-
Period: to
POST WW2: Selected Aisan Timeline
TIME LINE OF:
Communists take power in China
Wars in Korea and Vietnam
South East Nations Gain Independence
Nationalism in India and southwest asia -
The 38th parallel
After the surrender of Japan in 1945, the parallel was established as the boundary by Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel of the US State-War Navy Coordinating Committee in Washington during the night of 10–11 August 1945, four days before the complete liberation of Korea. -
Mao Zedong and the Communists gained control China
In October 1949, Mao Zedong gained control China. He proclaimed it the
People’s Republic of China. Jiang and other Nationalist leaders retreated to the
island of Taiwan, which Westerners called Formosa. -
the philippines becomes an independent nation
The Philippines became the first of the world’s colonies to achieve independence
following World War II. The United States granted the Philippines independence
in 1946, on the anniversary of its own Declaration of Independence, the Fourth
of July. -
Burma becomes a sovereign republic
Britain’s timetable for granting independence to its
Southeast Asian colonies depended on local circumstances.
Burma had been pressing for independence from Britain for
decades. It became a sovereign republic in 1948. -
Indonesia gians it Independance
Leading the effort to establish an
independent Indonesia was Sukarno (soo•KAHR•noh), known only by his one
name. In August 1945, two days after the Japanese surrendered, Sukarno proclaimed Indonesia’s independence and named himself president. A guerrilla army
backed him. The Dutch, supported initially by Britain and the United States,
attempted to regain control of Indonesia. But after losing the support of the United
Nations and the United States, the Dutch agreed to grant Indonesia its indepe -
Standoff at the 38th Parallel
On June 25, 1950, North Koreans swept across
the 38th parallel in a surprise attack on South Korea. Within days, North Korean
troops had penetrated deep into the south. President Truman was convinced that
the North Korean aggressors were repeating what Hitler, Mussolini, and the
Japanese had done in the 1930s. Truman’s policy of containment was being put
to the test. And Truman resolved to help South Korea resist communism. -
Communist: Chinese and Soviets signed a treaty of friendship in 1950.
sometime in 1950 -
Agrarian Reform Law of 1950
Mao seized the holdings of these
landlords. His forces killed more than a million landlords
who resisted. He then divided the land among the peasants.
Later, to further Mao’s socialist principles, the government
forced peasants to join collective farms. Each of these farms
was comprised of 200 to 300 households. -
China Interviens to aid North Korea
The UN
troops pursued the retreating North
Koreans across the 38th parallel into
North Korea. They pushed them
almost to the Yalu River at the
Chinese border. The UN forces were
mostly from the United States. The
Chinese felt threatened by these
troops and by an American fleet off
their coast. In October 1950, they
sent 300,000 troops into North Korea -
China took control of Tibet
Some time in 1951: China took control of Tibet. The Chinese
promised autonomy to Tibetans, who followed their religious leader, the Dalai
Lama. When China’s control over Tibet tightened in the late 1950s, the Dalai Lama
fled to India -
Natinlization of indsutry
Mao also transformed industry and business.
Gradually, private companies were nationalized, or brought
under government ownership. In 1953, -
Mao Lunches Five Plan.
Mao launched a
f ive-year plan that set high production goals for industry.
By 1957, China’s output of coal, cement, steel, and electricity had increased dramatically -
Korean War: Armistice
UN forces fought to drive the Chinese and North
Koreans back. By 1952, UN troops had regained control of South Korea. Finally,
in July 1953, the UN forces and North Korea signed a cease-fire agreement. The
border between the two Koreas was set near the 38th parallel, almost where it had
been before the war. In the meantime, 4 million soldiers and civilians had died. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu, France surrenders to Ho Chi Minh
Vie t n ame s e Na t i o n a l i s t s a n d
Communists joined to fight the French armies. The French
held most major cities, but the Vietminh had widespread support in the countryside. The Vietminh used hit-and-run tactics
to confine the French to the cities. In France the people began
to doubt that their colony was worth the lives and money the
struggle cost. In 1954, the French suffered a major military
defeat at Dien Bien Phu. They surrendered to Ho. -
"The Great Leap Forward"
To expand the success of the
first Five-Year Plan, Mao proclaimed the “Great Leap Forward” in early 1958. This
plan called for still larger collective farms, or communes. By the end of 1958, about
26,000 communes had been created. The average commune sprawled over 15,000
acres and supported over 25,000 people. In the strictly controlled life of the communes, peasants worked the land together. They ate in communal dining rooms, slept
in communal dormitories, and raised children in communal nurser -
India welcomes many Tibetan refugees after a failed revolt in Tibet
-
Skrimishs Between India and China over the two countries’ unclearborder
-
Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
Gradually, the Vietcong won control of large areas of
the countryside. In 1963, a group of South Vietnamese generals had Diem assassinated. But the new leaders were no more popular than he had been. It appeared that a
takeover by the Communist Vietcong, backed by North Vietnam, was inevitable. -
America Enter Vietnamese war
In August 1964, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson told
Congress that North Vietnamese patrol boats had attacked two U.S. destroyers in
the Gulf of Tonkin. As a result, Congress authorized the president to send U.S.
