
China and Japan 1912-45 so far
Quiz by Mei Yin
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Empress Cixi, the last empress of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty, was open to reform and change?
From the early twentieth century, China had started to undergo its own form of modernisation. Which of these is the odd one out?
Industry and infrastructure was developing
Young Chinese were being sent to foreign universities
European books were being translated into Chinese
Land was starting to be distributed using a non-feudal method
Empress Cixi, the last empress of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty, was open to reform and change?
From the early twentieth century, China had started to undergo its own form of modernisation. Which of these is the odd one out?
Sun's Three Principles were:
In 1916, the disintegration of China starts happening. What was its main cause?
Who was behind the May the Fourth movement of 1919?
Who became Sun Yat-Sen's successor in the KMT after he died in 1925?
In which year was the First United Front (a union between the KMT and CCP) established?
Provide one reason why Sun thought the KMT and CCP merging was a good idea
Multiple choice quiz on this reading: By 1900, the United States had claimed its place as a world power through the Spanish-American War. As the new century began, the country governed subject territories in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guam, the Wake Islands, and the Philippines. U.S. troops also occupied Cuba. U.S. businesses reached beyond the country's borders. During the first decade of the new century, the Coca-Cola Company, Quaker Oats, AT&T, the Standard Oil Company, Du Pont, General Electric, and Ford Motor Company seized the opportunity for international sales. After finding international markets, they built factories abroad, taking advantage of lower labor costs in foreign countries. Then they asked for U.S. protection of their investments and interests. Foreign countries invested heavily in Central America. U.S. investors focused on banana plantations and mining, as well as railroads, with little money in government bonds. By 1913, U.S. investments in Central America totaled about $93 million. British investment in Central America peaked at about $115 million in 1913. About $75 million of that total represented railroad holdings, mostly in Costa Rica and Guatemala. The other $40 million was in government bonds, which were worth little or nothing. The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine From its earliest days, the United States claimed a special interest in the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine, issued in 1823, warned European powers to keep their hands off Latin America. In 1902, Britain, Germany, and Italy mounted a naval blockade of Venezuela. They wanted to force the government to repay its debts. All the countries involved eventually agreed to settle the matter by arbitration. The United States stood back and did nothing, but U.S. citizens were clearly uneasy with the appearance of European military forces in "their" hemisphere. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt issued a corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, saying that the United States would act as a police officer to keep order in the region. He intended both to keep European military forces out of the hemisphere and to protect U.S. and European investors, exerting whatever pressure or control on Latin American governments that might be necessary to these ends. In 1905, the Dominican Republic owed $40 million in debts to European lenders. In order to prevent the European nations from using military force to collect their debts, Roosevelt used U.S. power. The United States basically took over collection of Dominican customs taxes, declared that $20 million of the debt was unjustified, and began repayment of the rest. Building a Canal The United States needed a canal through Central America, in order to save shipping time and costs. Colombia had the best location for a canal, and the United States negotiated a deal. It would pay Colombia $10 million for a three-mile-wide strip of land and would make annual rental payments of $250,000 yearly, beginning in 1912. Colombia's Senate turned down the deal, and Roosevelt exploded in rage, calling its members "foolish and homicidal corruptionists." Roosevelt considered seizing the land for the canal by military force but soon found an easier way. The province of Panama seceded from Colombia. A U.S. gunship stood off shore, protecting the Panamanian rebels. They formed a new republic under the protection of the United States. The new country of Panama and the United States agreed on a canal treaty within days. The new treaty had similar terms except that the Canal Zone would be five miles wide, instead of three, and the United States would guarantee and maintain the independence of Panama. Revolutions While Roosevelt welcomed the revolution that separated Panama from Colombia, he opposed most other revolutionary activity. So did his successors in office, William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson. The U.S. presidents sent troops to put down revolutions in Nicaragua and Haiti, using U.S. military forces to set up new governments in those countries and maintaining military occupations for years. U.S. military interventions were frequent throughout the hemisphere. Dollar Diplomacy President Taft preferred using "dollar diplomacy" to control Latin American countries. In Honduras, for example, U.S.-based banana companies virtually ran the government. Taft supported expanded U.S. investment in South and Central American countries, the Caribbean, and the Far East. He ordered Secretary of State Philander Chase Knox to protect U.S. investments, sending in military troops if necessary. On the World Stage As a world power, the United States did not limit its involvement to the Western Hemisphere. In 1905, President Roosevelt brought Russia and Japan to the negotiating table to end their war over control of Korea and Manchuria. Roosevelt agreed to Japanese annexation of Korea in return for Japan giving up any claim to China, Hawaii, and the Philippines. Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for settling this dispute. In 1906, Roosevelt's negotiating powers were tested again. This time, he mediated a dispute between the Alliance powers—Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy—with the Entente—France, Russia, and Britain—over control of Morocco. The United States backed France and ended the dispute. No longer an upstart, the United States had taken its place as a world power alongside its former colonial ruler.
