The Eastern Theater Command Navy ( ETCN ), or the East Sea Fleet ( ESF ) before February 2018, is a formation of China 's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the naval component of the Eastern Theater Command .
109-720: The PLAN was formed toward the end of the Chinese Civil War . In March 1949, Zhang Aiping of the Third Field Army was ordered by the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Chinese Communist Party to create a naval force from the field army. Zhang's only previous naval experience was organizing an irregular riverine force near Hongze Lake in 1941 and leading it in a successful campaign against local bandits. The PLAN
218-727: A Pre-arrival Registration. Macau grants visa-free entry to holders of both the permit and the passport. The United Front , which consists of the eight other political parties in the PRC subordinate to the CCP, has adhered to the One-China policy and opposes Taiwan independence. Among the parties that accepted it are the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (a splinter left-wing party that broke away from
327-490: A circling retreat to the west and north, which reportedly traversed over 9,000 kilometers over 370 days." The route passed through some of the most difficult terrain of western China by traveling west, and then northwards towards Shaanxi. "In November 1935, shortly after settling in northern Shaanxi, Mao officially took over Zhou Enlai's leading position in the Red Army. Following a major reshuffling of official roles, Mao became
436-766: A fierce battle, the CCP captured Jinan and Shandong province on 24 September 1948. The Huaihai Campaign of late 1948 and early 1949 secured east-central China for the CCP. A large number of KMT troops deserted and changed sides in these conflicts. The outcome of these encounters were decisive for the military outcome of the civil war. The Pingjin Campaign resulted in the Communist conquest of northern China. It lasted 64 days, from 21 November 1948 to 31 January 1949. The PLA suffered heavy casualties while securing Zhangjiakou , Tianjin along with its port and garrison at Dagu and Beiping . The CCP brought 890,000 troops from
545-701: A founding member of the CCP, was never able to challenge Mao's authority. Essentially, the great retreat made Mao the undisputed leader of the Chinese Communist Party. The Kuomintang used Khampa troops—who were former bandits—to battle the Communist Red Army as it advanced and to undermine local warlords who often refused to fight Communist forces to conserve their own strength. The KMT enlisted 300 "Khampa bandits" into its Consolatory Commission military in Sichuan, where they were part of
654-725: A meeting, during which they proposed that Communist activities were socially and economically disruptive and had to be undone for the Nationalist revolution to proceed. On 12 April, many communists within the KMT were purged in Shanghai through hundreds of arrests and executions on the orders of General Bai Chongxi . The CCP referred to this as the 12 April Incident , the White Terror, or the Shanghai massacre . This incident widened
763-530: A soviet there the next day, but lost the city by 13 December to a counter-attack under the orders of General Zhang Fakui . On 16 December, Wang Jingwei fled to France. There were now three capitals in China: the internationally recognized republic capital in Beijing , the CCP and left-wing KMT at Wuhan and the right-wing KMT regime at Nanjing , which would remain the KMT capital for the next decade. This marked
872-585: A substantial amount of their own supplies to the Communists, who received Northeastern China from the Soviets as well. In March 1946, despite repeated requests from Chiang, the Soviet Red Army under the command of Marshal Rodion Malinovsky continued to delay pulling out of Manchuria, while Malinovsky secretly told the CCP forces to move in behind them, which led to full-scale war for the control of
981-423: A total power vacuum of local Chinese forces. Consequently, the 700,000 Japanese troops stationed in the region surrendered. Later in the year Chiang Kai-shek realized that he lacked the resources to prevent a CCP takeover of Manchuria following the scheduled Soviet departure. He therefore made a deal with the Soviets to delay their withdrawal until he had moved enough of his best-trained men and modern materiel into
1090-722: Is also a part of China." This resolution provided the basis for quasi-governmental talks between the ROC's Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) and the PRC's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS). During these discussions, SEF stated that "each side expresses its own interpretation verbally in order to solve this sticky problem of [one China] and thereby reaffirmed the August 1st NUC resolution as SEF's interpretation of one China." ARATS agreed to expressing these interpretations verbally and stated that "both sides of
1199-622: Is evidenced by documents showing other communist parties in China at the time, one with as many as 10,000 members, which all failed without support from the Soviet Union. In early 1927, the KMT–CCP rivalry led to a split in the revolutionary ranks. The CCP and the left wing of the KMT decided to move the seat of the KMT government from Guangzhou to Wuhan , where communist influence was strong. However, Chiang and Li Zongren , whose armies defeated
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#17327730874891308-465: Is not accepted by those who view the sovereignty of Taiwan as having been legitimately returned to the Republic of China at the end of the war. Some argue that the ROC is a government in exile, while others maintain it is a rump state . The ROC continued to claim itself as the rightful ruler of the entirety of China under the single-party KMT regime, and the PRC made a symmetric claim. In 1971,
1417-494: Is that only one geographical region of China exists, which was split between two Chinese governments during the Chinese Civil War. This is largely the position of current supporters of Chinese unification in mainland China, who believe that "one China" should eventually unite under a single government. Starting in 2005, this position has become close enough to the position of the PRC, allowing high-level dialogue between
