Post-Changchun Accords Map

Baldrick

Banned
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A map of China after the signing of the Changchun Accords. Sorry for the low quality- if someone could please tell me how most maps on this site are created, I would appreciate it.

The Soviet puppet Second East Turkestan Republic controls northern Xinjiang, while the People's Republic of North China controls Manchuria and Yenan. In spite of the activites of some Mongolian separatists, Inner Mongolia remains part of the Republic of China, while Tibet remains independent for the moment. The two Koreas are also in a tenacious peace...
 
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Chapter Three

Baldrick

Banned
With the signing of the Changchun Accord, the Second Chinese Civil War passed into history. (1) On one level, it had been a relatively brief conflict. Only twelve months passed between the surrender of Imperial Japan and the Changchun peace. With the exception of some low-level battles in Inner Mongolia, the fighting had also taken place solely in Manchuria. The great cities of China, Beijing and Shanghai, Nanjing and Chengdu, Xian and Chongqing, had seen no more of the Red Army than Mao's face on propaganda posters vilifying the CCP. For the vast majority of China, reconstruction from the Japanese war was the order of the day and had been so for the past year. The vast majority of Han Chinese were grateful to Chiang for freeing them from a decade of war and viewed the KMT as the legitimate government, one which they could throw their weight behind. So in terms of its impact on the general population, the conflict had been fairly minor.

Yet, the impacts of the Second Chinese Civil War were in fact tremendously deep. One postwar historian was not wrong in calling it "the most significant postwar development in East Asia up to the present." Manchuria lay in ruins. China was divided for the foreseeable future. Yet, most importantly, another nuclear weapon had been used by the United States. Many now felt that Truman had set an example: the atomic bomb was a weapon which could be used if it was absolutely necessary.

China is now divided in two, with neither side the total victor. Although Chiang Kai-shek's Republic of China controls the vast majority of the country at its 1912 borders, its victory is by no means total. Manchuria and North Shaanxi are united as Mao's Soviet puppet. Although a cease-fire is in effect between the two, neither recognises the other, and Chiang retains a claim to the territory of the People's Republic of North China. As with Mao, so with Mongolia. What had once been a Qing province is now a nation all its own, albeit a Soviet puppet. Chiang, however, continues to claim the country as his own, not recognising it as independent. The Second East Turkestan Republic is receiving Soviet military aid and enjoys diplomatic relations with the Eastern bloc, while Tibet retains its de facto independence. At the time of the Changchun cease-fire, no-one is sure if the arrangement would hold. Would the Red Army continue to pour men into China, and if they did, would they be met with American nuclear bombs? And if so, would that escalate to a nuclear bombing of all the Soviet cities? Or would the cease-fire hold, and a formal peace treaty be signed formalising the new status quo amongst a quarter of humanity? As it turned out, the answer is neither. Days lengthened into weeks and months, and it became clear that the two sides were not about to start shooting again, but nor were they about to sign a peace treaty and fully let bygones be bygones. (2)

In the new Republic of China, there is a great deal of optimism. Once it becomes clear that the cease-fire will carry on into the immediate future, 460 million people begin to look towards the future, and reconstruct from the past. A great deal of positive feeling for Chiang exists, as in spite of his myriad faults, he has led the country through warlordism and the Second World War. The US is also conveniently overlooking the Kuomintang’s distinctly unfree style of rule. The Nationalist Party remains the sole legal political party, and dissidents and critics are punished harshly. Nonetheless, a return to war is so feared that many will give Chiang the benefit of the doubt...

The People’s Republic of North China, by contrast, seems to be gripped with uncertainty. Mao Zedong knows all too well that his regime exists only because of the Red Army, and that he must do Moscow’s bidding if he wishes to survive. In spite of the Changchun Accords, Red Army troops continue to be present in his country. Mao takes steps to solidify his power, having himself promoted as “Chairman Mao” (毛主席, Mao zuhxi). His Foreign Minister and number three in the Party is Zhou Enlai, while Liu Shaoqi is the formal president of the People’s Republic of North China (in keeping with the Stalinist tradition of the Communist Party being more powerful than the actual state) and No. 2 in the Party. Marshal Lin Biao is commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army, Mao’s grandiosely titled army, while Marshal Peng Dehuai is the commander of all forces in the Yan’an region, cut off from the rest of the PRNC. A personality cult around Mao is developed- his portrait is hung in all public places, especially in Harbin, while a plethora of propaganda posters saturate Mao’s new subjects with pro-regime messages.

