The Chinese Revolution16 Nov 2023

Chiang Kai-shek's Strong-Arm Tactics

Chiang Kai-shek used strong-armed tactics to fundraise for his army and government. Kidnapping, ransoms and execution were part of his tactics. He allied with the Green Gang of Shanghai, as did the French authorities.

Shanghai businessmen were kidnapped and held for ransom unless they bought Nanjing's bonds during the Northern Expedition.

T.V. Soong found a better way to sell Chinese bonds. He increased the interest rate. He also abolished the likin system in areas under Nationalist control, gained control over Chinese tariffs and negotiated the return of some Boxer Indemnity funds. But he made Japan his enemy and annoyed Chiang by pushing back against the constant demands for more money for the KMT's armies. He was forced out in favour of his brother-in-law H.H. Kung, who understood his job as Finance Minister was to provide Chiang with money for the military regardless of the cost.

Deng Yanda and the Provisional Action Committee of the Guomindang offered an alternative to Chiang's leadership. It sought mass appeal by organizing students, peasants and workers. It also gained supporters who had graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy. An insurrection was planned and Commander Chen Cheng appeared ready to bring Deng to power. But instead he was arrested and executed.

This was the final straw for Song Qingling, the widow of Sun Yat-sen and sister of T.V. Soong. She had already supported the USSR when it invaded Manchuria in a dispute over the China Eastern Railway. Now she asked a Comintern representative to join the Communist Party. They preferred her to be outside the party, criticizing the Nationalists as a disgruntled ex-KMT member. But she received secret agent training and was loyal to the Communist Party of China until her death, when she was rewarded with a party membership on her deathbed.

Note from the host: AI was used in this episode to dramatize some voices from quotes I selected using the sources listed in my sources section.

Image: "File:Teng-Jan-dah - (Deng Yanda ) 1927.jpg" by Chinarail2 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(67)

The Wang Jingwei Regime: A Puppet Regime in Nanjing

In 1938, after the Battle of Wuhan, Wang Jingwei left Chongqing and the Republic of China team in Chongqing for Hanoi. He negotiated with Japanese officials and eventually set up a puppet regime know ...

30 Jun 202428min

Living Under Japanese Occupation

Japan controlled Taiwan as a colony from 1895 to 1945. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chinese language education and publications stopped and the Imperial Subject Movement tried to Japanize resi...

27 Mai 202429min

The Brilliance of Chairman Mao

By the early 1940s, the Communists in Yan’an were feeling relatively secure. The Japanese advance in north China had not reached that area. The Sino-Japanese War and the United Front meant that Chiang...

7 Apr 202420min

Hope and the Second United Front in Wuhan

For ten months in 1938, Hankou in Wuhan was the center of China's Second United Front and defense against the Japanese invasion.Artistic expression, political parties and free speech all blossomed. Ne...

3 Mar 202426min

The National Palace Museum Treasures During the Second Sino Japanese War

The treasures of the National Palace Museum, originally the Forbidden City, followed China's path. They escaped the invading Japanese by leaving Beijing, first for Shanghai, then Nanjing and then foll...

12 Feb 202455min

The Beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre

On July 7, 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II began with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. It is also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident. Within days of the small skirmish with 100 Chin...

15 Jan 202425min

Chiang Kai Shek is Kidnapped

After the Long March, the Chinese Communists were mostly in northern Shaanxi, wanting a breather. Japan had continued its aggression in China after it set up the puppet state of Manchukuo under Empero...

7 Jan 202416min

The Long March

Zhou Enlai planned in secret the details of the Chinese Communist's escape from the encirclement of the Central Soviet. He identified a Guangdong warlord who preferred to save his troops rather than f...

25 Des 202341min