#guomindang

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Hong Lu from Limbus Company is a Member of the Guomindang!

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[buried-in-stardust]

Do you learn how to write mandarin in zhuyin/bopomofo in school? Or just in pinyin and simplified chinese?

I personally am a heritage speaker with Taiwanese parents and was born/grew up in Canada, so I went to Saturday morning Chinese school for a few years when I was little instead. The program was run by Taiwanese people, so everything was in traditional Chinese, although we learned both pinyin and zhuyin and had a chart to help us convert one to the other. While the program taught both, all the material had more emphasis on zhuyin (although that didn't seem to help me, since I barely remember any zhuyin and I type exclusively in pinyin lol). For instance, books aimed at kids also have the zhuyin next to each character and worksheets will have the kids match zhuyin (but not pinyin) to characters that start with or end in that sound.

In Taiwan, they do learn zhuyin instead of pinyin, so the main method people use to input characters on computers is with zhuyin (pic under cut). There's another romantiziation method that people in Taiwan may be more familiar with: Wades-Giles. This system is the reason why you see 國民黨 written as Kuomintang instead of Guomindang. I'm not really familiar with how it is nowadays in Taiwan, so I can't say anything about if younger people can read pinyin or not, but older generations usually cannot. Taiwan uses traditional characters, but people can kinda read simplified, and it's generally easier for people who know traditional to read simplified than vice-versa.

As for the mainland, it's not standard for them to learn zhuyin, so most people can't read it, and very few elementary schools will teach it. They also don't learn traditional characters, but often they will know a few, if only from exposure. Again, it's not difficult to guess what the traditional may mean since most characters are the same. They are also less likely to get exposure to traditional characters than a Taiwanese would to simplified purely due to the numbers.

If there's anything that you'd like me to expand on, let me know and I'll do my best!

[cosmosbeelover]

The History of Korean Male Groups – From Yeonhee Professional Singers’ Quartet to BTS -> Pt. 6/? (Rewrite)

In Part 6 of The History of Korean Male Groups, the discussion will commence with the era following the Japanese occupation, highlighting the influence of the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) and the establishment of the First, Second, and Third Republic of Korea, which spanned from 1948 to 1972. These significant historical events have enduring effects on contemporary discourse and are closely linked to the contributions of Korean artists who emerged during this period. A summary of these occurrences will be included, along with videos at the end of this post that pertain to the discussed events; however, I encourage readers to engage in further independent research to enhance their understanding of this aspect of Korean history.

Division of Korea

Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea

The Korean Provisional Government (KPG), officially known as the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, operated as a government in exile in China during the period of Japanese occupation. Established in Shanghai on April 11, 1919, the KPG enacted a provisional constitution that outlined a democratic republic, the "Republic of Korea," featuring a presidential system and three branches of government: legislative, administrative, and judicial. The KPG claimed the territory of the former Korean Empire and was bolstered by the Korean resistance movement, which received support from the Kuomintang (Guomindang; 中國國民黨), the Soviet Union, and France. Following 1932, the KPG relocated several times before ultimately settling in Chongqing until the conclusion of World War II in 1945, with several of its headquarters in Shanghai and Chongqing now preserved as museums.

The KPG's existence concluded with Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945, prompting its members to return to Korea. There, they established political organizations under the American military administration and vied for influence in what would evolve into South Korea. On August 15, 1948, Syngman Rhee, who had served as the first president of the KPG, was inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Korea. The current South Korean government asserts continuity with the KPG through the 1987-amended constitution, although this claim has been a subject of debate among scholars and historians.

People's Republic of Korea

The People's Republic of Korea (PRK) (조선인민공화국) was a provisional government established briefly following Japan's surrender at the conclusion of World War II. It was officially announced on September 6, 1945, during the division of Korea into two occupation zones, with the Soviet Union controlling the northern region and the United States overseeing the south. The PRK was founded on a framework of people's committees and aimed to promote the democratization of both society and the economy.

Associate Chairman Lyuh Woon-hyung (류운형) giving a speech at a YMCA in Gyeongseong (16 August 1945).

On December 12, 1945, the US military government in the south deemed the PRK to be illegitimate. Meanwhile, in the north, Soviet authorities assumed control of the PRK by appointing pro-Soviet Korean communists, including Kim Il-sung (김일성), to key positions, thereby integrating it into the political framework of the nascent Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).

United States Army Military Government in Korea

The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) (재조선 미국 육군사령부 군정청) served as the governing authority for the southern region of the Korean Peninsula from September 8, 1945, until August 15, 1948. This era was marked by significant political and economic instability, largely stemming from the lingering impacts of Japanese colonial rule, which affected both the southern and northern zones of Korea.

The discontent among the populace was exacerbated by the U.S. military government's alignment with remnants of the Japanese administration, including the retention of former Japanese officials as advisors. Additionally, the suppression of the People's Republic of Korea and the endorsement of United Nations elections that further divided the nation contributed to the unrest. The U.S. military's lack of preparation for governance, coupled with their unfamiliarity with the local language and political dynamics, led to policies that often-had destabilizing consequences, further complicated by the influx of approximately 400,000 refugees from the north and returning expatriates.

Anti-trusteeship movement [ko] protest, December 1945

Key Events

In response to increasing public dissatisfaction, Hodge established the Korean Advisory Council in October 1945. The Council predominantly comprised members from the Korean Democratic Party, which had been formed with U.S. support and was largely composed of affluent landowners, business elites, and former colonial officials. Although a few representatives from the People's Republic of Korea were invited to participate, they declined and criticized the Council members for their collaboration with Japanese authorities.

A proposal for a long-term  trusteeship over Korea emerged in 1945, leading to an agreement in December between the United States and the Soviet Union to jointly administer the country through the U.S.–Soviet Joint Commission, as established at the  Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers. It was decided that Korea would achieve self-governance after four years of international oversight. Nevertheless, both superpowers endorsed Korean governments aligned with their respective political ideologies, resulting in the establishment of interim administrations in the south led by Kim Kyu-shik (김규식) and  Syngman Rhee (이승만), which faced significant public unrest during elections.

The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) prohibited strikes on December 8 and disbanded people's committees shortly thereafter. However, in September 1946, the Communist Party of Korea launched a  General Strike that began with railway workers in Busan and quickly expanded to other sectors, involving over 250,000 workers by September 24. In response, the USAMG conducted military operations against the strikers and supported right-wing anti-communist factions. A police shooting during a protest in Daegu on October 1 resulted in a worker's death, escalating tensions into the  'Autumn Uprising,' prompting the U.S. administration to impose martial law and respond violently to demonstrators, leading to numerous casualties.

Jeju inhabitants awaiting execution in late 1948

The Jeju Uprising commenced in April 1948 during the U.S. occupation, triggered by the assassination of 30 South Korean police officers by leftist radicals. This insurrection was incited by Pak Hon-yong (박혼영), a South Korean communist who had previously collaborated with  Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang. He urged leftist and communist factions south of the 38th parallel to resist the 1948 Korean elections through any means necessary, announcing a general strike set to begin on February 7. At that time, the communist Workers' Party of South Korea on Jeju had approximately 60,000 members on Jeju, supported by around 80,000 active sympathizers. These individuals not only participated in the strike but also engaged in violent confrontations with government forces.

The conflict intensified following South Korea's independence in August 1948, with President Syngman Rhee's administration largely quelling the uprising by May 1949. The violence resulted in significant atrocities committed by both sides, leading to an estimated death toll ranging from 14,000 to 30,000 individuals. The Jeju Uprising thus stands as a critical episode in Korean history, reflecting the deep-seated ideological divisions and the violent struggle for power during a tumultuous period.

First Republic of Korea

The First Republic of Korea (대한민국; 大韓民國), established on August 15, 1948, marked the beginning of South Korea's independent governance following the end of Japanese occupation and the subsequent United States Army Military Government. Syngman Rhee emerged as the inaugural president after the May 1948 elections, with the National Assembly enacting the nation's first constitution in July, which instituted a presidential system. Although the republic asserted sovereignty over the entirety of Korea, its jurisdiction was limited to the southern region below the 38th parallel until the Korean War concluded in 1953, resulting in a revised border. The regime was characterized by Rhee's authoritarian rule, widespread corruption, minimal economic progress, and a staunch anti-communist stance, which, by the late 1950s, led to increasing political unrest and public dissent against Rhee, culminating in the April Revolution of 1960 that forced his resignation and initiated the transition to the Second Republic of Korea.