With a little background information in place, this update will cover the 1940s…

December 2, 1946: The 79th US Congress passes the Aid to the Republic of China Act by 466-69. The act provides for $8 billion dollars ($64 billion, very approximately, in today’s dollars) in military and economic aid to the Nationalists. Thanks in large part to this generous American aid, the KMT capital of Nanjing is fully reconstructed within four years, the damage from the 1937 Rape of Nanjing still very much left done. The act also helps to better integrate Taiwan into the ROC after decades of Japanese rule.

Additionally, some old World War II surplus equipment is sold to Chiang, including fifty B-25 bombers and twenty-five M4 Shermans. The US has an abundance of such equipment floating around and is more than happy to give some to Chiang.

December 19, 1946: Fighting breaks out between French colonial troops and Vietnamese rebels known as the Viet Cong, led by Ho Chi Minh. This rapidly escalates into a full-fledged uprising, and Vietnamese general Vo Nguyen Giap makes plans to assault Hanoi with thirty thousand men. French troops are shipped in to hold down the colony.

In a private audience a week later, V.K. “Wellington” Koo, Chiang’s ambassador to the United States, says that China is planning to adopt a posture of pro-French neutrality: namely, slipping weapons covertly to the French and not allowing Viet Minh troops to slip into China.

February 1947: In Harbin, work begins on two new structures designed to make the city into a Communist capital: the Great Hall of the People’s Congress and Chairman Leadership Compound (主席领导组合, Zhǔxí lǐngdǎo zǔhé). In order to accommodate these structures, Zhaolin Park and the Temple of Heavenly Bliss are both torn down. The Chairman Leadership Compound will be completed in nine months and will cost a total of 900,000 yuan- a shockingly high sum for a personality-cult project.

Projects such as these are funded in large part by the Soviets, who give the PRNC industrial equipment and money in considerable quantities. (3)

1947: During the year 1947, the Viet Minh take their cues from Mao during the Civil War and WWII. Namely, they flee and adopt a policy of guerilla warfare, not meeting the French in open battle. Covert Chinese hostility means that they have no support and Ho Chi Minh knows that his survival depends on if he can make the French bleed enough that they will throw in the towel.

March 27, 1947: As a response to Soviet-backed coup attempts in Greece and Turkey, the Truman Doctrine is announced, committing the US to anticommunism.

August 15, 1947: India and Pakistan formally gain independence from British rule. The granting of independence weakens London greatly in the long term, marking its decline as an imperial power. A dispute over the border region of Kashmir puts the two states- one Hindu, the other Muslim- on bad terms from the get-go.

October 7- November 8, 1947: The French launch Operation Lea against the rebels in Vietnam. Although Ho Chi Minh and General Giap manage to escape, the Viet Minh suffer 6,000 casualties, for them a serious loss, and their territory is considerably reduced.

By this point, the war has reached a stalemate. Neither side can make much headway- domestic politics prevent a further escalation of the war on France’s part, while the Viet Minh lack the strength to do much.

It is at this stage that the Chinese spy an opportunity. In exchange for certain economic benefits, Chiang agrees to intervene in the Vietnamese conflict…

December 25, 1947: The Christmas Day Offensive (圣诞节攻势, Shèngdàn jié gōngshì) begins. 400,000 KMT troops cross the border between Yunnan and northern Vietnam and engage in combat with Ho Chi Minh’s forces. The commander of the force is General Li Zongren, veteran of the KMT army for two decades. Although morale and junior leadership continue to be major issues for the Nationalist army, the Vietnamese field armies are brushed aside with relative ease, and within four weeks a rendezvous with the French has been achieved.

