KMT retreat to Taiwan in 1949

The KMT retreat to Taiwan in 1949 refers to the retreat of Koumintang (Nationalists, or KMT) officers and approximately 2 million troops to the island of Taiwan in December 1949 at the end of the Chinese Civil War. Troops mostly fled to Taiwan from provinces in southern China, including Sichuan Province, where the last stand of the KMT main army took place. The flight to Taiwan took place over two months after Mao Zedong had proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing on October 1, 1949.

Founded 10 October 1919; 98 years ago
Party flag and emblem of the Kuomintang of China

Background

The Chinese Civil War (1928-1949) between Chiang Kai-shek’s KMT forces and Mao Zedong’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) entered its final stage in 1945, following the surrender of Japan. Both sides sought to control and unify China. While Chiang heavily relied on assistance from the United States, Mao relied on support from the Soviet Union as well as the rural population of China.[1]

The bloody conflict between the KMT and the CCP began when both parties were attempting to subdue Chinese warlords in northern China (1926-1928) and continued though the Japanese occupation (1932-1945). The need to eliminate the warlords was seen as necessary by both Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek, but for different reasons. For Mao, their elimination would end the feudal system in China, encouraging and preparing the country for socialism and communism. For Chiang, the warlords were a great threat to the central government. This basic dissimilarity in motivation continued throughout the years of fighting against Japanese occupation in China, in spite of a common enemy.

Mao’s Communist forces mobilised the peasantry in rural China against the Japanese, and at the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945 the Chinese Communist Party had built an army of nearly a million soldiers. The pressure Mao’s forces placed on the Japanese benefitted the Soviet Union, thus the CCP forces were supplied by the Soviets. The ideological unity of the CCP, and the experience acquired in fighting the Japanese, prepared it for the next struggle, this being, against the Kuomintang. Though Chiang’s forces were well equipped by the US, they lacked effective leadership, political unity, and experience.

In January 1949, Chiang Kai-shek stepped down as leader of the KMT and was replaced by his vice-president, Li Zongren. Li and Mao entered into negotiations for peace, but Nationalist hardliners rejected Mao’s demands. The Communist military capability was a deciding factor in resolving the impasse, and when Li sought an additional delay in mid-April 1949, the Red Army crossed the Yangzi (Chang) River. Chiang fled to the island of Formosa (Taiwan), where approximately 300,000 soldiers had already been airlifted. Chiang relocated his air force in Taiwan and sent the 26 naval vessels of the Nationalist army there. What is more, the Final Communist assault against Nationalist forces began on 20 April 1949 and continued until the end of summer. By August, the Red Army dominated almost all of mainland China; the Nationalists held only Taiwan and the Pescadores Island, Guangdong, and a few regions in the far west.[2] From Taiwan, Chiang’s air force attempted to bomb the mainland cities of Shanghai and Nanking, but to no effect. Chiang’s ground forces aimed to return to the mainland, but without any long-term success and thus Mao Zedong’s Communist forces were left in control of all of China except Hainan Island, Tibet, and Taiwan.

As a whole, the Civil War had an immense impact on the Chinese people. The historian Jonathan Fenby proposes that “hyperinflation [during the Chinese Civil War] undermined everyday lives and ruined tens of millions. Hampered by a poor taxation base, increased military spending and widespread corruption."[3]

Gold and treasures taken from China

Artifact from the Qing Dynasty, which resembles a piece of stewed pork

In 1948, Chiang Kai-shek, began planning the KMT retreat to Taiwan with a plan to take gold and treasure from the mainland. The amount of gold that was moved differs according to sources, but it is usually estimated from between 3 million to 5 million tael (approximately 113.6-115.2 tons; one tael is 37.2 grams). Other than gold, KMT brought old relics, which are now kept in National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. Some scholars say the movement of gold and treasure are part of protective measures against the Japanese invasion and occupation, similar to how European governments transferred gold to other locations during World War II.