Korean War

It is important to mention that numerous YouTube videos are available regarding the Korean War. I will provide links to several of them. These resources can offer valuable insights and perspectives on the conflict, enhancing understanding of its historical significance.

This is a photograph that shows extensive damage to Namdaemun, one of the former gates into the city of Seoul, Korea. A tank is parked near the gate. From: Gene Putnam. Ca. 1951

The Korean War, occurring from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953, was a significant military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula between North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and South Korea, or the Republic of Korea (ROK), along with their respective allies. The DPRK received support from the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, while the ROK was backed by the United Nations Command (UNC), predominantly led by the United States. This conflict marked the first substantial proxy war of the Cold War era, concluding with an armistice in 1953 but lacking a formal peace treaty, which has perpetuated tensions on the peninsula.

Following the conclusion of World War II in 1945, Korea, previously under Japanese colonial rule for 35 years, was partitioned into two occupation zones by the Soviet Union and the United States at the 38th parallel, with intentions for future independence. However, due to political discord and external influences, these zones established separate governments in 1948. The DPRK, under Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, and the ROK, led by Syngman Rhee in Seoul, both asserted claims to be the legitimate government of a unified Korea, resulting in border skirmishes exacerbated by communist agitation in the south. On June 25, 1950, the Korean People's Army (KPA), trained and equipped by the Soviets, invaded the south, prompting the UN Security Council to condemn the aggression and call for member states to assist in repelling the invasion, with UN forces comprising 21 nations and the United States contributing approximately 90% of the military personnel.

Seoul fell to enemy forces on June 28, and by early August, the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) and its allies faced near defeat, confined to the Pusan Perimeter in the southeastern region of the peninsula. On September 15, United Nations forces executed a landing at Inchon, strategically severing the supply lines of the Korean People's Army (KPA). Following a breakout from the perimeter on September 18, UN forces reclaimed Seoul and initiated an invasion of North Korea in October, successfully capturing Pyongyang and advancing toward the Yalu River, which marks the border with China. The situation escalated on October 19 when the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) crossed the Yalu River, joining the conflict in support of North Korea. By December, UN forces were compelled to retreat from North Korea due to the PVA's aggressive offensives, and Seoul changed hands again in January 1951 before being retaken by UN forces two months later.

Delegates sign the Korean Armistice Agreement in P'anmunjŏm.

The Korean War concluded on July 27, 1953, with the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement, which facilitated the exchange of prisoners and established a 4-kilometer-wide Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) along the front lines, including a Joint Security Area at Panmunjom. The conflict resulted in over 1 million military fatalities and an estimated 2 to 3 million civilian casualties. Allegations of war crimes emerged, including mass executions of suspected communists by the South and the torture and starvation of prisoners of war by the North. North Korea became one of the most bombed nations in history, with extensive destruction of its major cities. The absence of a formal peace treaty has rendered the war a protracted and unresolved conflict.

Syngman Rhee

Syngman Rhee (이승만; 李承晚), born on March 26, 1875, and passing on July 19, 1965, was a prominent South Korean politician who held the position of the inaugural president of South Korea from 1948 until 1960. He is also recognized by his pen name, Unam (우남; 雩南). Rhee's political career included serving as the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea from 1919 until his impeachment in 1925, and again from 1947 to 1948. His presidency was marked by authoritarian governance, limited economic progress, and increasing political unrest and public dissent in the late 1950s.

Official portrait, 1948

Rhee was born in Hwanghae Province during the Joseon Dynasty and received his education at an American Methodist institution, where he converted to Christianity. He emerged as a Korean independence activist, facing imprisonment for his efforts in 1899. After his release in 1904, he relocated to the United States, earning degrees from various American universities and meeting President Theodore Roosevelt. Following a brief return to Korea from 1910 to 1912, he settled in Hawaii in 1913. In response to the Japanese crackdown on the March First Movement in 1919, Rhee became involved with the Korean Provisional Government in exile in Shanghai, serving as its first president until his impeachment in 1925. He later returned to the United States, where he campaigned for Korean independence, eventually moving to Washington, DC, in 1939. In 1945, he was brought back to US-occupied Korea by American forces, and on July 20, 1948, he was elected as the first president of the Republic of Korea by the National Assembly, marking the beginning of the First Republic of Korea.

During his presidency, Rhee maintained a staunch anti-communist and pro-American stance, which had defined his political career prior to taking office. His administration swiftly suppressed a communist uprising on Jeju Island and was responsible for the Mungyeong and Bodo League massacres, resulting in the deaths of over 100,000 individuals accused of communist sympathies. Rhee's tenure coincided with the onset of the Korean War (1950–1953), initiated by North Korea's invasion of South Korea. He notably declined to sign the armistice that concluded the conflict, advocating instead for the forceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula.

Following the war, South Korea's economy struggled in comparison to North Korea's and remained heavily dependent on American financial support. After winning re-election in 1956, Rhee sought to amend the constitution to eliminate the two-term limit, facing significant public opposition. He was re-elected uncontested in March 1960 after his rival, Chough Pyung-ok (조평옥), succumbed to cancer before the election. The subsequent victory of Rhee's ally, Lee Ki-poong (이기풍), in the vice-presidential race was met with allegations of electoral fraud, igniting widespread protests that culminated in the student-led April Revolution, during which police violence against demonstrators in Masan occurred. This unrest ultimately compelled Rhee to resign on April 26, leading to the establishment of the Second Republic of Korea. Despite his resignation, protests persisted, prompting a covert evacuation by the CIA on April 28, after which Rhee lived in exile in Honolulu, Hawaii, until his death from a stroke in 1965.

April Revolution

The April Revolution (4.19 혁명), also known as the April 19 Revolution or April 19 Movement, comprised widespread protests in South Korea against President Syngman Rhee and his First Republic from April 11 to 26, 1960, culminating in Rhee's resignation. The unrest began in Masan, a southeastern port city, initiated by student and labor organizations on April 11, following the revelation of a local high school student's death at the hands of police during prior demonstrations against fraudulent elections in March. Growing public dissatisfaction stemmed from Rhee's authoritarian governance, pervasive corruption, violent repression of dissent, and uneven economic development. The situation escalated into significant student protests in Seoul, which were met with brutal suppression, resulting in 186 fatalities over the two-week period. Rhee ultimately resigned on April 26 and sought refuge in the United States, paving the way for Yun Posun's (윤보선) leadership and the onset of the Second Republic of South Korea.

Background

Syngman Rhee served as the inaugural President of South Korea following the 1948 presidential election, guiding the nation through the transition from the United States Army Military Government to the establishment of the First Republic of Korea and leading during the Korean War. His administration, bolstered by American support during the Cold War, adopted a staunchly anti-communist and pro-American posture, utilizing the spectre of communism to justify severe repression of perceived dissent. Initially, this approach was tolerated due to concerns over political unity and potential reprisals; however, discontent grew after the Korean War's conclusion in 1953, as Rhee's government struggled to deliver meaningful economic and social progress, further alienating the populace by amending the constitution to extend his presidency. Consequently, Rhee became widely regarded as a corrupt and authoritarian figure, employing autocratic tactics and cronyism to sustain his regime.

Protesters during the April Revolution

In December 1958, Rhee maneuvered an amendment to the National Security Law through the National Assembly, which granted the government extensive new powers to restrict press freedoms and disenfranchise opposition members.

In 1959, Rhee experienced significant alarm and perceived threats when the United States slashed its economic assistance to South Korea, decreasing from $382,893,000 in 1957 to $222,204,000. This reduction prompted Rhee to adopt increasingly desperate strategies to maintain his political position.

The presidential election in March 1960 featured two primary opponents to Rhee: the minor Progressive Party, led by Cho Bong-am (조봉암), who had garnered one million votes in the 1956 election, and the Democratic Party, represented by Cho Pyong-ok (조평옥). In July 1959, Rhee accused Cho Bong-am of communist affiliations, leading to the latter's imprisonment and subsequent execution. Meanwhile, Cho Pyong-ok travelled to the United States for medical treatment but tragically died of a heart attack, raising public suspicions regarding the timing of these events.