1526-600: The Central Plain . At the same time, Communist forces also began to counterattack in Northeastern China, North China and East China. By late 1948, the CCP captured the northern cities of Shenyang and Changchun and seized control of the Northeast after suffering numerous setbacks while trying to take the cities, with the decisive Liaoshen Campaign . The New 1st Army , regarded as the best KMT army,
1635-730: The Chinese Communist Revolution . The Communists gained control of mainland China and proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949, forcing the leadership of the Republic of China to retreat to the island of Taiwan . Starting in the 1950s, a lasting political and military stand-off between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait has ensued, with the ROC in Taiwan and the PRC on the mainland both claiming to be
1744-665: The Communist Party of the Soviet Union . The CCP, which was initially a study group, and the KMT jointly formed the First United Front . In 1923, Sun sent Chiang Kai-shek , one of his lieutenants, for several months of military and political study in Moscow. Chiang then became the head of the Whampoa Military Academy that trained the next generation of military leaders. The Soviets provided
1853-675: The Ma clique . Along the way, the Communist army confiscated property and weapons from local warlords and landlords, while recruiting peasants and the poor, solidifying its appeal to the masses. Of the 90,000–100,000 people who began the Long March from the Soviet Chinese Republic, only around 7,000–8,000 made it to Shaanxi. The remnants of Zhang's forces eventually joined Mao in Shaanxi, but with his army destroyed, Zhang, even as
1962-597: The Northern Expedition , passing a resolution against it at a party meeting. Then, in March 1927, the KMT held its second party meeting where the Soviets helped pass resolutions against the Expedition and curbing Chiang's power. Soon, the KMT would be clearly divided. Throughout this time, the Soviet Union sent money and spies to support the CCP. Without their support, the CCP likely would have failed. This
2071-577: The San Francisco Peace Treaty , but neither in that treaty nor in the peace treaty signed between Japan and China was the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan awarded to the Republic of China. The treaties left the status of Taiwan—as ruled by the ROC or PRC— deliberately vague , and the question of legitimate sovereignty over China is why China was not included in the San Francisco Peace Treaty. This argument
2180-586: The Soviet Union . In 1923, Sun and Soviet representative Adolph Joffe in Shanghai pledged Soviet assistance to China's unification in the Sun–Joffe Manifesto , a declaration of cooperation among the Comintern , KMT, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Comintern agent Mikhail Borodin arrived in 1923 to aid in the reorganization and consolidation of both the CCP and the KMT along the lines of
2289-701: The Spanish established a colony in Northern Taiwan in 1626, but were driven out by the Dutch in 1642. It was during this time that large-scale Chinese migration from nearby Fujian Province began. The Dutch colony was later conquered by Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), a Ming -loyalist, in 1662 as the Kingdom of Tungning , before being incorporated by the Qing dynasty in 1683 as part of Fujian Province. In 1887, it
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#17327730874892398-640: The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 replaced the ROC's seat in the United Nations with the PRC. From April 30, 1991, the ROC officially recognized the PRC thus abandoning the Hallstein Doctrine , while maintaining the claim of an exclusive mandate as the legitimate ruler of China. The ROC transformed into a free and democratic state in the 1990s following decades of martial law with
2507-465: The Wang Jingwei regime , a Japan-sponsored puppet government ostensibly led by Wang Jingwei , which was established to nominally govern the regions of China that came under Japanese occupation. The civil war resumed as soon as it became apparent that Japanese defeat was imminent, with the communists gaining the upper hand in the second phase of the war from 1945 to 1949, generally referred to as
2616-652: The Yangtze up to Jiujiang . Yuan Yelie became ECN commander in February 1951. The ECN became the ESF in 1955. ETCN headquarters is at Ningbo , with additional bases in Fujian and Zhoushan . It controls coastal defenses from Lianyungang to Dongshan County . In 2017, subunits included: Chinese Civil War This is an accepted version of this page [REDACTED] China portal The Chinese Civil War
2725-532: The two rival governments in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War . The term may refer, in alphabetical order, to one of the following: After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) defeated the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War and the subsequent retreat of the ROC to Taiwan , the CCP established the PRC in mainland China while the ROC ruled over Taiwan and several outlying islands. During this time, both governments continued to claim legitimacy as
2834-674: The "One-China principle" and maintains its claim that under the ROC Constitution (passed by the Kuomintang government in 1947 in Nanjing ) the ROC has sovereignty over most of China, including, by their interpretation, both mainland China and Taiwan. After the Chinese Communist Party expelled the ROC in the Chinese Civil War from most of Chinese territory in 1949 and founded the PRC, the ROC's Chinese Nationalist government, which still held Taiwan, continued to claim legitimacy as
2943-409: The "ROC government", and seldom to the "government of Taiwan". Instead, the government in Taiwan is referred to as the "Taiwan authorities". The PRC does not accept or stamp Republic of China passports . Instead, a Taiwan resident visiting Mainland China must use a Taiwan Compatriot Entry Permit . Hong Kong grants visa-free entry to holders of a Permit; while holders of a ROC passport must apply for