Ho himself flees to Shenyang in Mao’s China, where he will die in 1969. The Nationalist army, however, is not properly prepared for a long anti-guerilla conflict in northern Indochina, and as such the Viet Minh is never completely eradicated.

January 1, 1948: The Treaty of Hanoi is signed. France recognises the independence of the Empire of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Laos, and the Kingdom of Cambodia. The leader of Vietnam is Bao Dai, leader of the ancient Vietnamese kingdom before it was conquered by the French when he was a boy. All three states are French client states, with little economic independence, and Paris retains de facto control over foreign policy. The Chinese, however, manage to retain a sphere of influence in the Empire of Vietnam, everything north of 21.20 degrees north. Chinese troops are stationed in military bases in northern Vietnam, and Chinese businessmen dominate the economy of the local region (to the anger of locals). The French are not perfectly pleased with this- they dislike what they perceive as Chiang trying to make Indochina his- but it is better than relinquishing control totally.

January 1, 1948: In the People’s Republic of North China, Mao launches his “Campaign to Eliminate Counter-Revolutionary Cultural Aspects.” (4) This involves a major crackdown on corruption, as well as the expulsion of virtually all Westerners. Christians are also targeted heavily, as are ethnic Japanese. All writers, artists, and the like are forced to submit to the genre of “socialist realism” or face death. Some try to flee abroad, but the Communist bloc states refuse to accept refugees, and anyone who attempts to defect to Nationalist China faces death if caught, and their family will suffer.

A general crackdown on perceived Nationalist spies begins, with many who have had significant dealings with the ROC being purged and executed. In addition, collectivisation is also implemented, although this will take place slowly.

The totalitarian campaign creates something of a rift within the CCP. Mao, Lin Biao, Zhou Enlai, and Kang Sheng are all for it, while Liu Shaoqi and others have their reservations.

April 2, 1948: Chiang Kai-shek announces in a televised speech that the city of Shenzhen, bordering British Hong Kong, will become China’s first Open Investment Zone. (5) Almost all restrictions on foreign trade are abolished in the city, and regulations seriously loosened. Firms which relocate to Shenzhen are given a small subsidy by the government.

The end result is that by the end of the year, Shenzhen becomes a haven of Western investment. Many Western firms find that low-cost Chinese labour is a more cost-effective means of manufacturing than doing so in the US, or wherever else their plants might be located.

By the end of 1949, similar zones will be opened in Nanjing, Shanghai, Qingdao, and Beijing, and the Westerners will come knocking.

The gains of this policy, however, are not evenly distributed- a small number of Chinese tycoons become inordinately rich, but they all have some kind of connection to Chiang and the Nationalist Party. The workers who toil away in sweatshops for twelve hours a day and next to nothing in terms of pay are bitter towards Chiang. Some radicals begin to look towards Marxism, but they are too few in number to do much. Mao, however, is noticing all of this…

April 3, 1948: The Marshall Plan is created, proving $12 billion in aid to Western Europe.

May 23, 1948: The Americans, French, and British combine their occupation zones in Germany to form the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany. The Soviets follow suit on October 7, with the creation of communist East Germany.

November 2, 1948: In a close election (even closer than OTL), Harry Truman beats Thomas Dewey to the presidency. One of his campaign promises is to never use nuclear weapons unless a foreign power does so first.

April 4, 1949: NATO is created, an alliance designed to counter Soviet power. The founding members are the same as OTL. The Republic of China opts not to join, as it is not an Atlantic nation, but instead signs a pact with the USA.

August 29, 1949: The USSR explodes its first atomic bomb in Kazakhstan. Stalin keeps the news secret for a time, but there is immense pride amongst the Soviet leadership at being admitted into the nuclear club. The age of nuclear competition has well and truly begun...

(1) Eastern bloc historians claimed the date of peace as October 1, the founding of the PRNC.
(2) Analogous to the OTL Korean War never formally ending.
(3) This is in large part OTL.
(4) Loosely based off of Chiang's New Life Movement of the 1920s. This is sort of a Communist version.
(5) Do I need to explain it?