Rhee was intent on securing the election of his ally, Lee Ki-poong, as Vice President, a position contested in a separate election on the same day. Lee faced off against Chang Myon, the Democratic Party candidate and former ambassador to the United States during the Korean War. On March 15, despite being largely incapacitated, Lee achieved an implausibly large victory, receiving 8,225,000 votes compared to Myon's 1,850,000. This outcome led to widespread allegations of electoral fraud, as reports indicated that Democratic rallies were banned nationwide and numerous pre-marked ballots were illegally inserted into ballot boxes on election day.

Masan protests and the death of Kim Ju-Yul

On March 15, coinciding with the announcement of election results, Democratic Party members in Masan organized a protest against alleged electoral corruption. Approximately one thousand residents gathered outside the party's local headquarters around 7:30 PM, where they faced a significant police presence amid a blackout of city lights. Tensions escalated as police began firing on the demonstrators, who retaliated by throwing rocks.

On April 11, a fisherman in Masan's harbour found the body of Kim Ju-yul (김주율), a student who had gone missing during the March 15 protests. Although authorities attributed his death to drowning, many disputed this claim after protesters entered the hospital where his body was held. They discovered that Kim had suffered a fatal injury from a tear-gas grenade, indicating that police had fired at a dangerously low angle. The regime's attempts to suppress news of this incident failed, as it was widely reported in the Korean press and gained international attention through AP. This event catalyzed a national movement against electoral corruption, leading to three days of intense protests in Masan and further violent confrontations with law enforcement. Rhee's administration attempted to divert blame by alleging communist involvement in the unrest.

March 15 50th Anniversary

Seoul protests

On April 18, protests erupted in Seoul, initiated by students from Korea University who organized a peaceful demonstration at the National Assembly to denounce police brutality and advocate for new elections. As they returned to their campus, they faced violent attacks from gangs allegedly financed by supporters of President Rhee.

The following day, known as "Bloody Tuesday," more than 100,000 students from high schools and universities marched towards the Blue House, demanding Rhee's resignation. In response, police opened fire on the crowd, resulting in approximately 180 fatalities and thousands of injuries. To quell the unrest, the Rhee administration declared martial law.

By April 25, the protests had escalated significantly, with professors joining students and citizens, creating a movement that outnumbered both soldiers and police, who chose not to engage with the demonstrators. On April 26, 1960, Rhee resigned, with Lee Ki-poong being held accountable for widespread governmental corruption. The subsequent day saw the resignations of the Minister of Interior and the Chief of Security, who took responsibility for the violent Masan incident. Tragically, on April 28, Lee Ki-poong's son committed a murder-suicide involving his family in Rhee's mansion.

Aftermath

The resignation of Rhee and the subsequent death of Lee Ki-poong marked the conclusion of the Liberal Party's governance. Rhee was exiled to Hawaii on May 29, 1960, with the expectation of a brief absence; however, he was unable to return due to widespread public dissent. This transition led to the establishment of the Second Republic of South Korea, which implemented a parliamentary system designed to diminish presidential authority. Yun Bo-seon was elected president on August 13, 1960, but actual power resided with the prime minister, Chang Myon.

First post-revolution trial began July 5th in South Korea for thirty former high officials of the Rhee regime on charges of corruption, maladministration, and election rigging, etc.

An investigative committee of the National Assembly determined that the police's gunfire aimed at the crowd was intended to kill rather than disperse the protesters. During a subsequent criminal trial, it was disclosed that Park Jong-pyo, the Chief of Public Security, had weighted Kim Ju-yul's corpse with rocks and disposed of it in the Masan area to prevent it from surfacing. Park received a life sentence for his role in Kim's death, one of many individuals sentenced by a revolutionary tribunal for various offenses, including several who faced capital punishment. Among those executed were officials who had authorized the police action, including Secretary of the Interior Choi In-Kyu (최인규) and Kwak Yong-ju, the presidential security chief, both of whom were hanged on December 21, 1961.

On May 16, 1961, amid ongoing political turmoil, General Park Chung Hee (박정희) executed a coup d'état that dismantled the brief Second Republic of South Korea, establishing a military junta that would evolve into the autocratic Third Republic. Rhee passed away in Honolulu on July 19, 1965, at the age of 90, at 19:35 Korean time.

Second Republic of Korea

The Second Republic of Korea (제2공화국), established from April 1960 to May 1961, marked a significant political transition in South Korea following the mass protests of the April Revolution against President Syngman Rhee. This government succeeded the First Republic and introduced a parliamentary system, with Yun Posun as President and Chang Myon as Prime Minister. It aimed to dismantle Rhee's authoritarian regime, promote liberal democracy, and initiate the first Five-Year Plans to revitalize the previously overlooked economy. However, after just thirteen months, the Second Republic was overthrown by a military coup on May 16, led by Park Chung Hee, which resulted in the establishment of a provisional military government under the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, paving the way for the Third Republic of Korea. Notably, the Second Republic remains the sole instance of a parliamentary government in Korea's history.

Yun Po-sun

Yun Po-sun (윤보선; August 26, 1897 – July 18, 1990) was a prominent South Korean politician and activist who held the office of the second president of South Korea from 1960 to 1962. His presidency was characterized by its limited authority, as he primarily functioned as a symbolic leader within the framework of the parliamentary system established during the brief Second Republic of Korea.

Official portrait, 1960

Yun's political journey commenced in the aftermath of World War II, where he initially served as Secretary to the Chief of Staff in 1947, followed by his appointment as Mayor of Seoul in 1948. He took on the role of Commerce Minister in the newly independent Korea from 1949 to 1950. In 1955, he played a crucial role in founding the South Korean  Democratic Party. However, his presidency came to an abrupt end when he was ousted by Park Chung Hee following the May 16 coup in 1961.

Yun's political involvement began in 1945, shortly after Korea's liberation. He was mentored by Dr. Syngman Rhee, the first President of South Korea and a Princeton University alumnus. By 1947, Yun had ascended to the position of Secretary to the Chief of Staff, and in 1948, he was appointed Mayor of Seoul. His subsequent role as Minister of Commerce and Industry was marked by growing dissent against Rhee's authoritarian governance, leading to his election to the National Assembly in 1954 and his co-founding of the opposition South Korean Democratic Party the following year.

Chang Myon

Chang Myon (장면; 張勉; August 28, 1899 – June 4, 1966) was a prominent South Korean figure known for his roles as a statesman, educator, diplomat, journalist, and social activist, as well as a Roman Catholic youth leader. He served as the sole prime minister during the parliamentary Second Republic and was the fourth and final vice president of South Korea in the First Republic. His artistic name was Unseok (운석), and he was known in English as John Chang Myon.

Chang c. 1955

During the period of Japanese occupation, Chang contributed to education as a teacher, administrator, and principal. In 1948, he represented the Republic of Korea at the UN General Assembly and became the nation's first ambassador to the United States in 1949. He played a crucial role in advocating for U.S. and UN military support during the Korean War in 1950. Following the student-led April Revolution that ousted Syngman Rhee, he was elected Prime Minister of the Second Republic in 1960, leading the government until it was overthrown by Park Chung Hee's military coup on May 16, 1961.

May 16 Coup

The military coup d'état (5·16 군사정변) on May 16, 1961, in South Korea was orchestrated by Park Chung Hee and his associates, who established the Military Revolutionary Committee, nominally under the leadership of Army Chief of Staff Chang Do-yong, who consented to the coup on that day. This event effectively dismantled the democratically elected government led by Prime Minister Chang Myon and President Yun Posun marking the end of the Second Republic and the establishment of a military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, with Park assuming the role of chairman following Chang's arrest in July.

1961. 5.16 Park Jung Hee

This coup played a crucial role in the emergence of a new developmentalist elite and set the stage for South Korea's rapid industrialization under Park's regime. However, its legacy remains contentious due to the significant curtailment of democracy and civil liberties that accompanied it, along with the subsequent purges. While Park and his supporters referred to the event as the "May 16 Military Revolution," framing it as a significant national awakening, the characterization of the coup as a "revolution" is debated, and its assessment continues to provoke differing opinions.