There are different opinions on treasures that are at Taiwan's national palace museum. Some in China, view the relocation as looting, others believe these treasures have been accidentally protected, which might have been lost forever due to the "Four Olds Campaign" during the Cultural Revolution. Others believe that Taiwan is still part of Chinese territory so the relocation is not an issue.

[4] Taiwan's national museum claims that in 1948 when China was going through its Civil War, executive director Chu Chia-Hua and others (Wang Shi-Jie, Fu Sinian, Xu Hong-Bao, Li Ji, and Hang Li-wu ) gathered together and discussed about shipping masterpieces to Taiwan for artifacts' safety.[5]

Chiang Kai-shek's mission to take gold from China was held secretly because, according to Dr. Wu Sing-yung, the entire mission was operated by Chiang himself. Only Chiang and Dr.Wu's father, who was the head of finance for the KMT government, knew about moving gold to Taiwan and all the orders from him were carried out verbally. Dr. Wu stated that even the finance minister had no power over the transfer.[6] This is why there are no written records relating to the movement of golds and treasures from the mainland.

Golds and treasures in Taiwan

Jadeite cabbage from Qing Dynasty, China

It is a widely held belief that the gold brought to Taiwan were used to lay foundations for the Taiwanese economy and government.[6] Six months of the gold operation by Chiang, the New Taiwanese dollar was launched, which replaced the old Taiwanese dollar at a ratio of one to 40,000. It is believed that 800,000 taels of gold were used to stabilize the economy which had been suffering from hyperinflation since 1945.

Three of the most famous artifacts taken by Chiang are the so-called Three Treasures of the National Palace Museum, the Meat-shaped Stone, the Jadeite Cabbage, and the Mao Gong Ding.

Meat-shaped Stone

The Meat-shaped Stone, part of the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, is made of jasper, which is dyed and carved to make it look like Dong po-ru, a Chinese stewed port belly. It is one of the Three Treasures of the National Palace Museum.[7]

Jadeite Cabbage

The second of the Three Treasures is the Jadeite Cabbage. It is carved out of a natural jade stone which was half green and half white. Its size is 9.1 centimeters, smaller than the average human hand. Since it was carved out of natural jade, it has a lot of flaws and cracks. This makes the sculpture seem more natural, for those cracks and flaws look like the cabbage's stem and leaves.

The Mao Gong Ding of the National Palace Museum, Taipei

Mao Gong Ding

The Mao Gong Ding is the third of the Three Treasures. It is a bronze tripod/cauldron It has a height of 53.8 cm, width of 47.9 cm, and a weight of 34.7kg. It has an inscription of 497 characters arranged in 32 lines, the longest inscription among the Ancient Chinese bronze inscriptions. It is said to date back to the Ancient Zhou Era.[8]

KMT's plan to take back Mainland China

The story behind the "top secret" Project National Glory

Chiang Kai-shek, The Man who Lost China (1952)

After the retreat to Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek established a relatively benign dictatorship over the island with other Nationalist leaders, and began making plans to invade the mainland.[9] Chiang conceived a plan, Project Guoguang (Project National Glory, Chinese: 國光計劃), to accomplish this. Chiang's planned offensive involved 26 operations including land invasions and special operations behind enemy lines. If it had taken place, it would have been the largest seaborne invasion in history.[10]

By the 1960s Chiang Kai-shek thought the time was right to launch an attack, given the catastrophic famine unleashed by Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward policies and possible development of nuclear weapons for China.[11]The US was fighting the Vietnam War then, and for Project National Glory to be successful Chiang Kai-shek knew he needed US military assistance. Thus he offered to help the Americans fight the Vietnam War in exchange for US support conducive to take back his lost territory. The US opposed and refused Chiang's suggestions. This did not stop him. Rather, Chiang went ahead with the preparations and continued to further his plan to take back their lost territory.[12] In 1965, Chiang's plans were ready. Soldiers and officers drew up their wills, while the top brass were trying to choose the most suitable date to deploy their troops, according to the government archives.