Comments? Thoughts?
 
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April 4, 1949: NATO is created, an alliance designed to counter Soviet power. The founding members are the US, Britain, France, the Low Countries, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Turkey, China, and Norway

Why did Canada, Iceland, and Portugal not join NATO iTTL? In OTL, they were founding members. Also, why did Greece (join in OTL in 1952), Spain (joined in OTL in 1982), and Turkey (joined in OTL in 1952) join earlier than OTL?
 
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Baldrick

Banned
Why did Canada, Iceland, and Portugal not join NATO iTTL? In OTL, they were founding members. Also, why did Greece (join in OTL in 1952), Spain (joined in OTL in 1982), and Turkey (joined in OTL in 1952) join earlier than OTL?

Right you are. This has been edited.
 
Very interesting timeline but I'm not sure about the plausibility of a Shenzhen SEZ 50 years ahead of schedule. The export oriented economies of the Asian Tigers only really took off in the 80's after containerisation. Before that, shipping costs would have made domestic production in Western countries more cost-effective. Furthermore, I read somewhere that America was willing to risk its manufacturing industry by reducing tariffs on goods produced in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea in order to keep them onside during the Cold War. I'm not sure how true this is but high protectionist measures or an otherwise different economic environment in the 40's, as opposed to the 70's and 80's, would definitely hobble the alt-ROC's attempts at a Deng Xiaopeng economic awakening.
 
The nationalist military command was infiltrated by Communist spies. One such example is this,''During the Chinese Civil War, Li Bai sent a large amount of secret information to the communists. On December 29, 1948, he got top secret intelligence about the KMT's entire defence line along the Yangtze River. At dawn the next day, while he was sending this intelligence by telegraph, the radio was detected and he was arrested by the KMT. On May 7, 1949, Chiang Kai-shek signed a writ of execution.[2] He was executed in Pudong.[3] Thanks to these telegraphs, the CCP took less than two months to bring soldiers across the Yangtze, and then occupy Nanjing (capital of the Republic of China), Hangzhou, and Shanghai.''

Mao and the rest of the CCP is going to be made aware of incoming attack on Manchuria that will come.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Bai_(spy)
 

Baldrick

Banned
What became of the Vietnamese Kuomintang (the VNQDD) ITTL?

Interesting question. Chiang is permitting them to thrive in the Chinese zone of influence in the north, and Vu Hong Kanh is prime minister of the Kingdom of Vietnam as a candidate acceptable to both Nanjing and Paris.
 

Baldrick

Banned
Fair enough. However, it should be noted that Nanjing receives a large chunk of the profits, and Chinese law applies in full in these SEZs.

Hang on, I think you were referring to North Vietnam. Chiang here wants to expand Chinese power and influence, and is only an anti-colonialist when it comes to talking about the Sino-Japanese War and the like... basically when it suits him
 
Chapter Four

Baldrick

Banned
March 7, 1950: A Chinese delegation arrives in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa with instructions from Chiang and his Kuomintang. The lead negotiator, Vice-President Li Zongren, presents what will become known as the Twin Proposals. They are to make the Republic of China responsible for Tibet's foreign, military, and domestic policies, and to permit the stationing of Chinese troops in Tibet. (1) The Tibetans, however, are unwilling to simply hand their country over to Chiang, and realise that they may soon have a war on their hands.

June 1950: North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung begins to send frankly irritating requests to Moscow, asking permission to invade the South. Stalin, however, refuses. He knows that with China divided between a strong pro-American south and a weak pro-Soviet north, a Korean war could rapidly escalate in the West's favour if Chiang decides to step in. That would in all probability prove the death-knell for Mao's regime, which would necessitate Soviet intervention. And if Soviet and Chinese troops came to blows, nuclear war with America could all too easily begin. (2) Plus, Stalin is feeling generally more cautious after almost losing China completely. Kim recognises that he will be on his own if he invades, and opts to concentrate on ruling just the North for the moment, although he still dreams of a day when he can unify Korea under his regime.

