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Three Principles of the People
The 'Three Principles of the People' was the ideological basis of the political program of Chinese Nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) that championed principles of nationalism, democracy, and socialism. They were first formulated as slogans for the United League, a student group that was a chief force behind the 1911 Republican Revolution. After China was divided in 1927, both Mao Zedong and Jiang Jieshi claimed to carry the true spirit and teachings of the Principles. -
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The Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion lasted between 1899 and 1901 saw Boxers (the secret society opposing foreign influence) rebelling against Japanese and Western influences. They destroyed foreign owned property, killed foreigners and Chinese Christians, and besieged Beijing. International intervention was taken by several nations in Europe and Asia, and the Rebellion ended with the Boxer Protocol in 1901, that posed heavy reparations on China and was a great embarrassment for the Qing Dynasty. -
The Wuchang Uprising
The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion in early October 1911, and widely considered to mark the downfall of the Qing Dynasty and the start of the Xinhai revolution—culminating in the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. The success of Wuchang lead to other provinces declaring independence from the Qing dynasty and widespread revolution. -
Formation of the Kuomintang
Sun Yat-sen founded the Kuomintang in 1912, when the group helped to dismantle the Qing dynasty and promote modernisation among the Western lines. Although originally a revolutionary league solely for overthrowing the fixed government, the Kuomintang became the Nationalist political party in the first year of the Republic of China. -
Formation of the Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party was established in July 1921 by a group of Chinese intellectuals. The Chinese Civil War spanned 22 years, from 1927 to 1949, and this tumultuous sociopolitical time allowed for Mao Zedong to rise to power, leading the communist party. The Chinese Communist Party proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, under Zedong's leadership. -
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The Long March
The Long March (1934-1935) was a 10,000km trek of the retreating Chinese Communist Party to territory in northwestern China. The gruelling march lasted a period of twelve months, with casualties of up to 70% of the original 100,000, but enabled the emergence of Mao Zedong as the undisputed party leader. -
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Imprisonment of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was imprisoned by the CCP in mid to late December 1936 by soldiers under the command of General Zhang Xueliang, demanding that Chiang agree to a ceasefire in the Chinese Civil War. After being released Chiang renounced the verbal confirmation of an alliance while incarcerated, but continued secret negotiations that would lead to the Second United Front. -
Breaking the Second United Front Agreement
In January 1941, 80,000 Nationalist soldiers broke the tentative Second United Front alliance between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party. Their attack was large-scale and targeted the New Fourth Army (an important CCP unit) and resulted in thousands of casualties. Foreign powers entering the war with Japan in 1942 saw that most of Chiang's attention had moved to planning against the CCP rather than the external threat, and the Chinese Civil War resumed in 1946. -
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Reunification of China and the White Terror
From 1949 to 1992, the White Terror was a period of intensive political repression and human rights abuse in Taiwan. The period came after the 1947 '228 Incident', a rebellion under the Kuomintang government. This period plays a significant role in the development of a distinctly Taiwanese identity separate from mainland China.