Background and causes

The context surrounding the coup can be examined through both its immediate circumstances and the broader evolution of South Korea following liberation. While the challenging economic and political environment of the Second Republic fostered conditions conducive to military intervention, the origins of the coup trace back to the latter years of Rhee's administration. Scholars such as Yong-Sup Han contend that the prevailing interpretation of the coup as merely a reaction to the instability of a nascent regime is overly simplistic.

South Korea under Syngman Rhee

Beginning in 1948, South Korea was under the leadership of President Syngman Rhee, an ardent anti-Communist who leveraged the Korean War to establish a dominant hold on political authority within the nation. Rhee's administration was characterized by the interests of a conservative elite, often referred to as "liberation aristocrats," who had gained prominence during the American occupation. This group constituted the majority of the political landscape, including both Rhee's allies and adversaries within the Democratic Party, which shared a vision of society that closely mirrored Rhee's own. To eliminate substantial opposition, Rhee orchestrated the execution of Cho Bong-am, a candidate who had garnered approximately 30% of the vote in the 1956 presidential elections with a platform advocating for peaceful reunification, a level of support deemed intolerable for an opposition figure.

“Combat-ready leathernecks of the Korean Marine Corps march to the capitol after the successful bloodless coup.” 1962-05-17.

Notably, even prominent opposition leaders like Cho were part of a broader conservative consensus among the ruling elite, which was grounded in a traditional Confucian perspective that dismissed concepts of ideological pluralism and equality in human relations as alien. This worldview emphasized the importance of paternalistic governance and extensive political patronage networks. Within this traditional framework, Rhee was regarded as the principal "elder" of Korean society, to whom citizens owed familial loyalty, a bond further reinforced by the obligations linking him to many members of the ruling class.

The governance of the "liberation aristocrats" resulted in a stagnation of development in South Korea, contrasting sharply with the advancements seen in neighbouring Japan. Although South Korea had experienced significant development during the Japanese colonial period, the presidency of Rhee was characterized by a lack of substantial economic initiatives, leaving the nation impoverished and predominantly agrarian. This stagnation spurred a rising nationalistic intellectual movement that advocated for a comprehensive societal overhaul and a complete political and economic transformation. At this juncture, Park Chung Hee, a relatively low-ranking army officer with uncertain political affiliations, became notably influenced by the emerging intellectual discourse advocating for change.

Social and economic problems of the Second Republic

Following the manipulated elections of March 1960, escalating protests culminated in the April Revolution, which led to Rhee's forced resignation on April 26 under pressure from the United States. With Rhee's departure, a new constitution was enacted, establishing the Second Republic, and the legislative elections held on June 29 resulted in a significant victory for the Democratic Party, while Rhee's Liberal Party was reduced to only two seats in the newly formed lower house of the  National Assembly. The Second Republic implemented a parliamentary system, designating a ceremonial president as the head of state, while actual executive authority was concentrated in the prime minister and the cabinet. In August, Democrat Yun Posun was elected president, with former vice-president Chang Myon appointed as prime minister.

Chun Doo-hwan (전두환), demonstration in support of the May 16 military coup

The Second Republic faced significant challenges from its inception, characterized by intense factionalism within the ruling Democratic Party and persistent public discontent. The South Korean economy suffered from rampant inflation and soaring unemployment, with crime rates more than doubling during this period. For instance, between December 1960 and April 1961, rice prices surged by 60%, while unemployment rates remained above 23%, leading to widespread food shortages. Chang, representing the Democratic Party's "New Faction," ascended to the position of prime minister by a mere three-vote margin. However, his purges of Rhee's appointees were perceived as ineffective, as he manipulated the suspect list to favour affluent businessmen and influential generals. Despite the removal of Rhee and the establishment of a democratic constitution, the entrenched "liberation aristocrats" continued to wield power, exacerbating the already dire situation in South Korea.

The disintegration of South Korean political structures, coupled with the administrative purges affecting the military, severely undermined the morale of the Military Security Command, which was responsible for maintaining military discipline and addressing insubordination. This hesitance to take decisive action created an environment conducive to the planning and execution of a coup. The myriad issues plaguing the Second Republic provided a fertile ground for such a coup to be organized and ultimately realized.

Factionalism in the military

A significant contributor to the coup's emergence was the internal factionalism within the South Korean army, which was among the largest globally, comprising 600,000 personnel at that time. The military's identity was shaped by a blend of Japanese and later American training, which merged the Japanese militarist ethos with American technical efficiency. This transformation expanded the military's role from merely defending against communist threats to actively participating in the nation-building process. Reform-minded junior officers perceived the senior leadership as tainted by political affiliations, a situation exacerbated by a stagnation in promotions due to the consolidation of senior command positions following the Korean War's rapid expansion.

Additionally, the military was fragmented along regional lines and among factions of officers from the same educational backgrounds. The most prominent divisions arose between those who graduated from the Japanese Military Academy and the Manchurian officers' school in Xinjing, while lower-ranking officers were further divided based on their graduation classes from the post-liberation  Korean Military Academy. Park, having attended all three institutions, was strategically positioned to spearhead the coup coalition, leveraging his extensive connections with both senior military leaders and younger factions.

Maj. Gen. Park Chung-hee (left) stands with his lieutenants in front of Seoul City Hall after seizing power in a coup on May 16, 1961. (Korea Herald file photo).

Following the fall of the Rhee administration and the establishment of the Second Republic, reformist factions, primarily composed of KMA graduates, began advocating for accountability among senior military leaders implicated in the manipulation of the 1956 and 1960 presidential elections. Major General Park, positioned relatively high within the military hierarchy, publicly aligned himself with the reformists, calling for the resignation of Army Chief of Staff Song Yo-chan on May 2. Subsequently, on September 24, a group of 16 colonels, spearheaded by Kim Jong-pil, demanded the resignation of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Staff Choi Yong-hui, an event referred to as the "revolt against seniors" (하극상 사건; 下剋上事件). At this juncture, plans for a coup were already in motion, further expedited by the aforementioned revolt.

Course of events

On the morning of May 16, a plot was once again exposed, prompting swift measures from the authorities. The Counter-Intelligence Command issued a warning regarding a potential mutiny, leading to the deployment of military police to apprehend those suspected of involvement. Park relocated to the Sixth District Army Headquarters, now known as Mullae Park, to oversee the coup operations personally and to attempt to salvage the initiative. In a rallying speech to the gathered soldiers, he articulated the dire state of the nation, criticizing the civilian government for its corruption and urging the military to rise against it in a bid to restore order without resorting to violence.

The impact of Park's address was profound, resulting in even the military police, initially sent to suppress the uprising, defecting to his side. With control of the Sixth District Army secured, Park appointed Colonel Kim Jae-chun to lead the initial phase of the occupation of Seoul. He also communicated with Chang Do-yong, compelling him to align with the coup or face repercussions for his ties to the civilian administration. Subsequently, Park proceeded to the Special Warfare Command, where he directed operations to cross the Han River and seize the presidential residence at the Blue House.

An artillery brigade established control over the central Army Headquarters and secured the northern downtown areas of Seoul, situated north of the Han River. By 4:15 AM, following a brief confrontation with loyalist military police stationed at the Han bridge, Park's forces successfully occupied the administrative buildings of all three government branches. They then proceeded to seize the headquarters of the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), where they announced the formation of the Military Revolutionary Committee and their assumption of power.

General Lee Han-lim, the only commanding officer to declare public opposition to the coup.

The proclamation articulated the military's rationale for the coup, stating that the authorities could no longer avoid conflict and had initiated a coordinated operation to take control of the government. The military justified their actions by asserting that the nation's future could not be entrusted to a corrupt and ineffective regime, and emphasized the necessity for the armed forces to guide the country, which they believed had strayed dangerously off course.

The broadcast further delineated the coup's policy goals, which included a staunch anti-communist stance, the strengthening of relations with the United States, the eradication of political corruption, the establishment of a self-sufficient national economy, the pursuit of Korean reunification, and the removal of the current political leadership. Although the proclamation was issued in the name of Chang Do-yong, identified as the committee's chairman, it was done without his prior consent. As dawn approached, a marine corps unit led by Kim Yun-geun crossed the Han River and took control of the Blue House as per orders.