October 6, 1950: KMT general Li Mi leads forty thousand Chinese troops into Tibet in the early hours of the morning. Morning newspapers the next day proclaim the start of the "Campaign to Suppress Tibetan Separatist Movements"(镇压藏独运动, Zhènyā cángdú yùndòng), as the regime's propaganda puts it. The Nationalist army gives a generally better account of itself than in previous operations, although that likely has more to do with the fact that only 8,000 Tibetans are available to defend the country. At the thirteen-day Battle of Chamdo, the Tibetans are routed.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Chamdo, the regent steps down and the 14th Dalai Lama is placed in power. Chiang promises autonomy for Tibet if it will agree to join China. For example, he promises that the Dalai Lama will be allowed to retain power.

May 23, 1951: After months of Chinese-led negotiations, the Tibetans finally cave and accept annexation into the Republic of China. Tibetan culture is allowed to survive for the moment, but Chiang plans eventual sinicisation...

Because of Cold War politics, the USA is forced to officially back the annexation of Tibet. Privately, however, many in the US government are furious at this blatant violation of a sovereign country's independence. ROC ambassador Zhou Shukai is told in no uncertain terms that the USA cannot and will not accept this, and several angry cables are sent back and forth between Washington and Nanjing. Sino-US relations become colder, and several US companies leave Shenzhen...

July 1951: The Shenzhen Labour Protests begin. Workers in a British-owned textiles company launch a strike against the low wages and poor conditions, which rapidly spread to other enterprises. By the end of the month, perhaps half a million labourers are protesting against foreigners having such a large stake in the Chinese economy. Chiang is fearful that the protests will spread to the other Open Investment Zones, and orders police to force people back to work.

Mao, meanwhile, considers the possibility that the protesters could respond positively to his own ideology. At some point in the month of July, several thousand Communist pamphlets are smuggled into Shenzhen, exhorting the protesters to "study the works of Marx and of Mao Zedong-ism." However, little comes of this, and police crackdowns mean that by the autumn, a tenacious peace returns to Shenzhen. A few companies make minor improvements to the conditions and wages, but little else changes. No-one is interested in a socialist uprising... yet.

1951: Throughout 1950 and 1951, conditions within Japan deteriorate. (3) The economy proves sluggish, with few jobs created. Although the people are glad that the Americans have helped to rebuild the country, memories of starvation and of bombing remain high. Some Japanese begin to look towards more extreme ideologies, searching for a reason for their poverty. The Leftist Socialist Party, the most radical party in Japan, begins to gain traction amongst Japanese voters in certain sectors- namely, those who are unemployed and/or have been connected with industrial work in the past. Secretly, the Minpei (people's militia), affiliated with the left-socialists, begins to operate in major Japanese cities. They blame Japan's current economic ills on the Americans and on capitalism and call for the expulsion of both. They keep a low profile for the moment, but grow in strength...

February 1952: The Hundred Flowers Campaign (4) begins in the People's Republic of North China. Mao orders the CCP to "let a hundred flowers bloom", inviting dissent of the regime. This serves two goals. One is to create a safety valve for the people, and the other is to let those who disagree with Mao come out in the open, where they can be destroyed. After two years, the opponents of communism have revealed themselves, and the crackdown begins. Many leading intellectuals across the People's Republic are executed, many more flee to China. Chiang is more than willing to accept refugees, and this improves his standing in American eyes.

November 3, 1952: Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower, celebrated World War II commander, wins the presidency. His vice-president is Harold Stassen (5).

1950-1954: Low-level nationalist insurrection in Vietnam continues. Although the Viet Minh has largely collapsed, its place has been taken by the Dânquân Giảiphóng (Liberation Militia), led by Duc Dang, a veteran of the first war. His operations are concentrated in the far south, and the Saigon region is prone to guerilla attacks against national and French troops. In the Chinese sphere of influence, the status quo is generally calmer, as a second Chinese intervention would have serious consequences for Vietnam.