Contact with the Americas In 1001, Viking sailors led by Leif Erikson reached the eastern tip of North America. Archaeologists have found evidence of the Viking settlement of Vinland in present-day Newfoundland, Canada. The Vikings did not stay in Vinland long and no one is sure why they left. However, Viking stories describe fierce battles with Skraelings, the Viking name for the Inuit. Evidence suggests that Asians continued to cross the Bering Sea into North America after the last ice age ended. Some scholars believe that ancient seafarers from Polynesia may have traveled to the Americas using their knowledge of the stars and winds. Modern Polynesians have sailed canoes thousands of miles in this way. Still others think that fishing boats from China and Japan blew off course and landed on the western coast of North or South America. Perhaps such voyages occurred. If so, they were long forgotten. Before 1492, the peoples of Asia and Europe had no knowledge of the Americas and their remarkable civilizations. The Voyages of Columbus Portuguese sailors had pioneered new routes around Africa toward Asia in the late 1400s. Spain, too, wanted a share of the riches. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella hoped to keep their rival, Portugal, from controlling trade with India, China, and Japan. They agreed to finance a voyage of exploration by Christopher Columbus. Columbus, an Italian sea captain, planned to reach the East Indies by sailing west across the Atlantic. Finding a sea route straight to Asia would give the Spanish direct access to the silks, spices, and precious metals of Asia. The spice trade was a major cause for European exploration and a reason the Spanish rulers supported Columbus’s voyage. They also wanted wealth from any source. “Get gold,” King Ferdinand said to Columbus. “Humanely if possible, but at all hazards—get gold.” Crossing the Atlantic In August 1492, Columbus set out with three ships and about 90 sailors. As captain, he commanded the largest vessel, the Santa María. The other ships were the Niña and the Pinta. After a brief stop at the Canary Islands, the little fleet continued west into unknown seas. Fair winds sped them along, but a month passed without the sight of land. Some sailors began to grumble. They had never been away from land for so long and feared being lost at sea. Still, Columbus sailed on. On October 7, sailors saw flocks of birds flying southwest. Columbus changed course to follow the birds. A few days later, crew members spotted tree branches and flowers floating in the water. At 2 a.m. on October 12, the lookout on the Pinta spotted white cliffs shining in the moonlight. “Tierra! Tierra!” he shouted. “Land! Land!” At dawn, Columbus rowed ashore and planted the banner of Spain. He was convinced that he had reached the East Indies in Asia. He called the people he found there “Indians.” In fact, he had reached islands off the coasts of North America and South America in the Caribbean Sea. These islands later became known as the West Indies. For three months, Columbus explored the West Indies. To his delight, he found signs of gold on the islands. Eager to report his success, he returned to Spain. Columbus Claims Lands for Spain In Spain, Columbus presented Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand with gifts of pink pearls and brilliantly colored parrots. Columbus brought with him many things that Europeans had never seen before: tobacco, pineapples, and hammocks used for sleeping. Columbus also described the “Indians” he had met, the Taino (ty noh). The Taino, he promised, could easily be converted to Christianity and could also be used as slaves. The Spanish monarchs were impressed. They gave Columbus the title Admiral of the Ocean Sea. They also agreed to finance future voyages. The promise of great wealth, and the chance to spread Christianity, gave them a reason to explore further. Columbus made three more voyages across the Atlantic. In 1493, he founded the first Spanish colony in the Americas, Santo Domingo, on an island he called Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic). A colony is an area settled and ruled by the government of a distant land. Columbus also explored present-day Cuba and Jamaica. He sailed along the coasts of Central America and northern