A chronological order of KMT's plan to take back the land it lost

April 1, 1961: The year witnessed the advent of the Project National Glory. The office was built by the Republic of China Armed Forces together with the Ministry of National Defence in Taipei Country in the town of Sanxia. Army Lieutenant General Zhu Yuancong took the role of governor and officially launched the project to compose a prudent plan of operations to recover the lost territories in mainland China. At the same time, the establishment of Project Juguan came to light whereby military members began to work out a possible alliance with American troops to attack mainland China.

April 1964: During this year, Chiang Kai-shek arranged the assemble of air-raid shelters and five military offices at Cihu (慈湖), which served as a secret command centre. Following the establishment of Project National Glory, several subsections were put into place, such as the frontal area of the enemy, rear area special warfare, surprise attack, take advantage of the counterattack, and assistance against tyranny. With regard to the American alliance, the United States Armed Forces and the U.S. Department of Defense, together with the State Department, took a stand against Project National Glory, rejecting the KMT plan to retake mainland China. Thus, every week American troops checked the inventory of Republic of China Marine Corps (ROC) amphibious landing vehicles used by ROC and ordered American military advisory group members to fly over the Project National Glory camp on scouting missions. The latter infuriated Chiang Kai-Shek.

June 17, 1965: Chiang Kai-shek visited the Republic of China Military Academy to convene with all mid level and higher officers to devise and launch the counterattack.

June 24, 1965: A multitude of soldiers died during a training drill to feign a Communist attack on major naval bases in southern Taiwan near Zuoying. The deaths that occurred during the happening were the first but not the last in Project National Glory.[11]

August 6, 1965: A People’s Liberation Army Navy torpedo boat ambushed and sunk 200 soldiers as the Zhangjiang naval warship carried out assignment Tsunami Number 1, in an attempt to transport special forces to the vicinity of Eastern mainland Chinese coastal island of Dongshan to carry out an intelligence gathering operation.

November 1965: Chiang Kai-shek ordered two other naval vessels, the CNS Shan Hai and the CNS Lin Huai, to pick up injured soldiers from Taiwan’s offshore island of Magong and Wuqiu. Nonetheless, the vessels were attacked by 12 PRC ships, the Lin Huai sunk, and roughly 90 soldiers and sailors killed in action. Subsequent to the naval battle at Magong, Chiang, gave up all hope for Project National Glory to succeed, for the heavy loss of life had surprised him.

After several unsuccessful feigned invasions between August 1971 and June 1973, in the lead up to the main landings, the 1973 coup which witnessed Nie Rongzhen's rise to power in Beijing drove Chiang to call off all further false attacks and commence full landing operations. Having said this, according to Gen Huang Chih-chung, who was an army colonel at the time and part of the planning process, Chiang Kai-shek never completely gave up the desire to recapture China; "even when he died (in 1975), he was still hoping the international situation would change and that the Communists would be wiped out one day."[11]

A sudden shift in focus


The failure of Chiang’s Project National Glory changed the course of Chinese and Taiwanese history. For example, the Taiwanese “shifted the focus to modernising and defending Taiwan instead of preparing Taiwan to take back China,” stated Andrew Yang, a political scientist specializing in Taiwan-China relations at the Taipei-based Council of Advanced Policy Studies.[9] Chiang Kai-shek's son, who later succeeded him as president, focused on maintaining peace between the mainland and Taiwan. Today, political relations between Taiwan and China have changed, "I hope it will develop peacefully...There's no need for war."[11]

KMT reformation by Chiang Kai-Shek

Reinventing a new Political Party

In August 1950, the KMT held its first Central reform Committee meeting to launch the party’s reforms. (1950)

In late 1949, having been almost destroyed by the Chinese Communists, the KMT relocated to Taiwan and reinvented itself. Not only did the KMT leadership build a new party, but it built a new polity on Taiwan that created economic prosperity and China’s first democracy. From August 1950 to October 1952, more than four hundred working meetings were held almost four times a week to discuss how to build a new political party and implement Nationalist government policies. On August 5, 1950, Chiang chose the Central Reform Committee (CRC) to serve as the party’s core leadership for planning and acting. The CRC members were on average young with an average age of 47 and all had college degrees.[13]

The new CRC had six goals.