3052-413: The 1992 Consensus forsakes Taiwan's national sovereignty, effectively ceding it to the PRC. President Tsai Ing-wen rejected the 1992 Consensus categorically in 2019. When the ROC established diplomatic relations with Kiribati in 2003, it did not require that Kiribati sever relations with the PRC. However, the PRC did not accept dual recognition and severed ties with Kiribati as a result. In 2024,
3161-486: The 1999 resolution has practically superseded the earlier charter. At least one observer of the Taiwan independence movement believes it runs counter to the PRC's sovereignty claims over Taiwan. A Brookings Institution survey indicates that while Taiwan people overwhelmingly reject unification with the PRC, the vast majority do not support immediate formal independence of a Republic of Taiwan. One interpretation, which
3270-524: The Anti-Secession Law is an exception. Beijing has made no major statements after 2004 which identify one China with the PRC and has shifted its definition of one China slightly to encompass a concept called the ' 1992 Consensus ': both sides of the Taiwan strait recognize there is only one China—both mainland China and Taiwan belong to the same China but agree to differ on the definition of which China. According to Taiwanese lawyer Chen Chang-wen,
3379-773: The CCP and Chiang's troops were temporarily avoided. In the last month of World War II in East Asia, Soviet forces launched the huge Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation against the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria and along the Chinese-Mongolian border. This operation destroyed the Kwantung Army in just three weeks and left the USSR occupying all of Manchuria by the end of the war in
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3488-590: The CCP and the Pan-Blue Coalition of the ROC. The revised position of the PRC was made clear in the Anti-Secession Law of 2005, which although stating that there is one China whose sovereignty is indivisible, does not explicitly identify this China with the PRC. Almost all PRC laws have a suffix "of the People's Republic of China" (prefix in Chinese grammar) in their official names, but
3597-586: The CCP as the greater threat. Chiang refused to ally with the CCP, preferring to unite China by eliminating the warlord and CCP forces first. He believed his forces were too weak to face the Japanese Imperial Army ; only after unification could the KMT mobilize against Japan. He ignored the Chinese people's discontent and anger at the KMT policy of compromise with the Japanese, instead ordering KMT generals Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng to suppress
3706-401: The CCP executed a "passive defense" strategy. It avoided the strong points of the KMT army and was prepared to abandon territory in order to preserve its forces. In most cases the surrounding countryside and small towns had come under Communist influence long before the cities. The CCP also attempted to wear out the KMT forces as much as possible. This tactic seemed to be successful; after a year,
3815-480: The CCP in 1943 with the propaganda piece China's Destiny , which questioned the CCP's power after the war, while the CCP strongly opposed Chiang's leadership and referred to his regime as fascist in an attempt to generate a negative public image. Both leaders knew that a deadly battle had begun between themselves. In general, developments in the Second Sino-Japanese War were to the advantage of
3924-433: The CCP was being supplied by the Soviet Union, the CCP was able to utilize a large number of weapons abandoned by the Japanese, including some tanks. When large numbers of well-trained KMT troops began to defect to the Communist forces, the CCP was finally able to achieve material superiority. The CCP's most effective political reform was its land reform policy. This drew the massive number of landless and starving peasants in
4033-472: The CCP with much fervor. In addition, the main KMT forces were preoccupied with annihilating Zhang Guotao 's army, which was much larger than Mao's. The massive military retreat of Communist forces lasted a year and covered what Mao estimated as 12,500 km (25,000 Li ); it became known as the Long March . This military retreat was undertaken by the Chinese Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, to evade
4142-574: The CCP, as its guerrilla war tactics had won them popular support within the Japanese-occupied areas. However, the KMT had to defend the country against the main Japanese campaigns, since it was the legal Chinese government, a factor which proved costly to Chiang Kai-shek and his troops. Japan launched its last major offensive against the KMT, Operation Ichi-Go , in 1944, which resulted in the severe weakening of Chiang's forces. The CCP also suffered fewer losses through its guerrilla tactics. By
4251-607: The CCP. However, their provincial forces suffered significant casualties in battles against the Red Army. On 12 December 1936, the disgruntled Zhang and Yang conspired to kidnap Chiang and force him into a truce with the CCP. The incident became known as the Xi'an Incident. Both parties suspended fighting to form a Second United Front to focus their energies and fight the Japanese. In 1937, Japan launched its full-scale invasion of China and its well-equipped troops overran KMT defenders in northern and coastal China. The alliance of CCP and KMT
4360-574: The CCP. On 15 November 1945, the KMT began a campaign to prevent the CCP from strengthening its already strong base. At the same time, however, the return of the KMT also brought widespread graft and corruption, with an OSS officer remarking that the only winners were the Communists. In the winter of 1945–1946, Joseph Stalin commanded Marshal Rodion Malinovsky to give Mao Zedong most Imperial Japanese Army weapons that were captured. Chiang Kai-shek's forces pushed as far as Chinchow (Jinzhou) by 26 November 1945, meeting with little resistance. This
4469-541: The Communists. In 1936, Zhou Enlai and Zhang Xueliang grew closer, with Zhou even suggesting that he join the CCP. However, this was turned down by the Comintern in the USSR. Later on, Zhou persuaded Zhang and Yang Hucheng , another warlord, to instigate the Xi'an Incident. Chiang was placed under house arrest and forced to stop his attacks on the Red Army, instead focusing on the Japanese threat. During Japan's invasion and occupation of Manchuria , Chiang Kai-shek saw