French domestic politics mean that Paris cannot send in more troops to reinforce its proxy in Vietnam. There is fear in the West that Stalin or Mao will try to get their feet in the door and fund a communist revolution in Vietnam. Chiang, however, spies an opportunity. On May 2, 1954, the Chinese government issues the Kunming Declaration. This declaration states that in the event of Communist unrest in Southeast Asia, the ROC will "employ all forces possible to counteract the insurgency." Chiang's motives for issuing this declaration are twofold: on the one hand, he seeks to remain in the West's good books, and he also wants Vietnam as his proxy, not France's.

The declaration is greeted with mixed reactions in the West- while losing Vietnam to the Communists would be bad, Washington wants Paris, not Nanjing, to remain the dominant regional power.

March 5, 1955: Joseph Stalin dies of a heart attack in Moscow. (6) Conspiracy theories abound as to why, with some saying that he was killed by NKVD chief Lavrenti Beria, others that he was poisoned by his Jewish doctor. These, however, are just conspiracy theories. A power struggle grips the Soviet leadership for the next eighteen months.

By January of 1957, however, Nikita Khrushchev has cemented his power as the strongest leader of the USSR- Beria is shot in an underground prison in December 1955.

Khrushchev advocates for a policy of "peaceful coexistence"- namely, focussing less on armed conflict between East and West and more on improving living standards in the Communist world to convince countries to align themselves with Moscow.

August 3, 1955: "Day of the Red Sword." That is how later Japanese governments and historians will refer to this date. Members of the Minpei spark riots in all the major cities of Japan against the Americans and the government. The American garrison is swift in reacting, but the rebels have been equipped with an abundance of Soviet weaponry, and the conflict rapidly escalates.

Two days later, President Eisenhower addresses the nation, declaring a state of national emergency and claiming that "the Japanese people are being forced by a radical minority to choose between peace or socialism, and that it is our duty to restore peace to the Home Islands." He authorises a 55,000-strong reinforcement for the Eighth Army, which is sent off from San Francisco and Los Angeles throughout the autumn.

However, the rebels are adroit and skilled. The USSR smuggles in large amounts of equipment, and the People's Republic of North China and North Korea both send in smaller amounts of aid.

August 15, 1955: The August 15 Proclamation is issued by the socialist rebels in Japan, declaring that "a bright new dawn is ahead for the land of the rising sun", and exhorting the Japanese people to "embrace the inevitable, joyous, socialist future."

Over the next few months, Japanese rebels take almost all of Hokkaido and a sizeable chunk of western Honshu, as well as smaller pockets of territory elsewhere. Property in rebel-held areas is collectivised, and all able-bodied men are forced to serve in the Japanese Red Army. Meanwhile, in the US/government-controlled areas, martial law is imposed and the 1947 constitution suspended. Anyone suspected of being a Communist is executed, and there are cases of US troops executing innocent Japanese civilians on charges of being a spy. (7)

January 1956: At a CCP conference in Harbin, Mao unveils his plans for the Second Five Year Plan, known to history as the Great Leap Forward. Throughout the People's Republic over the next few years, all farms are collectivised. Peasants are forced to move onto huge collective farms, which resemble labour camps more than anything else. The government becomes responsible for distributing rations to them, and largely fails in doing this.

Another part of the Great Leap Forward is breakneck speed industrialisation- Mao hopes to see the PRNC become a major industrial player within fifteen years. (8)

The whole thing is a massive failure, as the government does not distribute the rations properly. A whopping 4.3 million die of starvation between 1956 and 1960, in a country of approximately 86 million people. The hardest hit region of all is mountainous Yan'an, which has already suffered from Communist rule during World War II.

1956: Throughout 1956, the territory controlled by the Japanese insurgents gradually shrinks. US troops manage to capture all of the main cities save Sapporo, and increasingly focus on anti-guerilla warfare. Many Japanese have lost their enthusiasm for the revolution, as it has clearly failed to solve the country's economic problems. Nonetheless, to many, the image of US bombers pounding Japanese cities and of American and Japanese troops clashing evokes hateful memories from World War II, and a generation of Japanese learns to revile the US as the WWII generation does. Even those fighting for the government are disheartened.

