• Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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      11 months ago

      The fact that it was the last refuge of the Chinese democratic republic he fought against for one thing.

      • cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml
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        11 months ago

        Let’s be fair, the ROC under the KMT and Chiang Kai-shek was far from democratic despite their claim to Sun Yat-sen’s legacy.

        • DragonTypeWyvern
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          11 months ago

          As seen with Chiang Kai-Shek’s preferred ally against the Japanese Empire, Nazi Germany. Didn’t work out for him, but if he didn’t join the Allies we’d call him what he was, a corrupt fascist warlord whose only saving grace was not being the Qing Dynasty or Imperial Japan.

          Communist revolutionary armies don’t quintuple their size with volunteers in three years after you technically repelled a genocidal conquest when you rule with the consent of the governed.

          Of course, that was then, and this is now.

          • crackajack@reddthat.com
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            11 months ago

            Chiang is hardly fascist.

            Also, bear in mind that Chiang got plenty of help from the Soviets too, and the US, before both countries even fought Japan. Chiang was only glad to receive help when he could.

            Communist revolutionary armies don’t quintuple their size with volunteers in three years after you technically repelled a genocidal conquest when you rule with the consent of the governed.

            KMT was corrupt and had to appease various warlords who allied with them. Mao exploited that inherent division to persuade the population to turn against KMT and Chiang. Mao also convinced many KMT soldiers to defect after Chiang’s disastrous Manchurian campaign. There was a AskHistorians thread about it before which explains KMT’s collapse and retreat to Taiwan.

    • scarabic@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      The place is a jewel. Have you learned anything about it? You don’t just randomly become the world’s leading high tech manufacturer. They have great land, great resources, a great trading location, great people, great natural defenses… Any country on Earth would flip to have Taiwan.