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4578-584: The Japanese or ruled by Japanese puppet governments such as Manchukuo and the Reorganized National Government of China ). The situation came to a head in late 1940 and early 1941 when clashes between Communist and KMT forces intensified. Chiang demanded in December 1940 that the CCP's New Fourth Army evacuate Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces, due to its provocation and harassment of KMT forces in this area. Under intense pressure,
4687-650: The KMT and CCP collapsed during the Northern Expedition , and the Nationalists controlled most of China. From 1937 to 1945, hostilities were mostly put on hold as the Second United Front fought the Japanese invasion of China with eventual help from the Allies of World War II , although armed clashes between the groups remained common. Exacerbating the divisions within China further was the formation of
4796-490: The KMT government occupied most of the banks, factories and commercial properties, which had previously been seized by the Imperial Japanese Army. They also conscripted troops at an accelerated pace from the civilian population and hoarded supplies, preparing for a resumption of war with the Communists. These hasty and harsh preparations caused great hardship for the residents of cities such as Shanghai, where
4905-645: The KMT had no forces, the Japanese surrendered to the Soviet Union. Chiang Kai-shek reminded Japanese troops to remain at their posts to receive the KMT, but Communist forces soon began taking surrenders from the Japanese and fighting those who resisted. General Wedemeyer of the United States Army became alarmed at these developments and wanted seven American divisions to be sent to China, but General Marshall replied that it should not be given priority over Japan and Korea. The first post-war peace negotiation, attended by both Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong,
5014-404: The KMT on an individual basis. The CCP itself was still small at the time, having a membership of 300 in 1922 and only 1,500 by 1925. As of 1923, the KMT had 50,000 members. However, after Sun died in 1925, the KMT split into left- and right-wing movements. KMT members worried that the Soviets were trying to destroy the KMT from inside using the CCP. The CCP then began movements in opposition of
5123-498: The KMT troops patiently built blockhouses, each separated by about eight kilometres (five miles), to surround the Communist areas and cut off their supplies and food sources. In October 1934, the CCP took advantage of gaps in the ring of blockhouses (manned by the forces of a warlord ally of Chiang Kai-shek's, rather than regular KMT troops) and broke out of the encirclement. The warlord armies were reluctant to challenge Communist forces for fear of losing their own men and did not pursue
5232-444: The KMT. Within less than two years after the Sino-Japanese War, the KMT had received $ 4.43 billion from the US—most of which was military aid. Highlighting the aid provided by the US to the KMT, the Communists' position was that the US was stirring domestic warfare and characterized the civil war as both a national revolution against the KMT and a revolution against US colonization and aggression. As postwar negotiations between
5341-480: The Nationalist government and the CCP failed, the civil war between these two parties resumed. This stage of war is referred to in mainland China and Communist historiography as the "War of Liberation" (Chinese: 解放战争 ; pinyin: Jiěfàng Zhànzhēng ). On 20 July 1946, Chiang Kai-shek launched a large-scale assault on Communist territory in North China with 113 brigades (a total of 1.6 million troops). Knowing their disadvantages in manpower and equipment,
5450-586: The New Fourth Army commanders complied. The following year they were ambushed by KMT forces during their evacuation, which led to several thousand deaths. It also ended the Second United Front, formed earlier to fight the Japanese. As clashes between the CCP and KMT intensified, countries such as the United States and the Soviet Union attempted to prevent a disastrous civil war. After the New Fourth Army incident, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent special envoy Lauchlin Currie to talk with Chiang Kai-shek and KMT party leaders to express their concern regarding
5559-497: The Northeast. These favorable conditions also facilitated many changes inside the Communist leadership: the more radical hard-line faction who wanted a complete military take-over of China finally gained the upper hand and defeated the careful opportunists. Before giving control to Communist leaders, on 27 March, Soviet diplomats requested a joint venture of industrial development with the Nationalist Party in Manchuria. Although General Marshall stated that he knew of no evidence that
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#17327730874895668-446: The One China principle in the ROC have been largely split along party lines: Pan-Blue coalition parties (including the Kuomintang ) adhere to "One China with respective interpretations", while Pan-Green coalition parties (including the Democratic Progressive Party ) reject it. Meanwhile, the PRC has maintained its One China principle . The Dutch established a colony on Taiwan in 1624 based in present-day Tainan . Shortly after,
5777-431: The One-China principle. The Pan-Blue Coalition parties, led by the Kuomintang, generally accept the One-China principle. In particular, former president Ma Ying-jeou has stated that "One China is the Republic of China". The Pan-Green Coalition parties, led by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), do not accept the policy and view Taiwan as a country separate from China. Former DPP president Chen Shui-bian believes