October 31, 1956: President Eisenhower discusses in a conference with his cabinet the possibility of using an atomic bomb to quell the uprising in Japan by launching a nuclear attack on Sapporo. What follows is one of the most shameful episodes of his whole presidency, which will become known as the "Halloween Scandal." The presidential elections are only four days away, and Eisenhower does not want to do anything dramatic. Although he does not come out and say it, he plans to use the nuclear option if he wins re-election.

November 4, 1956: The American public, not knowing what the consequences of their actions are, vote to grant Eisenhower and Stassen another four years.

True to his word, ten days later an atomic bomb is dropped on Sapporo. (9) The city is devastated, and millions of Japanese are killed. Following the bombing of Sapporo, the communist revolt largely unravels, and by the end of the year a tenuous peace holds in Japan.

Eisenhower pays a heavy price for his actions. With three of their cities the target of US nuclear weapons, the Japanese- even Emperor Hirohito- come to revile the USA. The Eighth Army continues martial law, and the 1947 constitution is "suspended." Plans for a CIA coup against Hirohito are drawn up, but are shelved for the moment. Eisenhower's opponents dub him the "Butcher of Sapporo", a term which comes into fashion both in Japan and in Communist circles.

July 2-August 1, 1957: The Yingkou Conference opens in the PRNC port city of that name. (10) At the conference, Mao discusses the Great Leap Forward with his top circle, including Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Lin Biao, and Peng Dehuai. At the conference, Mao turns on Peng Dehuai for criticising the Leap, saying that he is "only fifty metres away from being a rightist". Peng is ousted and replaced as defence minister by Lin Biao, and is subsequently executed.

February 25, 1958: Nikita Khruschev gives the "Secret Speech" denouncing Stalin's personality cult, calling him a "bloody tyrant." Mao does not take kindly to this speech, seeing it as a threat to his dominance...

March 10, 1959: Tibet erupts in revolt against Chinese rule. For nearly two weeks, Lhasa is under the control of rebels before the ROC army arrives and quells the uprising. The Dalai Lama flees to India, and Tibetan self-rule is de facto abolished. Sinicisation is attempted in Tibet to better integrate the territory.

Peng's downfall sets a precedent- namely, that criticism of Mao or his policies will be met with death. The Great Leap Forward will be abolished in 1960, but Mao's appetite for demonstrating his power has not yet been satisfied. However, his opponents have been strengthened as a result of his failure. The 1950s were a turbulent decade for East Asia, but more is yet to come...

(1) This is an almost exact mirror of OTL
(2) The reason that Stalin gave Kim permission to invade in OTL was because he knew that Chinese troops could fight any Western force and exhaust it, and that Soviet troops would not be needed. Here, since Chiang boasts the manpower advantage over Mao, the USSR would be forced to intervene in Korea, which could spark WWIII.
(3) The Korean War proved a major boon to the Japanese economy in OTL and helped spark an economic recovery. Not only does that not occur in TTL, but the Nationalist Chinese economy dominates East Asia, meaning that Japan's economy has no means of developing.
(4) OTL, except since Mao's regime was founded in 1946, not 1949, it occurs three years ahead of schedule.
(5) In OTL, fear of Communism meant that Eisenhower chose Richard Nixon as his vice-presidential candidate, owing to his anti-communist credentials. In TTL, since China does not fall to communism, the fear of communism is slightly less, and Stassen is chosen as VP.
(6) It's accepted by many that Korean War-related stress helped to kill Stalin. Since the Korean War does not occur in TTL, I give him a few more years. This is why the Secret Speech occurs in 1958.
(7) Based off of the actions committed by some US troops in Vietnam OTL
(8) For a country encompassing Manchuria and the mountains of Yan'an, catching up to Britain in fifteen years is too ambitious even in Mao's mind.
(9) Loosely based off of the US threat to nuke Saskatoon in TL-191. I said that there was almost no taboo against nuclear weapons in TTL!
(10) The Lushan Conference, except since Lushan is in the ROC, I chose Yingkou.
 
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