China vs Taiwan Situation For Dummies (Unbiased) [Part 2]
Very quick explanation of the China vs Taiwan situation for people with jobs
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With Japan out of the picture, the CCP and Nationalists continue their civil war. To the winner goes the spoils.
1946 - With the help of the Soviet Union, the CCP got an advantage over the Nationalists and a large number of KMT started to defect to the CCP
Due to their policies of land reform the CCP got a large number of poor and or people with no land to join the communist cause. Due to that, the CCP could mobilize up to 5.4 million peasant troops.
The situation started to look grim for the KMT.
The United States used the Japanese that haven’t evacuated yet as a shield against the CCP until the US could fly the KMT out of harms way in central China. In his memoirs then president Harry Truman wrote:
“It 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.”
The US supported the KMT by providing them 50,000 soldiers to guard strategic sites. They also armed and trained KMT troops. Japanese and Koreans were also sent to help the KMT.
This is starting to look like a full blown proxy war between the US and Soviet Union.
War of Liberation
The CCP and KMT clash but the CCP gained the upper hand.
Fierce fighting.
The CCP captures the KMT capitol Nanjing.
The KMT government retreated to Guangzhou then Chengdu and finally retreating to Taiwan.
On 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China and set Beijing as it’s capital.
Everyone thought China would immediately invade Taiwan. The US stated that it would not engage in any dispute involving the Taiwan Strait.
The US changed their mind.
US President Truman sent his fleet to sail through the strait regularly.
Crisis In The Strait
The first Taiwan straight crisis began in 1954 because the Peoples Liberation Army (CCP) took some islands that still belonged to the nationalists and killed or wounded 720 troops.
The US stepped in and stopped it.
Second Taiwan strait crisis began in 1958 where both sides engaged each other. The Action fizzled out.
October 1971 - United Nations admitted the CCP’s China to the assembly and removed the ROC Nationalists in Taiwan.
Sowing The Seeds Of Your Own Destruction
With tensions high between the CCP and the US after the Korean War
FEB 1972 - US President Richard Nixon took a trip to China, Normalized trade relations and got them into the World Trade Organization.
Nixon gave China a security guarantee by saying that Washington would respond to any Soviet aggression against China.
Nixon Removed the US Navy’s 7th fleet from the Taiwan Strait and withdrew US troops that were stationed in Taiwan.
The US National Security Advisor at the time Henry Kissinger told China that “We have not and will not support any Taiwan independence movement”.
Nixon’s term was cut short due to his resignation over the Watergate scandal.
US Congress saved Taiwan by passing the Taiwan Relations Act that ensured the US would provide weapons to Taiwan.
“We may have created a Frankenstein” -Richard NixonToday
2022 - China is a Superpower only second to the US
China Still believes that Taiwan is just a province and not an independent country.
No peace treaty has ever been signed.
The US sells tons of weapons to Taiwan making them one of the most well equipped forces in the world.
China still regularly infringes on Taiwan’s airspace with military aircraft. Taiwan is still unfinished business for them.
What is the future of Taiwan? Will the CCP invade them? That I cannot tell you. Only god knows.
Loved this one man, you crushed it.