5886-1471: The People's Liberation Army was pursuing remnants of KMT forces southwards in southern China, and only Tibet was left. A Chinese Muslim Hui cavalry regiment, the 14th Tungan Cavalry, was sent by the Kuomintang to attack Mongol and Soviet positions along the border during the Pei-ta-shan Incident . One-China policy Lai Ching-te ( DPP ) Hsiao Bi-khim ( DPP ) Cho Jung-tai ( DPP ) 11th Legislative Yuan Han Kuo-yu ( KMT ) Shieh Ming-yan acting Vacant Vacant Vacant Control Yuan Chen Chu Lee Hung-chun Local government Central Election Commission Kuomintang Democratic Progressive Party Taiwan People's Party Others New Power Party Taiwan Statebuilding Party People First Party Taiwan Solidarity Union New Party Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Newspapers United Daily News Liberty Times China Times Taipei Times Propaganda Censorship Film censorship Lin Chia-lung Cross-Strait relations Special state-to-state relations One Country on Each Side 1992 Consensus Taiwan consensus Chinese Taipei Australia–Taiwan relations Canada–Taiwan relations France–Taiwan relations Russia–Taiwan relations Taiwan–United Kingdom relations Taiwan–United States relations Republic of China (1912–1949) Chinese Civil War One-China policy China and
5995-414: The ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had no preconditions for maintaining diplomatic relations with other countries, in particular that it was not opposed to simultaneous recognition of the ROC and PRC. The ROC does not recognize or stamp PRC passports. Instead, mainland Chinese residents visiting Taiwan and other territory under ROC jurisdiction must use an Exit and Entry Permit issued by
6104-471: The ROC authorities. Not formally recognizing the ROC is a requirement for any political entity to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, in effect forcing other governments to choose between Beijing and Taipei. At times, the PRC has used financial incentives to entice smaller countries to recognize it over the ROC, and both the ROC and PRC have accused each other of dollar diplomacy. Most countries that recognize Beijing circumvent
6213-411: The ROC citizens living in Taiwan (similar to the philosophy of self-determination ), based on the 1999 " Resolution on Taiwan's Future ". It considers Taiwan as an independent nation under the name of Republic of China, making a formal declaration of independence unnecessary. Though calls for drafting a new constitution and a declaration of a Republic of Taiwan was written into the party charter in 1991,
6322-418: The Republic of China were passed which effectively transformed Taiwan from a one-party state into a democracy, and limited civil and political rights to citizens in the " free area " (the area under its de facto control, consisting of the island groups of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and some minor islands), but did not alter language regarding territorial claims or national territory. Subsequently, views on
6431-400: The Taiwan Strait uphold the One China principle, but the interpretations of the two sides are different ... Our side believes that one China should mean the Republic of China, established in 1912 and existing today, and its sovereignty extends throughout China, but its current governing authority is only over Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matzu. Admittedly, Taiwan is part of China, but the mainland
6540-429: The United Nations Chinese unification Taiwan independence movement Taiwanese nationalism Tangwai movement One China is a phrase describing the relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) based on Mainland China , and the Republic of China (ROC) based on the Taiwan Area . "One China" asserts that there is only one de jure Chinese nation despite the de facto division between
6649-514: The Wuhan faction and Nanjing faction of the Kuomintang were allied once again with common goal of suppressing the CCP after the earlier split. Wang Jingwei took the leadership of KMT after Chiang. Attempts were later made by the CCP to take the cities of Changsha , Shantou and Guangzhou. The Red Army consisting of mutinous former National Revolutionary Army (NRA) soldiers as well as armed peasants established control over several areas in southern China . KMT forces continued to attempt to suppress
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#17327730874896758-464: The academy with teaching material, organization, and equipment, including munitions. They also provided education in many of the techniques for mass mobilization. With this aid, Sun raised a dedicated "army of the party", with which he hoped to defeat the warlords militarily. CCP members were also present in the academy, and many of them became instructors, including Zhou Enlai , who was made a political instructor. Communist members were allowed to join
6867-488: The basis for countries to have formal ties with People's Republic of China and maintain unofficial ties to the Republic of China. Names such as " Chinese Taipei " (e.g. in the Olympics) or "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu" (e.g. in the World Trade Organization ) are sometimes used in some international arenas since "Taiwan" suggests that Taiwan is a separate country and "Republic of China" suggests that there are two Chinas , and thus both violate
6976-413: The beginning of a ten-year armed struggle, known in mainland China as the "Ten-Year Civil War" (十年内战) which ended with the Xi'an Incident , when Chiang Kai-shek was forced to form the Second United Front against invading forces from the Empire of Japan . In 1930, the Central Plains War broke out as an internal conflict of the KMT; launched by Feng Yuxiang , Yan Xishan , and Wang Jingwei. The attention
7085-442: The chairman of the Military Commission, with Zhou and Deng Xiaoping as vice-chairmen." This marked Mao's position as the pre-eminent leader of the CCP, with Zhou in second position to him. The march ended when the CCP reached the interior of Shaanxi . Zhang Guotao 's army (Red 4th Front Army), which took a different route through northwest China, was largely destroyed by the forces of Chiang Kai-shek and his Chinese Muslim allies,
7194-453: The conclusion of World War II in 1945, the Republic of China was given control of Taiwan. In 1949, after losing control of most of mainland China following the Chinese Civil War , and before the post-war peace treaties had come into effect, the ROC government under the KMT withdrew to Taiwan , and Chiang Kai-shek declared martial law . An argument has been made that Japan formally renounced all territorial rights to Taiwan in 1952 in