  1. Make the KMT a revolutionary democratic party.
  2. Recruit peasants, workers, youth, intellectuals, and capitalists.
  3. Adhere to democratic centralism.
  4. Establish the work team as the basic organisational unit
  5. Maintain high standards of leadership and obey the party’s decisions
  6. Adopt Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People as the KMT’s ideology.

All CRC members took an oath to fulfil the party’s ultimate goals which is to get rid of the Communists and recover the Chinese mainland.[14]

Expanding the Party's social Foundation

Having organized a cohesive, loyal party, Chiang Kai-shek wanted to extend its influence deep into Taiwan's society in order to broaden its social base. One way to do that was to select new members from different social status and groups. Various party branch members were ordered to recruit new members, especially students and teachers. New members had to show loyalty to the KMT party, understand what the party represented, obey party principles, and perform services for the party. In return, the CRC promised to pay attention to society’s needs, which helps the CRC define a clear political purpose. Party policy also targeted ways to improve ordinary people’s living conditions. Having new party branches made up of people of similar social status was a strategy that improved relations with workers, business leaders, farmers, intellectuals[15]. With the new party branches promoting the various groups of people, the KMT was able slowly to extend its control and influence into Taiwan’s villages. By October 1952, KMT membership had reached nearly 282,000, compared to the 50,000 members who had fled to Taiwan. More significant, more than half the party members were Taiwanese. By the late 1960s, this number had risen to nearly one million[16].

CRC made its work teams responsible for enforcing party policies and informing members how to behave. They also prevented communist infiltration, and recruited new party members after investigating their backgrounds, in order to hold regular meetings to discuss party strategy. The new party, then, behaved very differently from the way it had before 1949, with its work teams having new managerial and training responsibilities. According to the KMT’s new rules, all party members had to join a work team and attend its meetings so that the party leadership could discover who was loyal and active. According to one report, in the summer of 1952, the KMT’s Taiwan provincial party headquarters had at least thirty thousand work-team units in the field, each unit having at least nine members who worked in various state agencies, areas of Taiwan, and occupations.[17] Gradually, the party expanded its influence in society and in the state.

Local-level Political Reforms

Important KMT tactic was to promote limited, local-level political reforms to enhance the party's authority with the Taiwanese people. To legitimate the Republic of China (ROC) as the central government for all China, Taiwan’s Nationalist government needed elected representatives for all China. Thus, in 1947 more than one thousand mainlanders in Nanking were elected by the Chinese people as members of the National Assembly, Legislative Yuan, and Control Yuan. After coming to Taiwan, those representatives were permitted to hold their seats until the next ROC election could be held on the mainland, thus legitimizing the ROC’s control of Taiwan[18]. In this new political environment the reformed KMT and the ROC government were able to propose their new power. Chiang Kai-shek believed that, in this authoritarian polity, local elections could promote Taiwan’s eventual democracy. People did not believe that the KMT would never not interfere with such elections. However, having so many local elections in a year, many voters were convinced to think that the KMT wanted to advance political pluralism. Party leaders tried to broaden their influence while only slowly allowing opposing politicians to compete by giving political lessons to teach voters how democracy should work.

In January 1951, the first elections for county and city council were held. In April, other elections followed for county and municipal offices. In December, the Taiwan Provisional Provincial Assembly was organized. Its members were appointed by county and municipal assemblies[19]. Through martial law and the control of local election rules, the KMT won most of those local elections but claimed that free elections had been held. Chiang believed that enough liberty had occurred. Therefore, party leaders continued to emphasize that martial law was still necessary.

