote with over 80% of delegates supporting him. This came as a surprise to no one, including Li Zongren and his supporters (Li didn’t actually seek out the presidency, he was merely nominated by a group of anti-Chiang politicians). Just as in 1948, the election for vice president was much more competitive. And just like in 1948, Chiang Kai-shek supported Sun Fo over Li Zongren. General Yan Xishan was a serious contender for vice president as well. There were also two minor candidates. There was Lei Chen, a pro-Democracy member of the Legislative Yuan from Zhejiang and Xu Fulin, a member of the Legislative Yuan and leader of the China Democratic Socialist Party. With the exception of Xu Fulin, all candidates were affiliated with the Kuomintang.

(Xu Fulin)​

On the first ballot, Sun Fo came in first place with 1,311 votes. Li Zongren came in second with 882. Yan Xishan received 460 votes, Xu Fulin received 207 votes, and Lei Chen received 85 votes. On the second ballot, much of Yan Xishan’s support went to Sun Fo. Sun Fo received 1,552 votes, 19 more than were required to win. He would become the new Vice President in May 1954. Chen Lifu, Vice President of the Legislative Yuan, would become the new President of the Legislative Yuan. Li Zongren had been defeated, but he was not retiring from politics. He returned to Guangxi where he began to plot his way back into power. He had plenty of supporters across the country, including the warlord Bai Chongxi. Meanwhile, further west, Warlord Ma Bufang was put in command of an invasion force.

Presidential Election of 1954​

	Votes
Chiang Kai-shek (KMT-Zhejiang)	2,252 (80.5%)
Li Zongren (KMT-Guangxi)	582 (19.1%)

Vice Presidential Election of 1954​

	First Round	Second Round
Sun Fo (KMT-Guangdong)	1,311 (43.1%)	1552 (51.0%)
Li Zongren (KMT-Guangxi)	882 (29.0%)	998 (32.8%)
Yan Xishan (KMT-Shanxi)	460 (15.1%)	325 (10.7%)
Xu Fulin (CDSP-Guangdong)	207 (6.8%)	170 (5.6%)
Lei Chen (KMT-Zhejiang)	85 (2.8%)

​

1: Basically an electoral college that has some other powers like amending the constitution.

 

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With the victory over the Communists, the Chinese government was in control over most of the territory it claimed. China had come a long way in the last 40 years. But there was still a lot of land that the Republic of China claimed without actually controlling. The Republic of China was the successor state to the Qing Dynasty, and thus sought to recreate the Qing Dynasty’s borders. There were some exceptions, as China relinquished its claims to Mongolia and parts of the Soviet Union (it continued to claim other Soviet territory) during the 1940s. In order to take back some of this territory, China would need to go to war with the Soviet Union or India, neither of which was appealing to very many Chinese. There was one large part of the former Qing Empire that wasn’t protected by a large army and/or nuclear weapons, however.

After the fall of the Qing Dynasty the 13th Dalai Lama declared Tibet an independent country. China didn’t recognize Tibet as independent, but was unable to do anything about it at that time. Over the next four decades, internal conflict and invasion by Japan meant that China had more pressing concerns. The 13th Dalai Lama died in 1935 and was succeeded by the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, in 1940. The country was ruled as a feudal theocracy. It had diplomatic relations with countries such as Britain, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Some Tibetans were unhappy with the status quo. A group of Tibetans who were pro-Chinese and wanted to modernize their country joined the Tibet Improvement Party. Many of the people involved in the party were forced to flee the country. When reformist Buddhist monk Gendün Chöphel, a member of the Tibet Improvement Party, returned to Tibet he was arrested and remained in jail until he died in 1951. Meanwhile, the founder of the Tibet Improvement Party, Pandatsang Rapga, was living in exile in Shanghai.

(The 14th Dalai Lama)​

In 1954, soldiers were gathered in Central China for an invasion of Tibet. They were led by Ma Bufang. The Dalai Lama, who was now old enough to rule on his own, was informed that he must accept Chinese rule over Tibet. He would be allowed to keep some of his power, with Tibet becoming an autonomous region within China. He refused. And thus, the invasion began. The Tibetans were vastly outnumbered and had inferior weapons, and the invasion lasted only a few months. In total, over 8,000 people died during the invasion of Tibet. As Chinese troops closed in on Lhasa, the Dalai Lama agreed to negotiate. He soon found that the terms given to him were a lot less generous than they were in the original offer. The Dalai Lama would be allowed to stay in Potala Palace and live a life of luxury, but he would no longer be Tibet’s political leader. He reluctantly agreed to the deal, knowing that he would still be an influential figure due to being the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.