7303-404: The countryside into the Communist cause. This strategy enabled the CCP to access an almost unlimited supply of manpower for both combat and logistical purposes; despite suffering heavy casualties throughout many of the war's campaigns, manpower continued to grow. For example, during the Huaihai Campaign alone the CCP was able to mobilize 5,430,000 peasants to fight against the KMT forces. After
7412-404: The diplomatic language by establishing trade and cultural missions that represent their interests on Taiwanese soil, while the ROC government represents its interests abroad with reciprocal missions . The PRC has, in the past, attempted to get nations to recognize that "the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government of China ... and Taiwan is an inalienable part of
7521-404: The effort of the central government to penetrate and destabilize local Han warlords such as Liu Wenhui . The government was seeking to exert full control over frontier areas against the warlords. Liu had refused to battle the Communists in order to conserve his army. The Consolatory Commission forces were used to battle the Red Army, but they were defeated when their religious leader was captured by
7630-423: The end of the war, the Red Army had grown to more than 1.3 million members, with a separate militia of over 2.6 million. About one hundred million people lived in CCP-controlled zones. Under the terms of the Japanese unconditional surrender dictated by the Allies, Japanese troops were to surrender to KMT troops but not to the CCP, which was present in some of the occupied areas. In Manchuria , however, where
7739-410: The government of all of China. Initially, international recognition of the two was split, but most countries began to recognize the PRC over the ROC in the 70s , including the United States in 1979 . The language in the United States' One China policy first arose in its joint 1972 Communiqué with the PRC. Under ROC President Lee Teng-hui in the 1990s, the Additional Articles of the Constitution of
7848-575: The government of all of China. Under former President Lee Teng-hui , additional articles were appended to the ROC constitution in 1991 so that it applied effectively only to the Taiwan Area . The Kuomintang proclaims a modified form of the "One-China" principle known as the " 1992 Consensus ". Under this "consensus", both governments "agree" that there is only one single sovereign state encompassing both mainland China and Taiwan, but disagree about which of
7957-420: The hostility between the two parties, with Currie stating that the only ones to benefit from a civil war would be the Japanese. The Soviet Union, allied more closely with the CCP, sent an imperative telegram to Mao in 1941, warning that civil war would also make the situation easier for the Japanese military. Due to the international community's efforts, there was a temporary and superficial peace. Chiang criticized
8066-439: The legitimate government of a country overrun by what it thought of as " Communist bandits ", the PRC claimed to have succeeded the ROC in the Chinese Civil War . Though the ROC no longer portrays itself as the sole legitimate government of China, the position of the PRC remained unchanged until the early 2000s, when the PRC began to soften its position on this issue to promote Chinese unification . One interpretation of one China
8175-495: The legitimate government of all China. After the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis , both tacitly ceased to engage in open conflict in 1979; however, no armistice or peace treaty has ever been signed. Following the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the 1911 Revolution , Sun Yat-sen assumed the presidency of the newly formed Republic of China, and was shortly thereafter succeeded by Yuan Shikai . Yuan
8284-801: The main Kuomintang) and the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League . In 1950, Premiere Zhou Enlai stated that the principle that Taiwan is part of China is "not only a historical fact but affirmed by the Cairo Declaration , the Potsdam Declaration , and the conditions after Japan's surrender." In its foreign relations, the PRC does not object to other countries having Taiwan trade offices, so long as those countries are not formally engaged in diplomatic activity. Chiang Kai-shek held
8393-605: The main forces of the Red Army left Nanchang and headed southwards for an assault on Guangdong. Nationalist forces quickly reoccupied Nanchang while the remaining members of the CCP in Nanchang went into hiding. A CCP meeting on 7 August confirmed the objective of the party was to seize the political power by force, but the CCP was quickly suppressed the next day by the Nationalist government in Wuhan, led by Wang Jingwei. On 14 August, Chiang Kai-shek announced his temporary retirement, as
8502-445: The new version changed from a subordinate relationship to an equal relationship, and the legislation only legalized its constitutional obligations. Placing less emphasis on which government should represent One China is more compatible with KMT's position as well as the current ROC Constitution. This reformulation was also reflected in the 2022 PRC white paper on Taiwan. In practice, official sources and state-owned media never refer to
8611-403: The northeast to oppose some 600,000 KMT troops. There were 40,000 CCP casualties at Zhangjiakou alone. They in turn killed, wounded or captured some 520,000 KMT during the campaign. After achieving decisive victory at Liaoshen, Huaihai and Pingjin campaigns, the CCP destroyed 144 regular and 29 irregular KMT divisions, including 1.54 million veteran KMT troops, which significantly reduced
8720-640: The passage of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China . Afterwards, the legal and political status of Taiwan has become more contentious, with increasing public expressions in favor of Taiwan independence , which were formerly outlawed. Within Taiwan, there is a distinction between the positions of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The Kuomintang holds
8829-596: The power balance became more favorable to the CCP. They wiped out 1.12 million KMT troops, while their strength grew to about two million men. In March 1947, the KMT achieved a symbolic victory by seizing Yan'an, the capital of the Yan'an Soviet . The Communists counterattacked soon afterwards; on 30 June 1947, CCP troops crossed the Yellow River and moved to the Dabie Mountains area, restored and developed