South America. He claimed all of these lands for Queen Isabella of Spain. Columbus proved to be a better explorer than governor. During his third expedition, settlers on Hispaniola complained of his harsh rule. Queen Isabella appointed an investigator, who sent Columbus back to Spain in chains. In the end, the queen pardoned Columbus, but he never regained the honors he had won earlier. He died in 1506, still convinced that he had reached Asia. The Impact of Columbus’s Voyages Columbus has long been honored as the bold sea captain who “discovered America.” Today, we recognize that American Indians had discovered and settled these lands long before 1492. We also recognize that Columbus and the Europeans who followed him treated the ancient inhabitants of the Americas brutally. Still, Columbus’s voyages did change history. They marked the beginning of lasting contact among the peoples of Europe, Africa, and the Americas. For a great many American Indians, contact had tragic results. Columbus and those who followed were convinced that European culture was superior to that of the Indians. The Spanish claimed Taino lands and forced the Taino to work in gold mines, on ranches, or in Spanish households. Many Taino died from harsh conditions or European diseases. The Taino population was wiped out. Still, the voyages of Columbus signaled a turning point for the Americas. A turning point is a moment in history that marks a decisive change. Curious Europeans saw the new lands as a place where they could settle, trade, and grow rich. Spanish Exploration Continues After the voyages of Columbus, the Spanish explored and settled other Caribbean islands that Columbus had found. They sought gold, land for crops, people to enslave, and converts to Christianity for the Spanish crown. By 1511, they had conquered Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba. They also explored the eastern coasts of North America and South America in search of a western route to Asia. In 1513, Vasco Núñez de Balboa (bal boh uh) crossed the Isthmus of Panama. American Indians had told him that a large body of water lay to the west. With a party of Spanish soldiers and Indians, Balboa reached the Pacific Ocean and claimed the ocean for Spain. The Spanish had no idea how wide the Pacific was until a sea captain named Ferdinand Magellan (muh jel un) sailed across it. The expedition—made up of five ships and about 250 crew members—left Spain in 1519. Fifteen months later, it cut through the stormy southern tip of South America by way of what is now known as the Strait of Magellan and entered the Pacific Ocean. Crossing the vast Pacific, the sailors ran out of food: Primary Source “We remained 3 months and 20 days without taking in provisions or other refreshments and ate only old biscuit reduced to powder, full of grubs and stinking from the dirt which rats had made on it. We drank water that was yellow and stinking.” —Antonio Pigafetta, The Diary of Antonio Pigafetta Magellan himself was killed in a battle with the local people of the Philippine Islands off the coast of Asia. In 1522, only one ship and 18 sailors returned to Spain. They were the first people to circumnavigate, or sail completely around, the world. In doing so, they had found an all-water western route to Asia. Europeans became aware of the true size of the Earth. How Did the Columbian Exchange Affect the Rest of the World? The encounter between the peoples of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres sparked a global exchange of goods and ideas. Because it started with the voyages of Columbus, this transfer is known as the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange refers to a biological and cultural exchange of animals, plants, human populations, diseases, food, government, technology, the arts, and languages. The exchange went in both directions. Europeans learned much from American Indians. At the same time, Europeans contributed in many ways to the culture of the Americas. This exchange also brought about many modifications, or changes, to the physical environment of the Americas, with both positive and negative results. Changing Environments Europeans introduced domestic animals such as chickens from Europe and Africa. European pigs, cattle, and horses often escaped into the wild