(Potala Palace)​

The Chinese invasion of Tibet was condemned by Britain, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia. Nepal withdrew its application to join the Organization for East Asian Cooperation. Chiang Kai-shek did not care. He thought that Britain’s condemnation of the annexation of Tibet was laughable, considering all the countries Britain had invaded and occupied across the globe. Nevertheless, this was the beginning of the rift between China and India. Ma Bufang, under orders from Chiang Kai-shek, installed Thubten Kunphela, a pro-Chinese Tibetan politician, as the governor of Tibet. A government was quickly formed that was made up almost entirely of ethnic Tibetans. The first action of the new Tibetan government was to officially declare Tibet to be an autonomous region within China. In addition, Buddhism lost its place as the state religion and the government embarked on a campaign to end serfdom.

(Thubten Kunphela)​

 

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Chiang Kai-shek had defeated the Communists, won reelection, and annexed Tibet. At the same time, he ruled over a country that was largely in ruins. He and other Kuomintang officials spoke about Chinese greatness and making China a superpower, but they had a long way to go before that was possible. In 1954, the Legislative Yuan passed an infrastructure bill. One of the major provisions of the bill was to put the entire country on the same railroad gauge. Shanxi Province was on a separate gauge than the rest of China, which actually served a purpose in the past. This helped further integrate the provinces. Meanwhile, over one million soldiers were given honorable discharges. This meant that they could go home and work on the farms and in the factories to help grow China’s economy.

The Soviet Union, by this point, had recognized that Communists were unlikely to take over China any time soon. Even Stalin had recognized this by the end of his life. The new Soviet Premier, Georgy Malenkov, wanted to repair Sino-Soviet relations. He hoped that the Soviet Union, China, and India could form an anti-imperialist bloc. Unlike Nehru, Malenkov did not utter a word in opposition to the invasion and annexation of Tibet. China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Shijie, had worked with the Soviet Union in the past. In 1954 he met with Soviet Ambassador Aleksandr Panyushkin. The result of the meeting was the Wang-Panyushkin Pact a new treaty between the USSR and China, where two countries would pursue peaceful relations. The Soviet Union agreed to stop supporting Chinese Communist rebels. The Soviet Union even provided economic aid to the Republic of China in 1954 and 1955.

(Left: Wang Shijie, Right: Aleksandr Panyushkin)​

Soviet aid was intended to bring China closer to the Soviet Union. This alarmed many in the United States. Thus, the US approved aid to China in order to counteract Soviet influence. Much of that aid money was used to compensate landlords in the land reform campaign. In 1954 one third of farmland in China was owned by the landlord class, which made up less than five percent of the overall population. If nothing was done about this situation, there was a real possibility that there would be another attempt at a revolution against the government in Nanking. China had taken baby steps in its effort to redistribute land ownership. The process would take years. In 1954 the Legislative Yuan, despite being led by the right-wing Chen Lifu, approved rent control laws applying to rural areas. Farm rents were now capped at 33.3% of crop yields.

(Chen Lifu)​

The Land Reform Campaign was uneven in its implementation across the country. Tibet was unaffected by many of the laws passed by the Legislative Yuan. Some places, like Ningxia, had already seen successful land reform under the direction of a warlord. The Communists had redistributed land in much of Northern China, and the government wasn’t going to take away the land the peasants had gained. Land reform was the easiest and quickest in Taiwan, and was mostly completed by 1955. This was because a lot of land had been left behind by the Japanese, making it easier to compensate the landlords there. In some places, the initiative was taken by local governments. In Xikang, Governor Liu Wenhui enacted land reform on much less generous terms for the landlords than the national government gave. He wanted the credit for giving the peasants land instead of the government in Nanking and Chiang Kai-shek, who he was not fond of. On the other hand, Zhejiang Governor Chen Yi did not cooperate with the national government on land reform.