8938-459: The power of the Chinese Communist Party grew considerably. Their main force grew to 1.2 million troops, backed with additional militia of 2 million, totalling 3.2 million troops. Their "Liberated Zone" in 1945 contained 19 base areas, including one-quarter of the country's territory and one-third of its population; this included many important towns and cities. Moreover, the Soviet Union turned over all of its captured Japanese weapons and
9047-569: The pursuit or attack of the Kuomintang army. It consisted of a series of marches, during which numerous Communist armies in the south escaped to the north and west. Over the course of the march from Jiangxi the First Front Army, led by an inexperienced military commission, was on the brink of annihilation by Chiang Kai-Shek's troops as their stronghold was in Jiangxi. The Communists, under the command of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, "escaped in
9156-664: The rebellions. Then, in September, Wang Jingwei was forced out of Wuhan. September also saw an unsuccessful armed rural insurrection, known as the Autumn Harvest Uprising , led by Mao Zedong. Borodin then returned to the Soviet Union in October via Mongolia. In November, Chiang Kai-shek went to Shanghai and invited Wang to join him. On 11 December, the CCP started the Guangzhou Uprising , establishing
9265-512: The region. However, the Soviets refused permission for the Nationalist troops to traverse its territory and spent the extra time systematically dismantling the extensive Manchurian industrial base (worth up to $ 2 billion) and shipping it back to their war-ravaged country. KMT troops were then airlifted by the US to occupy key cities in North China, while the countryside was already dominated by
9374-638: The retreating Republic of China (ROC). The latter included Lin Zun, who defected with the ROC Navy 's Second Squadron and became the ECN's, and later the ESF's, deputy commander. The ECN's First Flotilla was formed in early May at Zhenjiang . The headquarters moved to Shanghai on 27 May. By late-June, the ECN was responsible for operational and naval industrial activities along the East China Sea coastline and
9483-609: The rift between Chiang and Wang Jingwei , the leader of the left wing faction of the KMT. The left wing of the KMT also expelled CCP members from the Wuhan Government , which in turn was toppled by Chiang Kai-shek. The KMT resumed its campaign against warlords and captured Beijing in June 1928. Soon, most of eastern China was under the control of the Nanjing central government, which received prompt international recognition as
9592-511: The sole legitimate government of China. The KMT government announced, in conformity with Sun Yat-sen, the formula for the three stages of revolution: military unification, political tutelage, and constitutional democracy. On 1 August 1927, the CCP launched an uprising in Nanchang against the Nationalist government in Wuhan. This conflict led to the creation of the Red Army . On 4 August,
9701-408: The strait uphold the principle of one China, and actively seek national unification, but the political interpretation of the one China will not be referred to in the cross-strait negotiations on functional issues." This position later became known as the 1992 Consensus , a phrase coined in early 2000 by Su Chi . There is significant difference on Taiwan regarding recognition and understanding of
9810-691: The strength of Nationalist forces. Stalin initially favored a coalition government in postwar China, and tried to persuade Mao to stop the CCP from crossing the Yangtze and attacking the KMT positions south of the river. Mao rejected Stalin's position and on 21 April, began the Yangtze River Crossing Campaign . On 23 April, they captured the KMT's capital, Nanjing. The KMT government retreated to Canton (Guangzhou) until 15 October, Chongqing until 25 November, and then Chengdu before retreating to Taiwan on 7 December. By late 1949,
9919-408: The territory of the People's Republic of China." However, many nations are unwilling to make this particular statement and there was often a protracted effort to find language acceptable to both sides, for example that they "respect", "acknowledge", "understand", or "take note of" the PRC's One China principle (but do not say they "recognize" it). This strategic ambiguity in the language used provides
10028-538: The two Chinese leaders. It concluded with the signing of the Double Tenth Agreement . Both sides stressed the importance of a peaceful reconstruction, but the conference did not produce any concrete results. Battles between the two sides continued even as peace negotiations were in progress, until the agreement was reached in January 1946. However, large campaigns and full-scale confrontations between
10137-499: The two governments is the legitimate government of this state. Former ROC President Ma Ying-jeou had re-asserted claims on mainland China as late as 8 October 2008. The Democratic Progressive Party rejects the One China principle, and its official position currently is that Taiwan is an independent and sovereign country whose territory consists of Taiwan and its surrounding smaller islands and whose sovereignty derives only from
10246-1006: The unemployment rate rose dramatically to 37.5%. Hyperinflation meant those employed in the Kuomintang forces lost the purchasing power of their pay. This resulted in corruption and the embezzlement of supplies which disappeared into the barter economy. Ordinary Kuomintang soldiers were often malnourished and desertion was common. The US strongly supported the Kuomintang forces. About 50,000 US soldiers were sent to guard strategic sites in Hebei and Shandong in Operation Beleaguer . The US equipped and trained KMT troops, and transported Japanese and Koreans back to help KMT forces to occupy liberated zones as well as to contain Communist-controlled areas. According to William Blum , American aid included substantial amounts of mostly surplus military supplies, and loans were made to
10355-477: The vast countryside and were not able to consolidate their foothold. Finally, in late 1934, Chiang launched a fifth campaign that involved the systematic encirclement of the Jiangxi Soviet region with fortified blockhouses . The blockhouse strategy was devised and implemented in part by newly hired Nazi advisors. Unlike previous campaigns in which they penetrated deeply in a single strike, this time
