Kuomintang

:KMT redirects here. For the scientific usage of KMT, see Kinetic theory.

Civil and World War

Following the death of Sun Yat-sen, General Chiang Kai-shek emerged as the KMT leader and launched the Northern Expedition in 1926 against the warlord government in Beijing. He halted briefly in Shanghai in 1927 to purge the Communists who had been allied with the KMT, which sparked the Chinese Civil War. Kuomintang forces took Beijing in 1928 and received widespread diplomatic recognition in the same year. Thus began the period of "political tutelage," whereby the party was to control the government while instructing the people on how to participate in a democratic system.

Related Topics:
Chiang Kai-shek - Northern Expedition - 1926 - Beijing - Shanghai - 1927 - Chinese Civil War - 1928

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After several military campaigns, the Communists were forced (1934-35) to withdraw from their bases in southern and central China. The Kuomintang continued to attack the Communists, even during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945).

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After the defeat of the Japanese, full-scale civil war between the Communists and Nationalists resumed. Chiang Kai-shek ordered his forces to the cities to defend industrialists and financiers, allowing the Communists to move freely through the countryside. Much of the war from 1946-1949 was financed from Taiwan's sugar and rice reserves acquired by the KMT. By the end of 1949 the Communists controlled almost all of mainland China, as the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan with 2 million refugees along with a hoard of China's national treasures. Some leftists stayed and broke off of the main Kuomintang , found the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, which exists as one of the eight minor registered parties in the People's Republic of China.

Related Topics:
1949 - Mainland China - Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang - Eight minor registered parties - People's Republic of China

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