(Liu Wenhui)​

The Chinese government enacted price controls in order to combat the inflation the country had been suffering from since the 1940s. The economy was not in a good condition, but things were improving. Some of the aid money was used to build new factories for state-owned companies. New Shipyards were constructed in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Taiwan Provinces as part of the plan to build up China’s navy. The Taiwan Machinery Shipbuilding Corporation [1], founded in 1946, became the new place of employment for many soldiers of World War Two and the Civil War. Economic growth also came from natural resources. Mining was a large part of the economy in many provinces, and the lumber industry was growing. In addition, the pacification of Northeastern China allowed for more petroleum reserves to be tapped.

1: 台灣機械造船公司 (Taiwan jixie zaochuan gongsi), this company is now known as the CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, and was owned by the state until 2008

 

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The entire Vietnamese people are determined to mobilize all their physical and mental strength, to sacrifice their lives and property in order to safeguard their independence and liberty.

-Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese Proclamation of Independence, 1945

France was determined to hold onto Indochina. The native people of Indochina were equally if not more determined to kick the French out. The rebels largely engaged in guerilla warfare. The rebels were mostly, but not entirely, Vietnamese. The two major Vietnamese rebel groups were the Việt Minh and the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng. The Viet Minh were led by Ho Chi Minh and were Communists. They were supported by the Soviet Union. The VNQDD were led by Nguyễn Tường Tam and were Nationalists. They were inspired by the Kuomintang and supported by the Republic of China. Both groups had opposed France before the Second World War and opposed Japan during the war. Another group was the Đại Việt Quốc Dân Đảng (DVQDD), which had supported Japan. They were nationalists who were led by Nguyễn Tôn Hoàn. The Viet Minh were the largest of the anti-imperialist groups.

(Left: Ho Chi Minh, Right: Nguyễn Tường Tam)​

Communist and nationalist rebels often fought against each other as well as the French. Thousands of VNQDD fighters were killed by the Viet Minh. The Republic of China had to cut back on its support for the VNQDD as China was embroiled in its own civil war. The Viet Minh would further dominate the anti-French resistance. By 1950 they controlled much of Northern Vietnam and Viet Minh or Viet Minh-aligned guerillas were active in other parts of Indochina. In 1950 French forces commanded by Jean de Lattre de Tassigny launched new offensives against the Viet Minh, taking back much of the land they had lost in Northern Vietnam. France won victories, and thousands of Viet Minh fighters were killed, but the guerilla war continued. General de Lattre had fought in the First and Second World Wars in Europe, on battlefields that were very different from the jungles of Vietnam.

(Jean de Lattre de Tassigny)​

De Lattre became sick, returned to France in 1951, and died of cancer in 1952. Also in 1952, the VNQDD received a huge boost. Since the outcome of the Chinese Civil War was no longer in any serious doubt, aid to the VNQDD was increased. Some of the weapons meant for the VNQDD did fall into the hands of Viet Minh pretending to be part of the VNQDD, however. The VNQDD began a new offensive in Western Tonkin. They mostly fought against the French, though there were some clashes with the Viet Minh as well. For the first time since 1946, the VNQDD was a serious contender not only in the literal battle against France but also in the battle for hearts and minds against the Viet Minh. The fall of Lai Châu was a major propaganda victory for the group. At the same time, Southern Vietnam saw a new anti-French resistance group spring up under Trình Minh Thế, a nationalist.

In 1953, things got worse for the French. Communist and Nationalist rebels agreed to a truce, focusing their efforts on winning independence. Opposition to the war was growing back in France, while US President Robert Taft encouraged France to withdraw from Indochina. France also had the possibility of war with China to worry about, as Chinese troops were massed near the border. In December, France agreed to a ceasefire and negotiations. An international meeting would be held in New Delhi in 1954, as India was a non-aligned country. Negotiations at the New Delhi Conference would take place from February to April. The four nations with the biggest stakes in the outcome of the conference were France, China, the Soviet Union, and the United States. France was represented by Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Georges Bidault. China was represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Shijie. The Soviet Union was represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov. The United States was represented by Secretary of State John Bricker.

