From 1911 to 1945, China experienced a revolution, a
struggle against warlords, a civil war between the
Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-Shek and the
Communists led by Mao Zedong, and invasion by the
Japanese. After the defeat of the Japanese in World
War II in 1945, a full-blown civil war erupted again in
1946. The Nationalists were backed by the United
States and the Communists had support from the
Soviet Union. By 1949, Chiang and the Nationalists,
despite having more soldiers than the Communists,
were defeated and forced to evacuate the Chinese
mainland for the island of Taiwan.
Historians point to a number of factors for the
nationalists defeat.
Chiang’s Kuomintang government was filled with
incompetent and corrupt officials. The people especially hated the tax collectors, who
were commonly called “blood-sucking devils.” Chiang himself held dictatorial powers,
but his orders were often ignored. He had little success in rallying Chinese nationalism
to win an unpopular war against the Communists.
Chiang’s decision to go to war against the Communists in 1946 came at the cost of
postponing the economic reconstruction of China. This meant diverting tax revenues,
investment, and other resources to the war effort rather than to the needs of the people.
Heavy taxes, a huge government debt, inflation, unemployment, and food shortages
caused many, especially in the cities, to lose faith in the Nationalist government.
