Chiang Kai-Shek (1887-1975) was the nationalist leader who helped overthrow the Manchus, fought against the Communists and the Japanese and then founded the Republic of China, the modern, developed economy known as Taiwan. Chiang Kai-Shek is probably how he is known best in the west but several variations of this name exist.
The main features of Chiang's life are well-established: he was primarily a military man and his early years in Tokyo, serving in the Japanese army (1909-11), were formative ones for him both in terms of moulding his occasionally inflexible and stern manner and in exposing him to the ideals of his youthful comrades of opposition to any foreign domination of China. This meant the overthrow of the Manchus and the establishment of a national Chinese state. Such a goal must have then seemed remote but was eventually accomplished under the leadership of Dr Sun Yat Sen. However, an even greater danger then afflicted the Chinese people - the invasion and colonisation of the Japanese. Much has been written about the atrocities committed by the Japanese during this period and it is still not clear that the full truth will ever emerge.
A recent and very powerful re-evaluation of the life of Mao Tse-Tung reveals his fundamental belief that it was the Nationalists who were the real enemy of the Chinese people. It is suggested that he would even go so far as to side with the Japanese against the Nationalists. At the same time, Chiang, by now the Generalissimo of the Nationalists, was reluctant to engage the Japanese in open warfare and preferred to believe that the Allied forces would be able to defeat the Japanese without his assistance. Consequently, he kept his powder dry and his troops as safe as possible ready for the future struggle against the Communists. As a result, the Japanese occupation of China probably lasted longer and was more severe than it needed to be.
After the end of the Second World War came the Chinese Civil War. Chiang Kai-Shek had been unable fully to eliminate the various provincial warlords who had risen to seize power in their own regions of China after the fall of the Manchus. As a result, he was not able to call upon the full resources of the country. The superior organisation of the Communists, together with popular support, gave them the ultimate victory. Chiang has been accused of permitting too much corruption in his Nationalist government and therefore squandering the goodwill of the Chinese people. He has also been accused of being too inflexible in his methods and beliefs. Be that as it may, he led the remnants of his people to Taiwan to set up the Republic of China there, together with a great deal of cultural artifacts. With the assistance of the USA and a sensible import-substitution export-orientated growth policy that united the private and public sectors, Taiwan has become a rich and well-developed state, albeit one which is still occasionally threatened with opposition with mainland China. One of Chiang's main legacies is his role in the creation of a functioning parliamentary democracy in East Asia. It may not be perfect but it works.
The main features of Chiang's life are well-established: he was primarily a military man and his early years in Tokyo, serving in the Japanese army (1909-11), were formative ones for him both in terms of moulding his occasionally inflexible and stern manner and in exposing him to the ideals of his youthful comrades of opposition to any foreign domination of China. This meant the overthrow of the Manchus and the establishment of a national Chinese state. Such a goal must have then seemed remote but was eventually accomplished under the leadership of Dr Sun Yat Sen. However, an even greater danger then afflicted the Chinese people - the invasion and colonisation of the Japanese. Much has been written about the atrocities committed by the Japanese during this period and it is still not clear that the full truth will ever emerge.
A recent and very powerful re-evaluation of the life of Mao Tse-Tung reveals his fundamental belief that it was the Nationalists who were the real enemy of the Chinese people. It is suggested that he would even go so far as to side with the Japanese against the Nationalists. At the same time, Chiang, by now the Generalissimo of the Nationalists, was reluctant to engage the Japanese in open warfare and preferred to believe that the Allied forces would be able to defeat the Japanese without his assistance. Consequently, he kept his powder dry and his troops as safe as possible ready for the future struggle against the Communists. As a result, the Japanese occupation of China probably lasted longer and was more severe than it needed to be.
After the end of the Second World War came the Chinese Civil War. Chiang Kai-Shek had been unable fully to eliminate the various provincial warlords who had risen to seize power in their own regions of China after the fall of the Manchus. As a result, he was not able to call upon the full resources of the country. The superior organisation of the Communists, together with popular support, gave them the ultimate victory. Chiang has been accused of permitting too much corruption in his Nationalist government and therefore squandering the goodwill of the Chinese people. He has also been accused of being too inflexible in his methods and beliefs. Be that as it may, he led the remnants of his people to Taiwan to set up the Republic of China there, together with a great deal of cultural artifacts. With the assistance of the USA and a sensible import-substitution export-orientated growth policy that united the private and public sectors, Taiwan has become a rich and well-developed state, albeit one which is still occasionally threatened with opposition with mainland China. One of Chiang's main legacies is his role in the creation of a functioning parliamentary democracy in East Asia. It may not be perfect but it works.
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