France wanted to maintain some sort of influence in the region, and hoped that pro-French governments could be established. China wanted governments friendly to China to be installed. The Soviet Union wanted Communist states, and the United States wanted capitalist states. The French, the Soviets, and the Americans were amenable to a division of Vietnam, but China strongly opposed such a proposal. American President William Knowland had communicated his concern to John Bricker that the Viet Minh might take over Vietnam due to their superior numbers. At the conference, Bricker spoke to Wang Shijie about the potential of a Communist takeover. Wang told him privately that China would make sure that such a thing would never happen. Meanwhile, China had to act friendly towards the Soviet Union, as China desired Soviet aid.

(John Bricker)​

The solution was for Vietnam to be a single state, governed by a coalition of separate groups. A national parliament would have a provisional government seated. It would consist of representatives from the Viet Minh, the VNQDD, and other nationalist groups. Georges Bidault made sure that pro-French and monarchist parties would have some representation as well. The different groups would agree, at least on paper, to hold free and fair elections. There would also be a referendum on whether or not to restore the monarchy. Vyacheslav Molotov was happy about this arrangement. Both he and Georgy Malenkov were convinced that the non-Communists would succumb to infighting and that the Viet Minh would soon dominate in the new nation. Laos and Cambodia would be made independent, also with governments made up of Communist, Nationalist, and pro-French politicians (though the Communists would have less influence than in Vietnam).

(Vyacheslav Molotov)​

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

The Chinese government’s land reform campaign was in full swing. It was not universally popular, however. Many were dissatisfied with the slow progress of land redistribution. Some believed that the government was not actually going to carry it through to completion. Others opposed the reforms entirely. In 1955, landlords organized protests against the government. The first protests took place in Chiang Kai-shek’s hometown of Ningbo. They soon spread across Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces and then into other parts of China. The protesters denounced land reform as Communist. Hundreds gathered in Shanghai to protest near the American and British consulates. They hoped to make common cause with the Shanghai business community, which had been hurt by Chiang Kai-shek’s policies and no longer needed to support him in order to prevent the Communists from taking over. Chiang Kai-shek was worried that the CIA might be involved, but his fears were unfounded.

Mao Renfeng, head of the Juntong, had agents infiltrate the protests. These agents caused divisions among the protesters. The protests mostly fizzled out after that. Anti-land reform candidates would campaign for the 1956 legislative elections, hoping to be able to somehow stop Chiang Kai-shek from achieving his goal. When voters went to the polls, they elected a significant number of candidates who were willing to oppose the president. The China Democratic Socialist Party won 44 seats while the China Youth Party won 41. The Kuomintang still won 634 seats. 40 seats were won by independent candidates. However, the Kuomintang would not have done as well in a fairer election. In some cases, opposition candidates were kept off the ballot, and in others opposition ballots were thrown away. While China allowed two opposition parties to operate, others who tried to organize electoral opposition to the KMT were arrested. In 1955, pro-democracy activist Zhang Lan had died while under house arrest.

While the Kuomintang won over 80% of seats in the Legislative Yuan, a significant number of those legislators were opponents of Chiang. Li Zongren, the former Vice President, was still popular within much of the KMT. Even though it was four years away from 1960, everyone paying attention to politics understood that Li planned on running for president. While Chiang Kai-shek was a dictator, and he did not need to worry about being voted out of office by the people, if he became unpopular enough, there was a real possibility that he might lose power. His power depended on the support of the Kuomintang at multiple levels of government, as well as the cooperation of the military. If enough national and regional power-brokers sensed that country was turning against Chiang, they might overthrow him. Not to mention the possibility of another Communist uprising. That was why land reform was so important. Chiang Kai-shek’s future could be in jeopardy if it failed.

(Chiang Kai-shek)​

Landlords continued to relinquish their land for redistribution to their tenants. Sometimes this was voluntary and sometimes it was forced. The progress of land reform was still slow. Chiang Kai-shek has stated in 1953 that the peasants would all own the land they worked by 1959. But at the rate it was going, this wouldn’t actually happen until well into the 1960s. It cost a lot of money to compensate landlords. And paying off landlords could only be a small part of the national budget. The Chinese government was spending a great amount of money on infrastructure as well as establishing and running state-owned enterprises. And thus, despite Chiang’s words, tens of millions of Chinese peasants lived as tenants.