and multiplied rapidly. Forests and grasslands were converted to pastures. As horses spread through what would become the United States, Indians learned to ride them and used them to carry heavy loads. Plants from Europe and Africa changed the way American Indians lived. The first bananas came from the Canary Islands. By 1520, one Spaniard reported that banana trees had spread “so greatly that it is marvelous to see the great abundance of them.” Oranges, lemons, and figs were also new to the Americas. In North America, explorers also brought such plants as bluegrass, the daisy, and the dandelion. These plants spread quickly in American soil and modified American grasslands. Tragically, Europeans also brought new diseases, such as smallpox and influenza. American Indians had no resistance to these diseases. Historians estimate that within 75 years, diseases from Europe had killed almost 90 percent of the people in the Caribbean Islands and in Mexico. American Indian Influences on Europe, Africa and Asia American Indians introduced Europeans to valuable food crops such as corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, manioc, squash, peanuts, pineapples, and blueberries. Today, almost half the world’s food crops come from plants that were first grown in the Americas. Europeans carried the new foods with them as they sailed around the world. Everywhere, people’s diets changed and populations increased. In South Asia, people used American hot peppers and chilies to spice stews. Chinese peasants began growing corn and sweet potatoes. Italians made sauces from tomatoes. People in West Africa grew manioc and corn. European settlers often adopted American Indian skills. In the North, Indians showed Europeans how to use snowshoes and trap beavers and other fur-bearing animals. European explorers learned how to paddle Indian canoes. Some leaders studied American Indian political structures. In the 1700s, Benjamin Franklin admired the Iroquois League and urged American colonists to unite in a similar way. Positive and Negative Consequences Through the Columbian Exchange, Europeans and American Indians modified their environments and gained new resources and skills. At the same time, warfare and disease killed many on both sides. Europeans viewed expansion positively. They gained great wealth, explored trade routes, and spread Christianity. Yet their farming, mining, and diseases took a toll on the physical environment and left many American Indians dead. Despite these negatives, the Columbian Exchange shaped the modern world, including what would become the United States.
ASEAN on the global stage Relations between ASEAN and other countries are conducted through ASEAN Plus Three, an annual meeting of ASEAN heads of state with the leaders of China, South Korea, and Japan; ASEAN Plus Six, which includes ASEAN Plus Three and Australia, India, and New Zealand; and the East Asia Summit, a meeting of ASEAN Plus Six with Russia and the United States. ASEAN summit meetings have occurred semiannually since the adoption of the ASEAN charter, and the organization’s agenda is overseen by a permanent secretariat based in Jakarta. The bloc’s diplomatic style has been described as “the ASEAN way,” a method of decision making that emphasizes noninterference, consensus, and personal, informal diplomacy, contributing to its growing influence and role as a major geopolitical entity. ASEAN has benefited enormously from Asia’s rise as a global center of power and wealth. By balancing relationships with the U.S., China, India, and the European Union, ASEAN is geographically and politically well situated to continue its extraordinary trajectory as one of the world’s fastest-growing trade blocs. As of 2023, ASEAN accounted for approximately 8 percent of global exports, putting it on par with the U.S. It is also central to two major free trade areas: the previously mentioned Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which includes Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Peru as well as Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam. ASEAN also participates in global forums such as the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO), and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), advocating for developing countries’ interests.