The civilian government swiftly collapsed following the coup. Prime Minister Chang Myon fled Seoul upon learning of the takeover, while President Yun Posun resigned himself to the situation, continuing as a nominal leader until 1963, albeit devoid of real authority. Commander Lee Han-lim of the First Army had initially planned to mobilize reserves to counter the coup but ultimately retreated to avert a potential North Korean incursion, leading to his arrest two days later. With twenty heavily armed divisions backing the coup in Seoul, any hope of suppression was effectively extinguished. After three days in hiding, Chang Myon emerged to announce the resignation of his entire cabinet, transferring power to the new junta. Army cadets paraded through the streets in support of the coup, and Chang Do-yong accepted his role as chairman of the committee, thereby legitimizing its authority. The May 16 coup was thus fully realized.

Aftermath

The process of establishing a new government commenced promptly following the completion of the coup, with martial law being enacted immediately. On May 20, the Military Revolutionary Committee was rebranded as the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction (SCNR), and a new cabinet was formed the next day. Chang Do-yong, who served as the committee's chairman, retained his position as Army Chief of Staff while also assuming the roles of Prime Minister and Defence Minister, thereby becoming the formal leader of the administration. The SCNR was structured as a junta comprising the 30 highest-ranking military officials, organized into 14 subcommittees, and was endowed with extensive powers, including the authority to enact laws, appoint cabinet members, and oversee the overall administration.

The leaders of the Military Revolutionary Committee pictured on 20 May, four days after the coup: chairman Chang Do-yong (left) and vice-chairman Park Chung Hee (right).

However, the formation of the new cabinet was marred by a fierce internal power struggle, which Park swiftly navigated to consolidate authority. On June 6, the SCNR enacted the Law Regarding Extraordinary Measures for National Reconstruction, which effectively removed Chang from his roles as Defense Minister and Army Chief of Staff. This legislation was largely crafted by Yi Seok-che, who was acting under Park's directive to "eliminate" Chang. Subsequently, on June 10, the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction Law was passed, designating the deputy chairman of the SCNR as the head of its standing committee, thereby augmenting Park's powers. Ultimately, on July 3, Chang was arrested on charges of conspiring to instigate a counter-coup, and the June 10 law was revised to enable Park to take on the dual role of chairman of both the SCNR and its Standing Committee.

Legacy and evaluation

The coup on May 16 marked the beginning of a succession of military governments that persisted in various forms until 1993. It set a precedent for subsequent coups, including those on December 12 and May 17, orchestrated by Chun Doo-hwan, who succeeded Park. The emergence of a unified opposition during Park's regime, culminating in the Gwangju Democratization Movement post-1980, led to significant debate regarding the coup. Critics, including figures like Kim Dae Jung, condemned it as an unjustified act of violence that dismantled South Korea's first authentic democratic government, while others highlighted its positive outcomes, such as the rapid industrialization noted in a 1994 Freedom House report.

In the official narrative prior to 1993, the coup was termed the "May 16 Revolution" (5·16 혁명; 五一六革命) However, under the reformist leadership of Kim Young-sam, who had previously been an opposition figure, it was reclassified as a coup or military insurrection (군사 정변; 軍事政變). Park characterized the "May Revolution" as an essential act of self-defence for the Korean populace, and the military regimes' historiography framed it as a manifestation of national will. Kim Young-sam's reinterpretation challenged this perspective, simultaneously acknowledging the April 1960 protests as the "April Revolution."

This reinterpretation gained traction between 1994 and 1995 through educational reforms and the publication of history textbooks that adopted the new terminology. The shift in labelling reflects a broader societal reassessment of the events surrounding the coup and its implications for South Korea's political landscape. The evolving narrative underscores the complexities of historical memory and the ongoing struggle over the interpretation of pivotal moments in the nation's history.

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The second part of this episode will be available soon. Due to unexpected challenges in saving the complete episode, it has been split into two segments. In the upcoming part 2, I will discuss the Third Republic of Korea, accompanied by videos at the conclusion that address the events covered. I also urge readers to pursue additional independent research to deepen their comprehension of this facet of Korean history.

[casualtidalwavepoetry]

Bukharin, Stalin, China, Socialism

The Second Chinese Revolution of 1927 (as it is likely referred to only in Trotskyist historiography) is one whose story must be told, as it is the point when the prospects for revolutionary Marxism were subordinated to a non-Marxist peasant guerrilla movement led by Mao Zedong, and the rest is history, including the so-called "deformed workers' state" i.e. Stalinist-style bureaucratic regime that would eventually come to characterise "socialism with Chinese characteristics".

Specifically, what must be dealt with is the legacy of Bukharin, the man who is often credited with being one of the central influences, outside of a rediscovery of Marx and Engels' views on the Paris Commune, that drove Lenin's break from Kautskyan social-democracy on the question of the state in State and Revolution. For, at that point, Bukharin was a left-communist, who celebrated Lenin's recognition of his faction's views on the state and the need for a libertarian organizational form that would manifest in a "commune-state" basing itself on democratic workers' councils.

Bukharin and his left-communist faction would view Lenin's decision to go through with the Brest-Litovsk Treaty with Germany and around the same time, to suppress the "commune-state" and replace it with a dictatorship of the party (rather than the proletariat) as a profound betrayal. They would also proclaim this a betrayal of internationalism, claiming that the Bolsheviks should have used the situation to support revolutions in the territories ultimately conceded to Germany. They would not be alone in this, as the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, a party that had until then been in coalition with the Bolsheviks, would exit the workers' state over this with a similar "internationalist" perspective on the treaty and launch a revolt, a revolt that would be brutally suppressed and eventually used as justification for the shift to a dictatorship of the party.

Of course, Bukharin would not remain a left-communist for long. With the introduction of the New Economic Policy in 1921, he would become a vocal advocate of this policy and begin his steady shift to the right, eventually culminating in his role as primary representative of the Right Opposition. Stalin, the supposed "centrist", would then align (after Lenin's death in 1924) with Bukharin in a rightward move and purge their shared enemies from the party, after which Bukharin and his fellow Right Oppositionists would themselves be purged when Stalin, as Trotskyists would have it, "zigzagged" to the left and began adopting elements of the Left Opposition's program, only dropping the crucial element of restoration of workers' council democracy (i.e. the "commune-state") and pursuing these elements with no attempt to build democratic support for them among the workers and peasants, and in fact forcing them on the masses in a brutal and totalitarian manner.

In 1911, a bourgeois revolution had overthrown the Qing dynasty in China, but the emerging regime (led by the bourgeois party the Guomindang or GMD) had failed to unite the country or throw off the yoke of British and Japanese imperialism. In terms of the state, this led to a military dictatorship, and in terms of foreign policy, to diplomatic agreements with the British and Japanese, and eventually, an acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles ceding German possessions in China to Japan. In a vindication of Trotsky's theory of Permanent Revolution, the nationalist bourgeoisie of a country under imperialist domination had proved incapable even of delivering on the demands of democracy and anti-imperialism.

Versailles sparked off the May Fourth movement in 1919 that protested against Japanese imperialism and the government's weak response. The example of Russia led Marxism to spread among the Chinese masses, as they saw, in line with the theory of Permanent Revolution, that defeating feudalism and imperialism required overthrowing capitalism and fighting for socialism, as the nationalist bourgeoisie would align with imperialism rather than fighting against it. Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao of the New Culture movement were two leading Marxists who helped popularize Marxism among the Chinese masses.

The Comintern would work alongside them to facilitate the formation of a party in China as an internationalist revolutionary workers' party (the Chinese Communist Party) committed to a dictatorship of the proletariat and ruling out alliances with the bourgeois GMD.

Enter Stalinism. In 1922, as imperialism continued to threaten China, the CCP would form an anti-imperialist united front with the GMD, where unity would be shown on the question of imperialism but the CCP would remain independent and build support among the masses for its continued existence as a working-class Marxist party representing the interests of the toiling masses.

Except, in the same period, the Stalinist bureaucracy was growing in influence within the Comintern and forcing the CCP to slowly abandon key elements of its program. This culminated in GMD leader Sun Yat-sen demanding the CCP dissolve itself into the GMD to "further" the united front.

