Taiwan’s White Terror
Thesis
Taiwan, despite its thriving democracy today, was once an isolated nation filled with fear, after China took over when World War II ended. Conflict arose quickly after the Chinese Nationalists arrived, when citizens questioned their actions of violence and started standing up for their people. With their unwillingness to compromise, it led to executions and imprisonment of those who seemed suspicious to the government under the martial law that lasted for 38 years. The Nationalists were brutal and silent with their actions; breaking families apart and leaving them with no voice in the society.
Background
During World War II, China fought on the Allied Forces, against Japan for invading their land. The U.S. agreed
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It was fought between the Nationalists and the Communists. There were disagreements between the two parties because of their different beliefs, but they both wanted a one-party government to govern China, instead of elections with multiple parties. The Communists defeated the Nationalists in 1949 and resulted in the KMT forces fleeing to Taiwan to establish a new government.
The Kuomintang
While the Nationalists and Communists fought for the government of China, the Nationalists were still controlling Taiwan. Chen Yi, the governor-general of the KMT, was in charge of Taiwan until the KMT lost in the Civil War and Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the KMT, took over.
After the KMT arrived, they confiscated all Japanese-owned factories and monopolized food and supplies, resulting in a shortage of goods in Taiwan. The KMT took the goods to China to sell them for a high price to make money lost from the war. Many Taiwanese lost jobs and the economy faced high inflation and food shortages across Taiwan. martial law
The martial law was passed on May 19, 1949 by the KMT and is known as the White Terror period for the suppression, murder, and imprisonment of citizens to ensure that the Chinese Nationalists could keep their control of
After seven year war with Japan, China experiences an eruption of the long simmering civil war. The China civil war was the war between the China Nationalist and China Communist. “Chiang Kai-shek was the leader of Nationalist China and Mao Tse-tsung was the leader from revolutionary communist” (Sledge xix). American soldier involved in this war to support China Nationalist and defeat the China Communist. American wanted secure North China from the communist party. Moreover, American also wanted to secure the region from Japanese. In fact, civilian were welcoming American came to their country and they had a perception that American soldiers were the hero. It was because American successful defeat Japan, then th...
First, if the CCP recognizes Taipei as an independent state, the CCP risks losing it bargaining power over the decisions and actions taken in regard to the island. A country’s bargaining power is the strength of a states claim over the disputed territory. A decline in this power mea...
The United States were unjustified in going
The Communist Party of China (CCP), in power since 1950, is not famous for its tolerance of those who do not agree with its ideology and opinion. People must adhere to the Party’s legislation, and face consequences (the severity of which is debated) if they resist or rebel. One way the CCP controls members is through religion. Although the government encourages almost cult-like devotion to the Party, it allows its constituents to participate in certain major international religions. One religion that is illegal to participate in under Chinese law is the spiritual practice of Falun Gong. A new movement, the Falun Gong grew quickly in China and globally, and was officially banned in 1999. The CCP claims the Falun Gong is evil, and should be destroyed humanely to save China. However, the Falun Gong is peaceful, and the Chinese government is the institution that tortures, jails, and abuses its citizens if they are practitioners of the religion. The international response calls for the halting of these immoral actions, but China still claims that it is destroying an evil institution. The simple fact China denies its members freedom of religion violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which China has signed, but the violence against its people if they adhere to Falun Gong beliefs is a gross abuse of its power. Although China bans many religions, there is special emphasis on the Falun Gong, and many wonder why. One highly possible reason is that the growth, international reach, and popularity of the Falun Gong threatens the universal power the CCP holds in China, weakening the government, and therefore leading to the destruction of the threat: the Falun Gong.
In today’s society the word “terrorism” has gone global. We see this term on television, in magazines and even from other people speaking of it. In their essay “Controlling Irrational Fears After 9/11”, published in 2002, Clark R. Chapman and Alan W. Harris argue that the reaction of the American officials, people and the media after the attacks of 9/11 was completely irrational due to the simple fact of fear. Chapman and Harris jump right into dismembering the irrational argument, often experienced with relationships and our personal analysis. They express how this argument came about from the terrorist being able to succeed in “achieving one major goal, which was spreading fear” among the American people (Chapman & Harris, para.1). The supporters of the irrational reaction argument state that because “Americans unwittingly cooperated with the terrorist in achieving the major goal”, the result was a widespread of disrupted lives of the Americans and if this reaction had been more rational then there would have been “less disruption in the lives of our citizens” (Chapman & Harris, para. 1).
not under communist control, the island of Taiwan. He took with him 200,000 Guomindang troops as well as all of China's gold reserves. Chiang Kaishek ruled Taiwan as the Republic of China. On 1 October 1949, the communists were able to proclaim the existence of a new China - the People's Republic of China. The Civil War had ended, the country had no gold and the country's infrastructure was
Keith, Zak. “Anti-Chinese USA: Racism and Discrimination from the Onset” Zac Keith. 2009. Web. 5 May 2014.
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