WHAT IS SCIENCE? - is a way in which answers related to NATURAL events are proposed. - a way in which people can learn and UNDERSTAND events in the NATURAL WORLD - based on OBSERVABLE EVENTS - a study of the NATURAL WORLD - a method of DISCOVERY and UNDERSTANDING by using a PROBLEM-SOLVING process called the?? - A systematic body of knowledge based on observation and experimentation. FOUR COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENCE: 1. It focuses on the NATURAL WORLD. 2. Goes through experiment. 3. Relies on evidence. 4. Passes through the scientific community. WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY? Brian Arthur (2009) defined technology as: 1. a means to fulfill a human purpose 2. assemblage of practices and components 3. a collection of devices and engineering practices available to a culture. SOCIETY ST (Science Technology) would not exist without society. WHAT IS STS? Science and Technology and Society (STS) is the study of how society, politics and culture affect scientific research and technological innovation and how these, in turn affects society, politics and culture. EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY THAT TRANSFORMED THE SOCIETY (IN THE WORLD) ANCIENT PERIOD 3500 BC. - 500 AD EUROPE - use of fire by Homo Erectus CA 750,000 - Stone Headed Spears CA 45,000 - Wooden bow and arrow CA 20,000 - The Minoans build palaces in Crete CA 2,000 THE AMERICAS - The Folsom people living on eastern side of the Rocky Mountain developed sophisticated tools CA 8,000. - Pottery is made in South America CA 6,000 - Olmec sculpture carves figurines and giant human heads. CA 1200 ASIA AND OCEANA - Earliest known clay pots are made in Japan CA 11,000. - Bronze is first made in Thailand CA 4000 - A lunar calendar is developed in China CA 2950 - Chinese doctors begin using acupuncture CA 2500 - The Hindu calendar of 360 days was introduced in India CA 1000 AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST - Homo erectus uses stone tools CA 1000000 - CA 15000 in Africa, bone harpoons are used for fishing. - Clay tokens are used for record keeping in Mesopotamia CA 7500 - Mesopotamian mathematicians discover the Pythagorean Theorem MEDIEVAL PERIOD CA 500 -1500 - Dark ages because few written records and evidences remained - Scholastic tradition was established by Charlemagne - Vertical windmills, spectacles, mechanical clock, water mills, gothic style were invented - Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press RENAISSANCE PERIOD 14TH – 17TH CENTURY - Rebirth of revival - Printing with movable type allowed Bible, secular books made in large amount - Nicolas Copernicus presented a heliocentric theory - Galileo Galilei invented telescope INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 18TH CENTURY - Skilled workers were set aside because of the machines - Iron production, steam engine and textile flourished - Scottish James Watt improved steam engine Robert Fulton (steam boat) - The following were invented: Light bulb, telephone, first steam powered locomotive 19TH CENTURY - Age of machine and tools - Herman Helmholtz (law of conservation of energy) - James Clark Maxwell (light as electro-magnetic wave) - Henry Becquerel (radioactivity) - Marie and Pierre Curie (radium) - Hans Christian Oersted (electric current near the magnet) - Michael Faraday (magnet produces electricity) - Atomic Theory proposed by John Dalton - Electron discovered by JJ. Thomson - Telegraph developed by Samuel Morse 20TH CENTURY - Communication, transportation, military research were developed - Personal computer was created - Intel developed microprocessor - Apple was introduced by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak - Internet was created (ARPANET) - Henry Ford's mass production of cars - Artificial Intelligence was invented SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY (PHILIPPINE HISTORY) Stone Age - Archeological findings show that modern man from Asian mainland first came over land on across narrow channels to live in Batangas and Palawan about 48,000 B.C. - Subsequently they formed settlement in Sulu, Davao, Zamboanga, Samar, Negros, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan and Cagayan. Inventions - They made simple tools and weapons of stone flakes and later developed method of sawing and polishing stones around 40,000 B.C. - By around 3,000 B.C. they were producing adzes ornaments of seashells and pottery. Pottery flourished for the next 2,000 years until they imported