(Chinese farm)​

Chiang Kai-shek was helped by aid from both the United States and the Soviet Union. And that was how China was able to fund land reform. The KGB at this time was actually ordering Chinese Communist operatives still in China to resistance to the Kuomintang regime and to instead work on infiltrating it. Despite the purges that took place during the Civil War, there were still Communist-sympathizing Kuomintang officials in government who had made such sympathies a secret. There were even some people who had been purged who were allowed back into the government. These leftist officials in the Kuomintang supported Chiang Kai-shek’s land reform campaign. Wang Kunlun, a secret Communist who had been working within the Kuomintang for decades, loudly praised Chiang’s policies. At the same time, Ambassador Wellington Koo assured US President William Knowland that Chiang was still a committed anti-Communist and was just using the Soviets for money.

(Wang Kunlun)​

Throughout 1956, landlords were compensated with cash payments. Many felt that they weren’t getting the full value of their land, and complained to the government about it. Their concerns were largely ignored. The other method of compensation was shares in state-owned enterprises. The Taiwan Machinery Shipbuilding Corporation, China Cement, Minkuo Electronics, Sinopetrol, Sichuan Steel, and others had shares given out to landlords as compensation. Most landlords preferred payments in cash. This was because they were skeptical of the profitability of some of these enterprises. Indeed, many of these companies would not turn a profit for years. Some of the companies turned out to be massively successful later on and made their shareholders wealthier than they ever imagined. By the end of 1956, 21% of China’s farmland was still owned by the landlord class. This was still a lot but it was a huge decrease from only a few years earlier.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

The Organization for East Asian Cooperation was founded in 1951. It originally had five members; China, India, South Korea, Burma, and Thailand. Its headquarters were established in Canton. The first President of the organization was Hsu Mo, the former Chinese ambassador to Australia and Turkey. The organization sought to bring the nations of East Asia closer together. Each member agreed not to declare war on another member. The number of member states would double in the next few years. Indonesia, which had won its independence from the Netherlands in 1949, and the Philippines, which had gained independence from the United States in 1946, joined the OEAC in 1952. In 1955, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam joined the organization, bringing the number of members to ten. Delegates from Hong Kong and Macau would be present in Canton as well.

(Hsu Mo)​

China had a huge amount of influence on the OEAC. China prevented Mongolia, East Turkestan, and Tibet while it was still independent from joining the organization. China and South Korea had a common interest in preventing North Korean membership. India lobbied against Pakistani membership. Nepal was in the process of applying for membership, but withdrew after the Chinese invasion and annexation of Tibet. Some in India called for leaving the OEAC, but India would remain. Jawaharlal Nehru and Chiang Kai-shek were no longer friends, however. Nehru would call out China for its failure to be a full democracy. He hoped that India could provide an alternative to both Soviet Communism and Chinese authoritarian nationalism. China would briefly fund the Indian National Party, a secular nationalist party that was pro-Chinese. The party failed to have any meaningful impact on Indian politics and China pulled funding in the early 1960s.

Starting in 1954, the OEAC was tasked with ensuring peace in the countries of former French Indochina. Laos and Cambodia were not a cause of much concern, but Vietnam was. During the transition of power from France colonial to native Vietnamese rule, most of the country was given to various rebel movements and political factions. In order to keep the country at peace, foreign troops from the US, USSR, and China were temporarily stationed in Hanoi and Saigon. They were there to prevent violence between the different factions. In addition, election observers from all ten member states of the OEAC would be placed in those cities. They would remain in Vietnam until 1956. In 1955, Hsu Mo retired as President of the OEAC. He returned to his hometown of Suzhou and died the next year. The organization’s next president would be former Philippine Prime Minister Jorge B. Vargas. This didn’t change the fact that the organization was still very much dominated by China.

(Jorge Vargas)​

 

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Just as there is ideological diversity in the modern Kuomintang, the Kuomintang of the mid-20th century was far from a monolith. The KMT was an ideologically diverse party made up of people with very different visions for China’s future. Individuals affiliated with the party have run the gamut from far-left to far-right. Some collaborated with Japan and others undermined the government from within, hoping to establish Communism in China. By the 1950s, Sun Yat-sen and the other early party leaders were dead. Chiang Kai-shek had been the Director-General of the Kuomintang since 1938 when the position was created (he had served as the leader of the party at various points before that as well). The Vice Director-General was Chen Cheng, the commander of the Chinese Navy. Chen Cheng and Zhang Qun were both trusted advisors to Chiang Kai-shek, and were in favor of greater democratization of China.