troops to fight in Vietnam. By late 1965, more than 185,000 U.S. soldiers were in
combat on Vietnamese soil. U.S. planes had also begun to bomb North Vietnam.
By 1968, more than half a million U.S. soldiers were in combat there. -
Ferdinand Marcos becomes President
s Ferdinand Marcos was elected president of the
Philippines in 1965. The country suffered under his rule from 1966 to 1986.
Marcos imposed an authoritarian regime and stole millions of dollars from the public treasury. Although the constitution limited Marcos to eight years in office, he
got around this restriction by imposing martial law from 1972 to 1981. Two years
later, his chief opponent, Benigno Aquino, Jr., was assassinated as he returned from
the United States to the Philippines, lured b -
Malaysia is Established.
In 1957, officials created the Federation of Malaya from Singapore, Malaya,
Sarawak, and Sabah. The two regions—on the Malay Peninsula and on northern
Borneo—were separated by 400 miles of ocean. In 1965, Singapore separated from
the federation and became an independent city-state. The federation, consisting of
Malaya, Sarawak, and Sabah, became known as Malaysia. A coalition of many ethnic groups maintained steady economic progress in Malaysia. -
"The Cultural Revolution"
In 1966, he urged China’s young people to “learn revolution by making revolution.” Millions of
high school and college students responded. They left their
classrooms and formed militia units called Red Guards.
The Cultural Revolution The Red Guards led a major
uprising known as the Cultural Revolution. Its goal was to
establish a society of peasants and workers in which all
were equal. The new hero was the peasant who worked with
his hands. The life of the mind—intellectual and artistic
activity -
Indonessia: Suharto succedes Sukarno
Suharto, officially named president in 1967, turned Indonesia into a police state
and imposed frequent periods of martial law. Outside observers heavily criticized
him for his annexation of nearby East Timor in 1976 and for human rights violations there. Suharto’s government also showed little
tolerance for religious freedoms. -
U.S. begiens withdrawing troops from Vietnam
President Richard Nixon
began withdrawing U.S. troops from Vietnam in 1969.
Nixon had a plan called Vietnamization. It allowed
for U.S. troops to gradually pull out, while the South
Vietnamese increased their combat role. To pursue
Vietnamization while preserving the South Vietnamese
government, Nixon authorized a massive bombing campaign against North Vietnamese bases and supply routes.
He also authorized bombings in neighboring Laos and
Cambodia to destroy Vietcong hiding places. -
The MNLF Struggles for independance for the Philipenes
Since gaining its independence, the Philippines
has had to battle its own separatist group. For centuries, the southern part of the country has been a stronghold of Muslims known as the Moros. In the early 1970s, a group
of Moros formed the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). They began an armed
struggle for independence from Philippine rule. -
Vietman War Ends. Communists win
the North Vietnamese overran
South Vietnam. The war ended, but more than 1.5 million
Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans lost their lives. -
The Cambodian Genocide Begins
In 1975, Communist rebels known
as the Khmer Rouge set up a brutal Communist government under the leadership of Pol Pot. In a ruthless attempt
to transform Cambodia into a Communist society, Pol Pot’s
followers slaughtered 2 million people. This was almost one
quarter of the nation’s population. The Vietnamese invaded
in 1978. They overthrew the Khmer Rouge and installed a
less repressive government. But fighting continued. The
Vietnamese withdrew in 1989. In 1993, under the supervision of UN pe -
Indonessia Annexs East Timor