Enter Bukharin, former "internationalist", left-communist and advocate of a "commune-state". Except now, Bukharin was firmly in the Right Opposition and helping Stalin transform the Comintern from a facilitator of an international socialist revolution to an instrument of the USSR's foreign policy. In early 1923, Stalin and Bukharin would force through a motion in the Politburo of the CPSU, based on a farcical interpretation of the CCP's 1922 resolution regarding the united front, to argue that the CCP should in fact dissolve itself. Trotsky would be the only opposing vote against this motion.

The CCP would fiercely oppose this, but under the threat of Comintern discipline, would be forced to dissolve itself into the GMD. Under the absolute authority of Stalin and Bukharin, the Comintern bureaucracy was committed to a stageist theory of revolution: a bourgeois revolution to establish a bourgeois democracy (a phase in which the communists would have to subordinate themselves to the bourgeoisie), followed by a socialist revolution set conveniently at some far-off point in the future. This assigned the GMD the leading role in any future revolutionary process and additionally dealt a massive blow to the CCP, as the Stalinist bureaucracy provided the GMD with essential military funding.

The next few years were characterized by the CCP working to organize the masses even as the Comintern provided all its support to the GMD. From 1925 to 1926, as the threat of foreign imperialism grew, the CCP led large sectors of a strike wave in factories under foreign ownership, and the masses under their leadership developed a more advanced class consciousness and grew in strength, threatening GMD hegemony.

In possibly the biggest farce of all in this period, the Comintern had inducted the *bourgeois* GMD as an honorary member organisation in 1926, while also directing the CCP to stop workers from forming soviets (democratic workers' councils) in order to preserve this alliance with the GMD. This was a consequence of the Comintern's abandonment of socialist internationalism and adaptation to Stalin and Bukharin's theory of "socialism in one country" which misused the failures of world revolution (especially the defeat of the German Revolution in 1919 and 1923) to argue for the preservation of the Soviet state at all costs, even if it meant alliances with bourgeois sectors to maintain "peace". In China, this meant an alliance with the much larger GMD even as it suppressed the growth of the Chinese communist movement.

As the strike wave grew and the CCP and GMD moved closer to outright confrontation, Trotsky began campaigning for the communists to leave the GMD, as they were being subjected to increasing restrictions by the GMD leadership.

The consequences of Stalin's forcing of CCP subordination to the GMD would lead to the debilitating defeat suffered by the CCP in the Second Chinese Revolution of 1927. In April 1927, thousands of workers in Shanghai launched a general strike against Japanese imperialism and formed bodies of working-class self-organisation. General Chiang Kai-shek of the GMD, perceiving this as a threat, ordered the launch of a bloody suppression of the workers and the CCP membership in a period known as the White Terror, where communists and workers sympathetic to communism were hunted down across China, detained, executed, or disappeared.

The Stalinist bureaucracy then forced the CCP to take more adventurist steps, all of which were ruthlessly suppressed by the GMD. In the aftermath, committed Marxists like Chen Duxiu and others would form the Chinese Left Opposition as a section of the Fourth International. But the remaining membership of the CCP would retreat to the countryside and join Mao Zedong, who decided it would be the peasantry and not the proletariat that would be the revolutionary subject of the inevitable revolution, a non-Marxist political choice that, along with other non-Marxist political choices taken subsequently, would lead to the bureaucratic dictatorship established in China in 1949.

Bukharin's role in the demise of the Chinese Revolution cannot be overstated, an ignominious role for a man who was once an advocate for a "commune-state" yet was part of the Stalinist bureaucracy when it directed the CCP to stop workers from forming democratic workers' councils (the basis of any "commune-state"), was an "internationalist" to the point of rejecting Brest-Litovsk yet helped construct the theory of "socialism in one country" and consequent to it advocate for the CCP to subordinate itself to the GMD, was once on the left of the Bolshevik party yet committed to the non-Marxist theory of stageist revolution and helped destroy the CCP's class independence. Of course, Stalin was the source of all this, and yet Bukharin played a role that has been often overlooked.

Socialism in China, genuine socialism, was pushed off the political stage forever in 1927, and what reigned in its stead began with denying the revolutionary role of the proletariat.

[gregor-samsung]

“ Per Pechino Taiwan è cinese dal 1683, quando fu conquistata dalla dinastia Qing, che però non ne fece una priorità. Assegnata come prefettura alla provincia del Fujian (Fokien), ivi integrata nel 1887, otto anni prima della cessione al Giappone (1895-1945), prima dell’arroccamento nell’isola e nei suoi arcipelaghi dei nazionalisti del Guomindang sconfitti da Mao nel 1949. Quanto basta a battezzarla recuperanda dalla Repubblica Popolare Cinese, cui non è mai appartenuta. Pechino legittima tale pretesa con la continuità pentamillenaria della Cina, indipendentemente dalle dinastie o dai regimi al potere. Altra invenzione recente, distillata dalla propaganda della Prima Repubblica di Cina fondata nel 1911 da Sun Yat-sen. E ripresa entro diversa costellazione ideologica nella Cina di Mao subito dopo la morte del suo fondatore, che pretendeva di aver inaugurato la Nuova Cina. Oggi Xi Jinping insiste sui cinquemila anni di ininterrotta continuità del Drago. Vale la pena riportarne lo scambio di battute con Donald Trump nella Città Proibita di Pechino. È l’11 agosto 2017. Trump: “La Cina può tracciare la sua storia fino a cinquemila anni fa”. Xi: “La Cina ha una storia documentata di più di tremila anni”. Trump: “Credo che la cultura più antica, si dice, sia l’Egitto, con ottomila anni”. Xi: “Sì, l’Egitto è un poco più antico della Cina. Ma la civiltà cinese è una durevole cultura unica al mondo tramandata costantemente attraverso le generazioni”. Trump: “Dunque questa è la vostra originaria forma di cultura”. Xi: “Sì. La gente come noi può essere ritrovata fino a cinquemila anni fa. Abbiamo gli stessi capelli neri e la stessa pelle gialla. Noi ci chiamiamo i discenti del Drago”. Trump: “Grande!”. * È notevole come i capi di due imperi rivali trovino un linguaggio comune sulla profondità delle radici storiche che distingue le grandi civiltà. In questo ovviamente l’America non può competere, sicché l’apertura di gioco di Trump è da intendersi come atto di cortesia, subito avvelenato dall’evocazione dell’anzianità (esagerata) dell’Egitto. Eco a quattro decenni di distanza dell’altrettanto significativa battuta con cui il primo ministro Zhou Enlai si rivolse a Kissinger, inaugurando il primo “disgelo” sino-americano, per cui l’America era più antica della Cina perché aveva due secoli di storia contro i ventitré anni della Repubblica Popolare. Altra epoca, quando al regime di Mao interessava marcare la rottura con il passato imperiale e poi nazionalista, sicché il battesimo della “Nuova Cina”, nel 1949, s’ergeva a ora zero. “

* La conversazione fra Xi Jinping e Trump è ripresa in diretta l’11 agosto 2017 dalla televisione di Stato cinese Cgtn (China Global Television Network) strumento di influenza rivolto al resto del mondo. Cfr. https://news.cgtn.com/news/3267444f34597a6333566d54/share_p.html

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Lucio Caracciolo, La pace è finita. Così ricomincia la storia in Europa, Feltrinelli (collana Varia), novembre 2022. [Libro elettronico]

 NOTA: il testo contiene un refuso, la data della visita del presidente Trump alla Città Proibita non risale all’11 agosto (11/8) ma all’8 novembre (8/11) del 2017.