Chinese porcelain. Soon they learned to produce copper, bronze, iron, and gold metal tools and ornaments. Iron Age - The Iron Age lasted from the third century B.C. to 11th century A.D. During this period Filipinos were engaged in extraction smelting and refining of iron from ores, until the importation of cast iron from Sarawak and later from China. INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES - They learn to weave cotton, make glass ornaments, and cultivate lowland rice and dike fields of terraced fields utilizing spring water in mountain regions. - They also learned to build boats for trading purposes. - Spanish chronicles noted refined plank built warships called caracoa suited for interisland trade raids 10TH CENTURY A.D. - Filipinos from the Butuan were trading with Champa (Vietnam) and those from Ma-I (Mindoro) with China as noted in Chinese records containing several references to the Philippines. These archaeological findings indicated that regular trade relations between the Philippines, China and Vietnam had been well established from the 10th century to the 15th century A.D. TRADING - The People of Ma-I and San-Hsu (Palawan) traded bee wax, cotton, pearls, coconut heart mats, tortoise shell and medicinal betel nuts, panie cloth for porcelain, leads fishnets sinker, colored glass beads, iron pots, iron needles and tin. SOME PRESPANISH FILIPINO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Curative values of plants extract use as medicine - Alphabet (Alibata) - Counting Methods - Weights - Measuring system (isang gatang) - Calendar based on the periods of moon - Banaue Rice Terraces SPANISH REGIME Religion the Catholic Church - The latter part of the 16th Century Development of schools: - Colegio de San Ildefonso-Cebu-1595 - Colegio de San Ignacio-Manila-1595 - Colegio De Nuestra Senora del Rosario-Manila 1597 - Colegio De San Jose-Manila-1601 Colegio De San Ildefonso De Cebu - In 1863 the colonial authorities issued a royal degree to reform the existing educational system. In 1871 the school of medicine and pharmacy were opened to UST, after 15 years it had granted the degree Of Licenciado En Medicina to 62 graduates. Medicine - Development of hospitals San Juan Lazaro hospital the oldest in the far east was founded in 1578. Roads and Bridges Among other Spanish contributions: - Arithmetic - Algebra - Geometry - Trigonometry - Physics - Hydrography - Meteorology - Navigation - Pilotage American Period and Post Commonwealth Era - BUREAU OF GOVERNMENT LABORATORIES (1901) - BUREAU OF SCIENCE (1905) - INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE (1946) RA 2067 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “SCIENCE ACT OF 1958”. - This was enacted to integrate, coordinate, and intensify scientific and technological research and development and to foster invention including allocation of funds and other purposes. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL WAS ESTABLISHED ON DECEMBER 8, 1933. - Its Mandate (Nrcp) Promotes And Supports Fundamental Or Basic Research For The Continuing Total Improvement Of The Research Capability Of Individual Scientists Or Group Of Scientists; Provides Advice On Problems And Issues Of National Interest; Promotes Scientific And Technological Culture To All Sectors Of Society; And Fosters Linkages With Local And International Scientific Organizations For Enhanced Cooperation In The Development And Sharing Of Information NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL WAS ESTABLISHED IN DECEMBER 8, 1933. - Its Mandate (NRCP) promotes and supports fundamental or basic research for the continuing total improvement of the research capability of individual scientists or group of scientists; provides advice on problems and issues of national interest; promotes scientific and technological culture to all sectors of society; and fosters linkages with local and international scientific organizations for enhanced cooperation in the development and sharing of information. It was during the American Period when Science was inclined towards: - Agriculture - Food Processing - Forestry - Medicine - Pharmacy - Nursing