Views on the legality of the KMT takeover of Taiwan

There are opposing views on the legality of the KMT takeover of Taiwan. At the time of the retreat to Taiwan, the KMT maintained that they were a government in exile. The Chinese Communist government maintains to this day that the Republic of China on Taiwan is a renegade province that must eventually return to rule by the mainland.

According to an article published in 1955 on the legal status of Taiwan, "It has been charged that Chiang Kai-shek has no claim to the island because he is 'merely a fugitive quartering his army' there and besides, his is a government in exile."[20] Moreover, the Treaty of San Francisco, which was officially signed by 48 nations on 8 September 1951, did not specify to whom Japan was ceding Taiwan and Pescadores.

According to Professor Gene Hsiao, "since the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the separate KMT treaty with Japan did not specify to whom Japan was ceding Taiwan and the Pescadores, the implication of the U.S. position was that -legally, and insofar as the signatories of those two treaties were concerned, Taiwan became an 'ownerless' island and the KMT, by its own assent to the American policy, a foreign government-in-exile."[21] Since Taiwan does not belong to China and the KMT party is ruling a place which is not included within the Chinese territory, the KMT government should be considered as "in exile."

See Also

Citations

  1. ↑ Zhànzhēng, Jiefàng. "Civil War 1945-1949".
  2. ↑ Zhànzhēng, Jiêfàng. "Civil War 1945-1949".
  3. ↑ "The Chinese Civil War".
  4. ↑ Shu-Ling, Ko (2014-06-17). "Museums to display Taiwan's treasures". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
  5. ↑ Museum, National Palace (2017-05-17). "Brief Chronology". National Palace Museum. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
  6. 1 2 "How one man took China's gold | MINING.com". MINING.com. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
  7. ↑ "Asian Art Museum". www.asianart.org. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
  8. ↑ Chinese Art Treasures: Exhibition Catalogue from the National Palace Museum. Geneva: SKILA. 1961.
  9. 1 2 "Taiwan's plan to take back mainland". 7 September 2009 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ↑ "Republic of China, Government in Exile".
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Taiwan's plan to take back mainland".
  12. ↑ "The Chinese Revolution of 1949".
  13. ↑ "Breaking with the Past: The Kuomintang Central Reform Committee on Taiwan, 1950-52 - PolicyArchive". www.policyarchive.org. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  14. ↑ "cia memorandum ollenhauer meeting 23 October 1952 October 21 1952 secret nara". U.S. Intelligence on Europe, 1945-1995. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  15. ↑ Moss, R. Maurice. "Employment Opportunities and Working Conditions as Factors in Youth Development". Social Service Review. 25 (4): 497–500. doi:10.1086/638528. ISSN 0037-7961.
  16. ↑ Marie, Laurence (2001-01-01). "R de réel". Labyrinthe (8): 123–126. doi:10.4000/labyrinthe.872. ISSN 1288-6289.
  17. ↑ "Current Publications Received". The Social Studies. 43 (1): 47–48. doi:10.1080/00220973.1938.11017690. ISSN 0037-7996.
  18. ↑ Wachman, Alan M. "Taiwan: A Political History. By Denny Roy. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2003. xiii, 255 pp. $18.95 (paper)". The Journal of Asian Studies. 63 (01): 166–167. doi:10.1017/s0021911804000324. ISSN 0021-9118.
  19. ↑ Kron, Jr, N F (1980-07-01). "Development regulation changes local elected leaders can make to promote energy conservation".
  20. ↑ Phillips, Claude S. "The International Legal Status of Formosa". The Western Political Quarterly. 10 (2): 276–289. doi:10.2307/443689.
  21. ↑ Marc J. Cohen, Emma Teng (15 July 2018). "Let Taiwan be Taiwan" (PDF). Taiwan Foundation. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
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