(Chen Cheng)​

The Central Club, or the CC Clique as it was often called, was a very influential right-wing faction within the Kuomintang one of the most powerful factions overall. The organization was led by the Chen family, brothers Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu, who were friends with Chiang Kai-shek. After the death of Chen Guofu in 1951, his younger brother brother Chen Lifu became the leader of the CC Clique. H. H. Kung was closely associated with this faction, as was Chiang’s wife Soong Mei-ling. Several Uyghur generals and politicians were members of the CC Clique as well. Chen Lifu served as Vice President of the Legislative Yuan, and when Sun Fo replaced Li Zongren as Vice President of China, Chen Lifu became President of the Legislative Yuan. Chiang Kai-shek’s friendship with Chen Lifu was why he was willing to go along with the more left-wing items on Chiang’s agenda.

(Chen Guofu, 1892-1951)​

Another powerful faction was the Department of Political Science. This faction had traditionally been influenced by both Western and Japanese ideas. Chiang’s advisor Zhang Qun belonged to this faction, as did Chinese Premier Weng Wenhao. There was also the Whampoa Department, named after the Whampoa Military Academy in Canton where many of the ROC’s military leaders were trained. Chiang Kai-shek himself was part of this faction. There were also factions within Whampoa, such as the Civil Engineering Department, which was led by Chen Cheng [1]. Generals Hu Zongnan and Tang Enbo and Hu Zongnan had their own factions within Whampoa as well. All three of them were loyal to Chiang Kai-shek. Tang’s faction disbanded after his death in 1954, however. Defense Minister He Yingqin, an ally of Chiang, had been an instructor at the academy.

(Zhang Qun)​

Though the power and influence of warlords had greatly declined, they were still around during the 1950s. Yan Xishan, leader of the Jin Faction, was one of the most famous. He ruled over Shanxi Province and played a major role during the civil war. He was a neo-Confucian Chinese nationalist who supported Chiang. Much of Western China was ruled by warlords from the Ma Clique, a group of Hui Muslim generals. The most famous of them was Ma Bufang, who ruled Qinghai and led the invasion of Tibet. Ma Hongbin ruled over Gansu and his cousin Ma Hongkui ruled over Ningxia. Chiang Kai-shek trusted Ma Bufang, but was unsure about the other two. Another famous Muslim warlord was Bai Chongxi of the New Guangxi Clique. Bai had been China’s Minister of Defense, but was removed from his post because of his support for Li Zongren, who was also of the New Guangxi Clique.

(Yan Xishan)​

There were various left-wing factions as well. The Three People’s Principles Comrades Association was a leftist organization founded in opposition to Chiang’s policies. However, Chiang’s apparent pivot to the left and rapprochement with the Soviet Union led them to start working with him during the 1950s. The organization contained many who had secret ties to the Soviet Union such as Wang Kunlun. The Kuomintang Democracy Promotion Association was more moderate. It was founded by Li Jishen, a general who had taught at Whampoa Military Academy. Feng Yuxiang was a devout Christian former general who had been blood brothers with Chiang Kai-shek before breaking with him. He was affiliated with the left-wing of the Kuomintang and had even travelled to the United States to criticize his president. He was involved in a growing network of anti-Chiang generals.

(Li Jishen)​

1: Though he had the same surname, 陳, Chen Cheng was not related to Chen Guofu or Chen Lifu. He was not particularly fond of them or the CC Clique.

 

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Tanks and armored vehicles:
-M3A3 and M5A1 Stuart, M10 GMC, M4A4 Sherman, LVT-(A) given by the Americans, the M4A4 Sherman was sometimes modified to make the Gongchen Tank
-Chi-Ha, Ha-Go, TK, So-Ki, and So-Mo captured by the Japanese
-Soviet tanks (including the T-34) given to the Communists and then captured by the Nationalists
-Chinese Armored Cars include the American M3A1 Scout Car and various Soviet BA models given to China during WWII.

Guns:
-The Mauser 1933 is the most common rifle.
-The 1935 model Maxim is still the most common machine gun, and it is produced in China along with the MG Browning.

Planes:
-The most famous locally-produced planes are the AFAMF Chu X-PO Gloster CXP-1001 fighters.
-China has been buying B-17 Flying Fortresses as the model has been discontinued in the United States.