1.1945-1949: The immediate years after the Second World War ● At the end of 1945, Mao Zedong had come to see the USA as the greatest threat to his aspirations. a. He understood that East Asians were looking to the USA as the true liberator from Japanese imperialism. b. The USA’s support for the Kuomintang(KMT) and the restoration of U.S. authority in formerly Japanese Manchuria clashed with the CCP’s plans to use the region for its own needs in the impending civil war between the CCP and the GMD. ■ To compound matters, while the KMT was recognised internationally as the official government in China, Mao and the CCP saw the party as a puppet of U.S. imperialism. ● While Mao saw the USA as the greater threat to the CCP’s plans, Soviet actions also frustrated him. a. The USSR provided minimal and incoherent support for the Chinese Communists in Yan’an and Manchuria. b. Stalin also attempted to extract territorial and economic concessions from the Guomindang government in the Friendship and Alliance Treaty China signed in August 1945 under American and Soviet pressure in exchange for Soviet entry into the Second World War against Japan. ● The emerging superpower conflict over Europe and over American intervention in the impending civil war in China led to Mao’s ideological perception of the 8838/01 H1 History Paper 1 Theme II: The Cold War and East Asia (1945-1991) \ Page | 8 USA as an aggressive imperialist power that was hostile towards other countries, especially the USSR and China. ● In 1946, Mao promoted the theory of the intermediate zone, which envisioned a global united front against American imperialism. a. Mao saw the emerging superpower conflict as an American-Soviet contest for the intermediate zones, the capitalist, colonial and semi- colonial countries of West Europe, Africa, and Asia. b. Mao believed that the USSR was the defender of world peace. c. The intermediate zone, which included China, would not be part of the socialist camp. d. Despite the tremendous potential that U.S. aid held for China’s reconstruction, Mao’s ideological worldview and the impending civil war against the Guomindang prevented him from seeking normalised relations with the USA. In 1949, Mao decided to lean towards the side of the USSR despite two decades of unreliable support from them. e. Mao saw the anti-bourgeois campaigns in East Europe as evidence that China should isolate capitalist-bourgeois forces within it.2 f. Stalin had expelled Yugoslavia from the socialist camp as its leader, Tito was seen to have directly challenged Stalin’s authority. ■ Mao thus saw it as imperative to stress close unity to the USSR lest he was seen as a second Josip Broz Tito. At the same time, Mao sought a loose partnership with the USSR because Mao believed that China should preserve a high measure of self- reliance and zili gengsheng (自力更生) (regeneration through one’s own efforts). ● When the People’s Republic of China was formed on 1 October, 1949, relations between China’s and the USSR’s communists had improved substantially. a. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was also aware that the USSR never treated Chinese interests as a priority. What the CCP failed to fully understand was that Stalin ruled East Europe much like it was his empire and how this would have implications for China. b. In Mao’s first visit to the USSR in December 1949, Stalin was non- committal regarding the interests raised by the Chinese, and treated Mao as an underling as he feared that closer relations with the PRC would cause the USSR to lose privileges gained from the KMT. _________________________ 2 What Mao did not realise at that point was that the anti-bourgeois campaigns in East European countries were part of Stalin’s intentional design to consolidate the power of communists in them. 8838/01 H1 History Paper 1 Theme II: The Cold War and East Asia (1945-1991) \ Page | 9 A note on Sino-American relations 2. Early 1950: The USA’s hands-off policy towards Taiwan begins to change ● By early 1950, the Truman administration had written off Taiwan and believed it was only a matter of time before the island fell to the PLA. ● Two events in early 1950 changed the USA’s position on East Asia. ○ The formation of the USSR-PRC alliance in February 1950 ○ The North Korean invasion of South Korea in June 1950 3. 1950: The Sino-Soviet Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance Treaty ● Signed on 14 February, 1950. 3.1Implications for Sino-Soviet relations ● Stalin saw it as a means to get concessions that he had failed to get from the Kuomintang (KMT) government in 1945. ● For Mao and the newly founded People’s Republic of China (PRC), the alliance would provide security against U.S. imperialism and allow the PRC to get economic aid for reconstruction from the USSR. ● The Chinese realised soon after the 1950 treaty had been signed that the Soviet Union was intent on exploiting the agreement in its own favour. 