10464-462: The view that there was One China that should be united under the government of the Republic of China; his adversary Mao praised him for rejecting the idea of 'two Chinas,' stating that Chiang "dared to defy the U.S. policy for 'two Chinas' in front of [John Foster] Dulles , proving that he is still a great nationalist." On 1 August 1992, the ROC's National Unification Council passed the "Definition of One China Resolution", stating: "The two sides of
10573-456: The war with the Japanese ended, Chiang Kai-shek quickly moved KMT troops to newly liberated areas to prevent Communist forces from receiving the Japanese surrender. The US airlifted many KMT troops from central China to the Northeast (Manchuria). President Harry S. Truman was very clear about what he described as "using the Japanese to hold off the Communists". In his memoirs he writes: It
10682-435: The warlord Sun Chuanfang , moved eastward toward Jiangxi . The leftists rejected Chiang's demand to eliminate Communist influence within KMT, and Chiang denounced them for betraying Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People by taking orders from the Soviet Union. According to Mao Zedong , Chiang's tolerance of the CCP in the KMT camp decreased as his power increased. On 7 April, Chiang and several other KMT leaders held
10791-456: Was adopted during the Cold War , is that either the PRC or the ROC is the sole rightful government of all China and that the other government is illegitimate. While much of the western bloc maintained relations with the ROC until the 1970s under this policy, much of the eastern bloc maintained relations with the PRC. While the government of the ROC considered itself the remaining holdout of
10900-667: Was created on 21 April when Zhang established the East China Military Region Navy, or East China Navy (ECN), with a thirteen-member headquarters, and he was formally appointed by the CMC as the ECN's commander and commissar on 4 May. The ECN was reinforced by personnel from the Third Field Army, which would also dominate its and the later ESF's leadership, but its early operational capabilities were based on personnel and materiel captured or recruited from
11009-557: Was followed by a Communist offensive on the Shandong Peninsula that was largely successful, as all of the peninsula, except what was controlled by the US, fell to the Communists. The truce fell apart in June 1946 when full-scale war between CCP and KMT forces broke out on 26 June 1946. China then entered a state of civil war that lasted more than three years. By the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War,
11118-481: Was forced to surrender after the CCP conducted a brutal six-month siege of Changchun that resulted in more than 150,000 civilian deaths from starvation. The capture of large KMT units provided the CCP with the tanks, heavy artillery and other combined-arms assets needed to execute offensive operations south of the Great Wall. By April 1948, the city of Luoyang fell, cutting the KMT army off from Xi'an. Following
11227-426: Was fought between the Kuomintang -led government of the Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with armed conflict continuing intermittently from 1 August 1927 until Communist victory resulted in their total control over mainland China on 7 December 1949. The war is generally divided into two phases with an interlude: from August 1927 to 1937, the First United Front alliance of
11336-481: Was frustrated in a short-lived attempt to restore monarchy in China , and China fell into power struggle after his death in 1916. The Kuomintang (KMT), led by Sun Yat-sen, created a new government in Guangzhou to rival the warlords who ruled over large swathes of China and prevented the formation of a solid central government. After Sun's efforts to obtain aid from Western countries were ignored, he turned to
11445-473: Was in Chongqing from 28 August to 10 October 1945. Chiang entered the meeting at an advantage because he had recently signed a friendly treaty with the Soviet Union while the Communists were still forcing the Japanese to surrender in some places. Mao was accompanied by American ambassador Patrick J. Hurley , who was devoted to Chiang but also wanted to ensure Mao's safety in light of the past history between
11554-474: Was in name only. Unlike the KMT forces, CCP troops shunned conventional warfare and instead waged guerrilla warfare against the Japanese. The level of actual cooperation and coordination between the CCP and KMT during World War II was minimal. In the midst of the Second United Front, the CCP and the KMT were still vying for territorial advantage in " Free China " (i.e., areas not occupied by
11663-771: Was officially made a separate Fujian-Taiwan Province . Taiwan remained a province for eight years until it was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895 following the First Sino-Japanese War . While Taiwan remained under Japanese control, the Qing dynasty was ousted and the First and Second Republic of China (ROC) were established from the Beiyang regime to the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1928. After
11772-438: Was perfectly clear to us that if we told the Japanese to lay down their arms immediately and march to the seaboard, the entire country would be taken over by the Communists. We therefore had to take the unusual step of using the enemy as a garrison until we could airlift Chinese National troops to South China and send Marines to guard the seaports. Using the pretext of "receiving the Japanese surrender", business interests within
11881-546: Was turned to root out remaining pockets of CCP activity in a series of five encirclement campaigns . The first and second campaigns failed, and the third was aborted due to the Mukden Incident . The fourth campaign (1932–1933) achieved some early successes, but Chiang's armies were badly mauled when they tried to penetrate into the heart of Mao's Soviet Chinese Republic . During these campaigns, KMT columns struck swiftly into CCP areas, but were easily engulfed by
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