[malleusmaleficent]

god chiang kai-shek really was just the worst

feel like you could write a black comedy about him

man ruined so many things for so many millions of people, completely bungled the civil war and then ran a dictatorship over taiwan in which he completely ruined their chance at independence by being so focused on regaining china (which was obviously a pipe dream by that point)

seriously it's so insane, in 71 after the UN recognizes the people's republic of china, the UN was like "hey chiang we'll admit taiwan as an independent country you just have to stop claiming to be china and you'll have normal UN representation" and chiang was like nah fuck that

seriously, that's true

if chiang had said yes to that, it would've changed the entire course of taiwan's history and china (likely) would not be constantly saber rattling over it (although it'd still be tense probably)

so chiang failed to fight the japanese, failed to fight the communists, established a military dictatorship in taiwan where thousands died, and then just a few years before his death as one of his final "fuck you"s he completely screwed taiwan's diplomatic trajectory. a country he had nothing but contempt for

can you imagine how frustrating that would be

if i were taiwanese id despise the modern day guomindang (which many do, they're viewed with suspicion as collaborators, which they probably are)

[yumenotabi]

Doppel Zehn – Taiwans Nationalfeiertag

In den vergangenen Wochen sind mir nach und nach die ganzen taiwanischen Flaggen in der Stadt aufgefallen und habe mich gefragt, was wohl für ein Ereignis bevorsteht und was sollte es schließlich anderes sein als der Nationalfeiertag?

Es war mir dann doch wieder relativ schnell präsent, weil der Tag als freier Tag in der Quartalsplanung steht und wir diesen Tag auch ganz grob im Unterricht angeschnitten haben. Apropos Unterricht, ich kann hier gerne nochmal ein bisschen zusammenfassen was wir im Unterricht zu Taiwans Geschichte gelernt haben:

Anfang des 16. Jahrhunderts entdeckte Portugal als erstes europäisches Land die Insel. Gut 100 Jahre später sind die Niederländer Süden Taiwans angekommen, während die Spanier sich zwei Jahre später im Norden nieder ließen. Daraufhin sandten die Niederlande eine Armee in den Norden, um sich das Handelsrecht auf Taiwan zu erkämpfen und gewann. Vor dieser Zeit lebten in Taiwan nur die indigene Bevölkerung und ein paar Chinesen, aber man konnte noch nicht von einem Staat sprechen.

Später kam Taiwan in Chinas Fokus und so sandte wiederum die Ming Dynastie (1368 – 1644) eine Armee nach Taiwan, um die Niederländer in die Flucht zu schlagen und die erste Regierung Taiwans zu gründen. Danach kamen mehr und mehr Chinesen nach Taiwan. Man kann das etwa mit der Entdeckung Amerikas vergleichen. Die indigene Bevölkerung zog sich teilweise in die Berge zurück oder heiratete Chinesen. Heute sind nur noch etwa 2% von Taiwans Bevölkerung indigen, das sind etwa 500.000 Menschen.

Mit dem Wechsel von der Ming- zur Qing Dynastie (1644 – 1911) wurde Taiwan offiziell chinesisches Gebiet. Hier geht es erstmal mit chinesischer Geschichte weiter:

Das Ende der Qing Dynastie war von internationalen Kriegen und inneren Unruhen, Aufständen und Bürgerkriegen geprägt, bis der Kaiser nach der Xinhai Revolution (prägende Revolution) schließlich auf seinen Thron verzichtete. Der Revolutionär Sun Yat-Sen sollte übergangsweise Präsident werden, rief schließlich die Republik Chinas aus (China: 1912 – 1949; Taiwan: 1912 bis heute) und gründete die Guomindang („Nationale Volkspartei“).

Chinas Politik war danach allerdings noch immer instabil und die innenpolitische Situation zog sich im Prinzip weiter so fort, wie sie schon vorher war, bis 1919 innerhalb einer großen Bewegung (Bewegung des vierten Mai) endgültig nach einem Neuanfang gefordert wurde. Das war eine Zeit kultureller Blüte: Es wurden viele Universitäten gegründet, der Austausch von Handel und Wissen mit dem Ausland kam ins Rollen und die wirtschaftliche und politische Lage begannen sich zu erholen. Übrigens habe ich mich den Großteil meines Studiums mit dieser Zeit, etwa von 1912 bis 1935, auseinandergesetzt, ein sehr interessanter Abschnitt chinesischer Geschichte.

Die Oktoberrevolution in Russland 1917 inspirierte China ebenfalls für ein sozialistisches und kommunistisches System, woraufhin 1921 die Kommunistische Partei Chinas (noch heute regierende Partei) gegründet wurde. Das Resultat: Zwei große Parteien, die beide unterschiedliche Vorstellungen hatten, wie sie das Land nun am besten wieder aufbauen sollten, was in weiteren Aufständen und Bürgerkriegen endete. Zusammengefasst war die Guomindang am Ende 1945 so sehr im Nachteil, dass sie nach Taiwan floh und dort eine Diktatur gründete. Mit der Guomindang flohen 1,5 Millionen Chinesen nach Taiwan. Während China 1949 die Volksrepublik Chinas ausrief, blieb Taiwan Republik Chinas.

Im Prinzip kann man sagen, dass Taiwan dann 1987 mit der Aufhebung des Kriegsrechts und der Gründung der (aktuell regierenden) Demokratischen Fortschrittspartei zur Demokratie wurde.

Achso, zwischendurch, 1894/95, verlor China den chinesisch-japanischen Krieg und musste Taiwan an Japan abtreten. Allerdings widersetzte sich Taiwans Provinzregierung und rief seine eigene Republik aus, sodass Japan Taiwan in einem Feldzug besetzen musste, bis die Guomindang 1945 nach Taiwan kam. Während dieser Zeit hat Taiwan einen großen Einfluss Japans erfahren. Der Regierungssitz wurde z.B. von den Japanern errichtet.

Das Datum des 10. Oktober ist der Beginn des Wuchang-Aufstands (großer, prägender Aufstand), der in der Xinhai-Revolution und daraufhin in der Gründung der Republik Chinas endete.

Neben einer Reihe von Reden während der Festlichkeiten veranstaltet das beste Mädchengymnasium Taipeis, eine Eliteschule und eine der besten des Landes, eine Parade. Hier könnt ihr euch ein Video dazu ansehen. Es ist wirklich beeindruckend und die Parade ist sehr bekannt.

Fun Fact: Alle Kolonialmächte, die nach Taiwan kamen, staunten nicht schlecht über diese wunderschöne Natur und Landschaft, die das Land zu bieten hat und wurde stets als „Ilha Formosa“ („Schöne Insel“) bezeichnet. Der Name „Formosa“ hat sich über die ganze Zeit als weiterer Name etabliert.

Flaggen, überall Flaggen

Presidential Palace (aus dem Internet)

"Formosan Animals", Bild aus dem Zoo

[poetrex]

Thinking too about parallels between Canada and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Both nations were built on Indigenous land by remnant forces of the defeated parties in civil wars—Taiwan by the Guomindang after the Chinese Civil War, Canada by the United Empire Loyalists after the American Revolutionary War.

Figuratively speaking, the American-made rug has been pulled out from under Canada's defense establishment. Taiwan has been acutely aware of the strategic ambiguity of Schrodinger's Rug for 75+ years.

Both nations are now threatened with annexation by their far larger neighbours, the PRC & USA respectively. A US military invasion of Canada may be unlikely, but we must hedge against the fact that it is no longer unthinkable.

If Taiwan can spend 2.5-3% of GDP on defense, we can too. I'm not going to pretend that doesn't represent a significant opportunity cost. It sucks, but we gotta do it, & then we should spend at least as much on climate stuff. Ramping up to 2% will be hard enough, & I'm not sure anybody really knows what that bigger budget ought to look like. I mean if US military action is even a remote consideration, they won't need a secret 'kill switch' to flick off our Air Force, because it's a bucket of spare parts labelled 'single points of failure' unless you want to personally cough up the cash to re-engine the Gripen.

Whatever views you may hold about war & the military, however you might feel about the unjust, colonial origins of these nations, consider that without sovereignty, no just peace is possible, & no people will remain sovereign who cannot defend themselves from tyrants. We have seen what horrors are visited on the helpless in Gaza & Ukraine. No country, no home. It didn't have to be like this, but it is & it will be for a generation. So put those 'elbows up' & tell your MPS you love e.g. withdrawing from NORAD, suspending the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, & exporting license-built missiles for la paix française.

Preliminary Report from Iron Maonton

For about a year now I've been making a mental list of parallels between China and the United States, for reasons. In no particular order:

Both are continental empires whose peoples have, after violent civil conflict, symbolically rejected the imperial systems that created them, in order to replace them with new ones according to evolving and divergent definitions of "rule by the people."

