Retreat of the government of Republic of China to Taiwan
The retreat of the government of Republic of China to Taiwan (Chinese: 中華民國政府遷臺), also known as the Kuomintang's retreat to Taiwan or the Great Retreat (Chinese: 大撤退) in Taiwan, refers to the exodus of the remnants of the then-internationally-recognized Kuomintang-ruled government of the Republic of China (ROC) to the island of Taiwan (Formosa) on December 7, 1949, after losing the Chinese Civil War in the Chinese mainland. The Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party), its officers, and approximately 2 million ROC troops took part in the retreat, in addition to many civilians and refugees, fleeing the advance of the People's Liberation Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP, who now effectively controlled most of Mainland China, spent the subsequent years purging any remnant Nationalist agents in western and southern China, solidifying the rule of the newly established People's Republic of China.
For other uses, see Great Retreat (disambiguation).Native name
中華民國政府遷臺
Republic of China Government's retreat to Taiwan
December 7, 1949
中華民國政府遷臺
中华民国政府迁台
Zhōnghuá Mínguó Zhèngfǔ qiāntái
Zhōnghuá Mínguó Zhèngfǔ qiāntái
ㄓㄨㄥ ㄏㄨㄚˊ ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄓㄥˋ ㄈㄨˇ ㄑㄧㄢ ㄊㄞˊ
Chung1 Hua2 Min2 Kuo2 Cheng4 Fu3 Ch'ien1 T'ai2
Jūng Wàh Màhn Gwok Jing Fú Chīn Tòih
Zung1 Waa4 Man4 Gwok3 Zing3 Fu2 Cin1 Toi4
Tiong-hôa Bîn-kok Chèng-hú Chhian-tâi
Tiong-huâ Bîn-kok Tsìng-hú Tshian-tâi
大撤退
Dà Chètuì
Dà Chètuì
ㄉㄚˋ ㄔㄜˋ ㄊㄨㄟˋ
Ta4 Ch'e4 T'ui4
Daaih Chit Teui
Daai6 Cit3 Teoi3
Tāi-thiat-thè
Tāi-thiat-thè
ROC troops mostly fled to Taiwan from provinces in southern China, in particular Sichuan Province, where the last stand of the ROC's main army took place. The flight to Taiwan took place over four months after Mao Zedong had proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing on October 1, 1949.[1] The island of Taiwan remained part of Japan during the occupation until Japan severed its territorial claims in the Treaty of San Francisco, which came into effect in 1952.
After the retreat, the leadership of the ROC, particularly Generalissimo and President Chiang Kai-shek, planned to make the retreat only temporary, hoping to regroup, fortify, and reconquer the mainland.[1] This plan, which never came into fruition, was known as "Project National Glory", and made the national priority of the ROC on Taiwan. Once it became apparent that such a plan could not be realized, the ROC's national focus shifted to the modernization and economic development of Taiwan. The ROC, however, continues to officially claim exclusive sovereignty over the now-CCP-governed mainland China. As the ROC does not recognize any border agreements made by the PRC, it also technically claims Mongolia as well as parts of Russia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. (Both the ROC and PRC also claim the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands administered by Japan.)[2][3][4]
Relocation of forces and people[edit]
Over the course of 4 months beginning in August 1949, the ROC leaders relocated the Republic of China Air Force to Taiwan, taking over 80 flights and 3 ships.[1] Chen Chin-Chang writes in his book on the subject that an average of 50 or 60 planes flew daily between Taiwan and China transporting fuel and ammunition between August 1949 and December 1949.
Chiang also sent the 26 naval vessels of the Nationalist army to Taiwan. The final Communist assault against Nationalist forces began on April 20, 1949, and continued until the end of summer. By August, the People's Liberation Army dominated almost all of mainland China; the Nationalists held only Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands, some parts of Guangdong, Fukien, Zhejiang and a few regions in China's far west.[5]
Institute of History and Philology director Fu Ssu-nien spearheaded a rush to persuade scholars to flee to Taiwan, as well as bringing books and documents.[1] Institutions and colleges like Academia Sinica, National Palace Museum, National Tsing Hua University, National Chiao Tung University, Soochow University, Fu Jen Catholic University and St. Ignatius High School were re-established in Taiwan.
In total, according to current estimates, a migration of between 900,000 and 1,100,000 people must have taken place to Taiwan from the Chinese mainland between 1945 and 1955. The prior population of the island, at the end of Japanese rule, is estimated as 6,500,000 (see also Population of Taiwan). Of these, the Japanese subpopulation of about 500,000 were mostly repatriated by 1946. The number of immigrants is not known for certain, however, since no precise census was made before or during Japanese rule. The census of 1956 counts 640,000 civilian migrants from the mainland. The size of the army was secret at the time. Taiwanese documents found much later count 580,000 soldiers. American contemporary intelligence, however, put the number at only 450,000. Additionally, some army personnel were discharged before 1956 and are therefore (or for other reasons) included in both numbers, while others were drafted locally and were not immigrants. Such considerations led scholars to the above estimate. It is noted that upper estimates of up to two or three million immigrants are commonly found in older publications.[6] Immigration on a similar scale took place in Hong Kong at the time.
Immediate ROC military actions[edit]
KMT forces attempted to destroy industrial sites, but workers were able to stop them at many such locations.[7]
From Taiwan, Chiang's air force attempted to bomb the mainland cities of Shanghai and Nanking, but to no effect. Chiang's ground forces aimed to return to the mainland, but had no long-term success. Communist forces were left in control of all of China except Hainan Island and Taiwan.
As a whole, the Civil War had an immense impact on the Chinese people. The historian Jonathan Fenby proposes that “hyperinflation [during the Chinese Civil War] undermined everyday lives and ruined tens of millions, hampered by a poor taxation base, increased military spending and widespread corruption."[13]
Legality[edit]
While the generally established view is that the KMT legally controlled Taiwan starting from Retrocession Day in 1945 (following the surrender of Japan), some have opposed this view.
According to a 1955 article, "It has been charged that Chiang Kai-shek has no claim to the island because he is 'merely a fugitive quartering his army' there and besides, his is a government in exile."[18] Moreover, the Treaty of San Francisco, which was officially signed by 48 nations on September 8, 1951, did not specify to whom Japan was ceding Taiwan and Penghu. Despite this, the ROC was viewed by the vast majority of states at the time as the legitimate representative of China, as it had succeeded the Qing Dynasty, while the PRC was at the time a mostly unrecognized state. Japan was, at the time of the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco, still technically under American occupation.[19] After full independence, Japan established full relations with the ROC and not the PRC.[20]
According to Professor Gene Hsiao, "since the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the separate KMT treaty with Japan did not specify to whom Japan was ceding Taiwan and the Pescadores, the implication of the U.S. position was that legally, and insofar as the signatories of those two treaties were concerned, Taiwan became an 'ownerless' island and the KMT, by its own assent to the American policy, a foreign government-in-exile."[21]