First and Second United Front in China - Essay Example

The Second United Front involved alliance of KMT and CCP in the Second Sino-Japanese War and it suspended the civil wars in China from 1937 to 1946. Kai-Shek viewed Chinese Communists as a threat, and true to his perception, they kidnapped him and compelled him to a truce with the communists. This resulted in the two parties suspending the fighting to focus on Second United Front that fought against the Japanese. The actual cooperation between CCP and KMT remained minimal. The two parties still vied for territorial advantage in China. This resulted in major clashes, and Kai-shek demanded the evacuation of the New Fourth Army from the CCP. This weakened CCP in central China and ended any substantive cooperation between the two. However, in Japan, CCP absorbed KMT forces and made them into puppet forces. Eventually, CCP gained full control of North China. Therefore, the Second United Front became less successful than the first one since it led to the weakening of the KMT in North China and the CCP in Central China. The two groups never worked as an alliance (Dirlik, 2000).

Reasons for the Failure of Chiang Kai-Shek to Destroying the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

The victory of the CCP over the reactionary Chiang Kai-shek power marked a monumental change in Chinese history. The events were unexpected since CCP came to power through a reactionary program of the ‘revolution by stages’. First, the strategy of countering the Stalinist strategy of conquering cities using peasant armed forces alone enhanced the overthrowing of the bourgeois Kuomintang regime. During this period, the urban population persistently fought for the oppressed and exploited and brought about an armed insurrection. This led to confusion among the Chinese Comrades of the traditional conception and facts (Taylor, 2006).

Second, Chiang’s regime was completely rotten since it was established amid the bloodshed of the Second Chinese Revolution defeat. This made it hostile to people using Asiatic methods. The regime could have only protected itself from imperialist powers since it represented the bourgeoisie of the Orient. Therefore, it used all reactionary influences in resisting the masses, and consequently, it was unable to fulfill the bourgeoisie's democratic tasks. After the failure of the non-defensive policy, the Chiang government had to fight the Japanese, and this revealed their incompetence where they lost several cities. Such acts stirred dissatisfaction among people reflected through demonstrations and unrest among the peasants (Taylor, 2006).

After the Japanese defeat, Chiang’s government became corrupt looting all the public property and engaging in extravagant dissipation and luxury. This inflamed the masses’ fury and provoked large-scale demonstrations. Chiang hoped to use his military in exterminating CCP. He hoped to defeat CCP due to advanced warfare and the large army. However, his army remained isolated and divided due to mistreatment from their leaders. This shifted even the attention of those people who supported it (Dirlik, 2000).

Relationship between Chiang Kai-Shek and the United States

Before Second World, War, the most powerful influences originated from American imperialists. It intended to uphold Chiang’s government and monopolize the Chinese markets. This dispatched significant military equipment to the government in China. This made Chiang suspicious of the covert operatives of the United States, who plotted a coup against him. He, therefore, become the director of the secret police, and he became overly suspicious of the administrators with extreme relationship with the US. He survived an assassination attempt and suffered criticism from America after the Taiwan governor went to the US (Taylor, 2006).

Washington tried to defeat Chiang by making reforms that eliminated the corrupt officials by replacing them with ‘democratic figures’. The US maneuvered for a compromise between Mao and Chiang to destroy Mao. Chiang considered the US a threat, and he refused to make reforms and obstinately balked at any compromise with Mao. This marked a complete failure of America. Thereafter, America planned a direct military offensive against CCP to gain control over Chiang and his administrative power. However, the imperialism in America was unprepared for such a task and its allies were unable to take the risk. This compelled the US to abandon its help to Chiang’s government (Burdekin & Whited, 2005).