China is in a frozen civil war with Taiwan & aggressively disputes its borders with several neighbours, while the President of the United States is threatening to attack Mexico, Canada, Greenland, Panama, &c., while reheating its own civil conflicts over resegregation & birthright citizenship.

Trump and his personality cult reminds me a bit of Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution. Both leaders could win campaigns, but couldn't run a country.

Madeleine Albright called America "the indispensable nation." Zhongguo literally means "central nation." Much of this exceptionalism—though much moreso for the US—rests on the dubious proposition that these empires are satisfied with their territorial acquisitions to date, & that it benefits their partners to exchange preferential terms of trade and finance for a centralization of defense and constabulary burdens in the imperial metropole.

Both have 'Wild West' frontier narratives? Kinda? I need to read more in this direction.

Both have a great deal of resentment in their rural interiors towards urban, coastal elites.

Both have assimilationist "melting-pot" cultures.

I suspect much of their culinary soft power derives from a common fondness for deep-frying foods.

That's about all I've got right now? Knock on wood, structural conditions don't really permit the United States to enact new parallels with the Warlord Era. Yuan Shikai decided the people yearn for a Huangdi, but I can't see that being good for the long-term health of the Republican Party.

[kukuandkookie]

Oh thank God people are acknowledging this. I’ve been staying away from Tumblr because people are getting nasty about Chinese people, and it feels like reading all those “Chinese people are brainless, dirty, disgusting copycat monkeys” comments on YouTube again.

I don’t like the Chinese government either, but people need to remember the distinction between government and citizen. And also, the reason the communist government got into power is a result of China’s suffering during the late 19th to 20th century.

With the deterioration of the Ming and Qing dynasties and Britain’s Opium wars and other things involving foreign countries attempting to carve China up, China was already weakened by the time Japan invaded in WWII. And Japan really screwed China up even more at the time. People suffered really badly as a result and they turned to communism and Mao Zedong for hope.

I don’t like the result, but history has a role to play, and as a result, citizens of such governments are also victims.

hey just a quick reminder that no matter all of the chinese government’s shitty practices there’s no excuse to be racist towards chinese people

[oceanicmarxist]

The Nanchang Uprising was a Communist-led mutiny against the Guomindang (GMD/KMT) in response to their violent suppression of the Communists in Shanghai (the Shanghai Massacre) in 1927.

Prior to this mutiny, the CPC (Communist Party of China) lacked its own independent military, and instead was integrated into the National Revolutionary Army, the armed wing of the KMT.

Numerous Communist leaders, alongside KMT defectors, led their soldiers against the KMT and temporarily forced them out of Nanchang, but the Communists were eventually defeated and forced to retreat.

The Uprising is significant as many of the commanders who took part (for example, Zhou Enlai and Lin Biao) would go on to become prominent leaders within the Chinese Red Army and later the People's Liberation Army.

[lightdancer1]

One more book of modern Asian military history to go:

Wrapped up the next, and ultimately the penultimate book in the sequence of Asian histories with this one. As the title says it covers the last phase of the Chinese Civil War in 1946-50 when Mao Zedong's PLA shattered the Guomindang and drove it into Taiwan, where the war has remained frozen ever since. This is a rare book covering the era that at least tries to avoid the idea of hindsight overshadowing the actual events and takes the idea that the PLA could have lost, which it very easily could. And asks why, with all the advantages up to and including Soviet recognition and friendliness never given to the CCP (and the Sino-Soviet split ultimately shows that Stalin was right to distrust Mao all along) Jiang managed to lose the war as decisively as he did.

The ultimate answer in the eyes of the book stem from the PLA developing a military means to face and defeat the Guomindang on terms it set for itself, while the Guomindang encountered the reality that after decades of limited to no formal authority in places having to take charge of it in the immediate aftermath of the war was anything but a blessing. Too, the Guomindang overextended itself and did not take seriously the prospect that the PLA would be able to shift anywhere near as swiftly as it did from guerrilla to conventional warfare. And unlike the PAVN in the Vietnam War the PLA very much did, by 1947-8 develop the means to deal one large-scale asskicking of the Guomindang after another to a point that a regime that briefly looked like it would be the face of the new China imploded so totally that the brief period of illusory triumph was revealed as just that.

The book's last chapter covers the Korean War as an extended aspect of this war in a development that makes no little sense given that it was part and parcel of the slapdash border security of Truman's era and that Mao desperately wanted a victory. And while he got a gruesomely bloody stalemate in the mountains after routing MacArthur's army on the Yalu, merely stalemating the USA after the long and brutal history of China serving as the Washington Generals of Asia was a sufficient victory to expand on the Civil War and underpin the PRC's sense of self-confidence to this day.

An interesting reality it brings into play as well is something that only makes sense. As with the USSR the PRC was born out of a civil war marked with multi-tiered foreign intervention. As with the USSR it began as more of a change of flags and verbiage and not of regime, and some of the histories of the PRC and USSR reflect very specific mirrors. At the flip side unlike in Russia, where the most traditional change of power was dying of 'Romanov Colic' (aka strangulation), China long had the tradition of various warlords securing an empire on horseback and then figuring out how to govern it. Thus, while revolutionary in many ways, the PLA was in others nothing more than Khubilai Khan and Khara Khitai on a much grander scale.

And in that mess of contradictions hinges all the aspects of PRC history from the 1950s to the present.

9/10.

[irreplaceable-spark]

Tradition Repurposed: New Year’s Pictures, Cartoons and Posters around the Second Sino-Japanese War

The Hoover Institution Library & Archives presents the Fanning the Flames Speaker Series. This eleventh session is moderated by Alice Tseng, professor of Japanese Art and Architecture at Boston University and presented by Shaoqian Zhang, associate professor, East Asian Art History at Oklahoma State University. The “Tradition Repurposed: New Year’s Pictures, Cartoons and Political Posters around the Second Sino-Japanese War” virtual event is on Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 12:00 pm PDT | 3:00 pm EDT (60 minutes). 

Historically, Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges were dominated by a China-oriented mentality. This relationship shifted abruptly in the late nineteenth century with Japan’s rapid westernization and industrialization, which coincided with the cultural and political implosion of the Qing Dynasty, and was further inverted as Japan became a world power and China struggled to reassemble itself. It was thus with a sense of justification that the Japanese advertised themselves as the legitimate protector of East Asian culture, and key Chinese cities under their occupation became a battleground for what Japan called the New Order in East Asia. 

The influence of Japanese aesthetics on Chinese art had also become increasingly noticeable by the end of the Nineteenth century.  However, not until around the Second Sino-Japanese War did the Chinese political and military agencies start paying attention to the effectiveness of Japanese visual propaganda strategies in China, especially to the exceptional Japanese skill at adopting traditional Chinese folk motifs. This lecture examines the subsequent war of propaganda prints between the Guomindang and the Japanese militarists during the 1930s and 1940s. 

To learn more about the accompanying book (edited by Kay Ueda, curator of the Japanese Diaspora Collection at Hoover) and to see past events, videos, and highlights, please visit our interactive online exhibition website, Fanning the Flames: Propaganda in Modern Japan. Please also visit our exhibition, now open in Hoover Tower at Stanford University.  For complete details please visit our exhibition web page.

[antikorg]

Non, aujourd’hui n’est pas le centenaire du Parti Communiste Chinois, qui n’est pas au pouvoir en Chine ! – Arguments pour la lutte sociale

Non, aujourd’hui n’est pas le centenaire du Parti Communiste Chinois, qui n’est pas au pouvoir en Chine ! – Arguments pour la lutte sociale

2021-07-23 20:16:33 https://aplutsoc.org/ Le Parti Communiste Chinois, 1920-1935, ou le combat pour l’histoire, Vincent Présumey. Portrait : Chen Duxiu. Sommaire : Xi Jinping, Fabien Roussel et Mil Gallagher. Les débuts du Parti communiste chinois : Les origines et les premiers pas. Un parti initialement sous-estimé. Pourquoi le Guomindang ? La tragédie de la révolution chinoise : Les paramètres…

[pathologicimagines]

Daniil Dankovsky is a card-carrying member of the Guomindang.

[rvexillology]

A flag I made when I was screwing around with shapes

from /r/vexillology Top comment: Remind me a lot of the flag of the Guomindang party from the Chinese Civil War.