8838/01 H1 History Paper 1 Theme II: The Cold War and East Asia (1945-1991) \ Page | 10 ● The Sino-Soviet alliance was officially directed against Japanese militarism and its allies, especially the USA. ● The Sino-Soviet alliance comprised three elements: party, military and economic relations. ○ Party: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was included in the customs of communist party internationalism, such as regular exchange of party delegations to congresses of the fraternal parties in Stalin’s socialist camp. ■ This move was meant to bring the PRC’s ideological beliefs about communism into greater alignment with the USSR’s. ○ Military: The alliance was supposed to provide the newly formed and weak PRC with a strategic deterrent and military aid against the USA on three fronts: Guomindang-held Taiwan, divided Korea, and Vietnam where France attempted to reestablish its colonial control. ■ Convinced that the USA would aggressively seek ways to undermine the CCP-led PRC through Taiwan, Korea and Vietnam, Mao sought an active defence. ● While in Moscow, Mao unsuccessfully asked Stalin to provide military assistance for the liberation of Taiwan. ● At the beginning of 1950, the PRC delivered large-scale military aid to Hanoi. The PRC was the first country to grant the communist-led Democratic Republic of Vietnam diplomatic recognition on 18 January 1950; Mao persuaded Stalin to do so on 30 January 1950. ● The PRC committed itself to North Korea, where Mao saw the commitment to North Korea both as a defence against U.S. imperialism and as support for a fellow communist country. ○ Economic: During Mao’s first stay in Moscow, Stalin had personally promised the delivery of fifty projects for primary industrialisation. ■ The agreement also led to a series of supplementary ones, such as a US$ 300 million loan that the PRC would repay with a mixture of strategic materials, rubber, agricultural products, goods for daily use and hard currency. ■ Significantly, Stalin used Soviet military and economic aid to extract concessions similar to those he failed to get from the Guomindang government in 1945. ■ The USSR and PRC would disagree on the pace and extent of the PRC’s planned development. ● In the last five weeks of Stalin’s life in early 1953, he attempted to pressure the PRC to reduce the planned 8838/01 H1 History Paper 1 Theme II: The Cold War and East Asia (1945-1991) \ Page | 11 development speed to a mere annual growth of 13-14 percent, and to plan individual projects in detail beforehand. These moves would potentially result in the PRC’s economy growing at a slower rate than initially projected. ● However, after Stalin’s death on 5 March 1953, the PRC’s Zhou Enlai decided to use his visit of condolence to the USSR to press forward negotiations. ○ When talks resumed in 1 April 1953, Beijing pressed for 150 Soviet industrial projects, but Moscow reduced them to 91 on the basis of insufficient data provided by the Chinese. ■ The economic disarray after China’s civil war and the economic pressures that came with the Korean War influenced recovery and reconstruction in the early years of the PRC. ● Despite the PRC being unable to tap into Soviet economic assistance immediately, mutual trade between China and the USSR nevertheless increased 6.5 times from 1950 to 1956. ● Together with the 50 projects promised by Stalin in 1950, the final version of the First FYP for the PRC included 141 Soviet and 68 East European projects in a total of 649 planned. Three thousand Soviet advisers sent to China in subsequent years were directly linked to the First FYP. ● By 1955, over 60 percent of China’s goods exchange was with the USSR. ● Soviet economic assistance to China added up to the largest foreign development venture in the socialist camp ever. ○ The total number of planned projects amounted to between 300 and 360 projects. ○ However, the number of total finished projects ranged between 134 and 150. ● Transfers of knowledge and expertise were important to China’s economic development. ○ A study on Soviet experts counts 1,445 political advisers and 9,313 technical specialists sent to China until their sudden withdrawal in mid-1960. ■ For political reasons, the gradual withdrawal of advisers began after late 1956.
Imperialism: China, Japan and Southeast Asia
SE Asia History Review (Rebuilding Japan and Communism in China)
Chapter 12 Empires in East Asia (China, Japan and Mongol)