After World War II, open civil war broke out between Chiang's nationalists and Mao's communists. While the nationalists initially seemed to be winning with strong support from the United States, the communists were so strong in the countryside that they took power on October 1, 1949.
Chiang and his followers moved to the island of Taiwan and established the Republic of China. Mao was too concerned with consolidating his power in China to deal with Chiang's new island nation, which has maintained its independence. The Tai-
China Time Line (continued)
1998 (May 24) In first elections since Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule,
Prodemocracy parties win more than 60 percent of popular vote.
1998 (June 25) U. S. president Bill Clinton begins state visit to China—the first such
Presidential visit since Tiananmen demonstrations in 1989—and reaffirms U. S. opposition to two-China policy.
1998 (July 10) Government rounds up prodemocracy activists in Zhejiang Province.
1998 (July 14) In unofficial visit, Chinese minister of science and technology Zhu Lilan
Becomes first government minister to visit Taiwan since 1949.
1998 (Oct. 14) China and Taiwan renew cooperative talks discontinued three years
Earlier.
1998 (Oct. 14) Koo Chen-fu, Taiwan's chief officer in charge of relations with China,
Visits China to conduct highest-level talks between the two governments since 1949.
1998 (Nov.) Jian Zemin is first president of People's Republic of China to visit Japan.
1999 (Mar. 15) China amends its constitution to declare private business an "important component of the socialist market economy.”
1999 (May 7) U. S. missile hits Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia, causing serious rift in
U. S.-China relations; (May 25) relations worsen when committee headed by U. S. congressman Christopher Cox issues report charging that China has engaged in massive espionage activities for decades.
1999 (July 22) Chinese government bans the Falun Gong religious sect.
Wanese and Chinese governments both consider themselves to be the true representatives of the Chinese people, and tensions between them remain high.
Peace remained elusive, and the Chinese still faced a harsh future as international events were often largely beyond their control. China was allied with the Soviet Union and the Soviet-dominated North Korean regime. Scholars still debate the precise cause of the 1950-1953 Korean War, but apparently the Soviet Union permitted the North Koreans to launch an offensive across the demarcation line into South Korea. China seems not to have been the major instigator. The South Korean forces were overwhelmed until the United States responded and pushed the communist forces close to China's border. China, thinking the United States might invade its territory, was drawn into the war. Even-
1999 (July 25) Meeting between U. S. secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright and
Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan in Singapore eases U. S.-China tension.
1999 (Dec. 20) Portugal is scheduled to return its Macao Colony to China.
2000 (Mar.) Chen Shui-bian, a pro-independence candidate, is elected president of Taiwan.
2000 (May) U. S. Congress votes to normalize trade with China.
2001 (Apr.) American surveillance plane collides with a Chinese military jet and is forced to land on Hainan Island.
2001 (July 1) Chinese president Jiang Zemin calls on the Communist Party to admit
Capitalists.
2001 (Sept.) Chinese Communist Party decides to admit people in business for profit.
2002 (Mar. 5) Prevented by censorship from making their views public, members of the Falun Gong sect in Jilin Province cut off state television broadcasts and broadcast Falun Gong videos instead.
2002 (Sept.) In an effort to block communications critical of the government, Chinese
Authorities first block the internet search engine Google, and then replace the total block with restrictions on the scope of the engine's searches.
2002 (Sept. 11) For the tenth time in ten years, China and Chinese supporters in the
United Nations block an attempt by Taiwan to join the U. N.
2002 (Nov.) Marking a shift of power to a new generation of leaders, Vice President
Hu Jintao becomes general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.
Tually, the war bogged down along the old line separating North and South Korea.
Over the next few years, Mao used the mobilization for the Korean War to reinforce his plan to confiscate all private enterprise in the country. He forced the peasants from their private plots onto collective farms and then into communes. Initially, this seemed successful, but Mao's plan, known as the Great Leap Forward, pushed too far and provoked a 1959-1961 famine in which twenty to forty million people died. The Chinese government blamed the famine on a drought. The Soviet Union had been appalled at the idea of the Great Leap Forward and now withdrew much of its previous aid for the Chinese.
Mao was criticized by some high Chinese officials, but the Communist Party rallied to Mao's side and dismissed the dissenters. The dispute was costly for Mao's prestige. Over the next few years, other Chinese officials unofficially took command, and China slowly started to recover from the Great Leap Forward.
World History
