| Anti-communism | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 反共主義 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 反共主义 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Anti-communism in China has a long history. Before theChinese Communist Revolution, anti-communist policies were implemented by theKuomintang (KMT) and conservativewarlords. Today,anti-communism inmainland China and amongoverseas Chinese is sometimes associated withprotest movements and support forliberal democracy.
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, theKuomintang, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party, led byChiang Kai-shek, was rulingChina and strongly opposed theChinese Communist Party (CCP). On 12 April 1927, Chiang Kai-shek purged the communists in what was known as theShanghai massacre which led to theChinese Civil War.[1] The Kuomintang received support fromfascist organizations within China such as theBlue Shirts Society, as well as external support from powers likeNazi Germany, whichaided the Kuomintang heavily. TheNew Life Movement pushed by the Kuomintang was in opposition to the Communist movement, and had fascist tendencies.[2] Initially, the Kuomintang had success in suppressing the CCP until afull-scale invasion of China by Japan forced both the Nationalists and the CCP into analliance.[citation needed]
To suppress CCP activities, Chiang's spymasterDai Li employed extrajudicial means including assassination, arbitrary arrests, and torture, with Chiang's explicit or tacit approval.[3]
On 28 February 1947 the Kuomintang had cracked down on an anti-government communist[citation needed] uprising in Taiwan, a formerQing province-turned-Japanese colony ruled from 1895 to 1945, known as theFebruary 28 incident and the government began theWhite Terror in Taiwan to purge the communist spies to prevent Chinese communist subversion.[4] On July 15, 1947, Document 0744 ordered the CCP and itsPeople's Liberation Army to be called "Communist bandits".[5] After the war, the two parties were thrown back into a civil war. The Kuomintang were defeated in the mainland andretreated to Taiwan while the rest of mainland China became Communist in 1949.
Democracy movements have been loosely organized in the People's Republic of China. The movement began during theBeijing Spring in 1978 and it also played an important role in the1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. The1959 Tibetan uprising had some anti-communist leanings.[6] In the 1990s, the movement underwent a decline both within China and overseas. It is currently fragmented, and most analysts do not consider it a serious threat to CCP rule.[citation needed]
Charter 08 is amanifesto which was signed by over 303 Chinese intellectuals and human rights activists who seek to promote political reform and democratization in the People's Republic of China.[7] It calls for greaterfreedom of expression andfree elections. It was published on 10 December 2008, the 60th anniversary of the adoption of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights. Its name is a reference toCharter 77 which was issued by dissidents inCzechoslovakia.[8] Since its release, the charter has been signed by more than 8,100 people both inside and outside of China.[9][10]
Before 1997, most of the anti-communists weresupporters of theKuomintang.[citation needed] They opposed the CCP's rule in mainland China and itssingle party dictatorship.[citation needed]
Hong Kong has had numerous anti-CCP protests, supported by political parties of thepro-democracy camp.Memorials for the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre have held every year in Hong Kong.[needs update] Tens of thousands of people have attended the candlelight vigil.[11]
The end of the failed2014 Hong Kong protests marked a novel and intensified wave of moderate nationalism in the territory.Localists have fiercely opposed CCP rule since thetransfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, with some calling forindependence from China. This culminated in the2019–20 Hong Kong protests and the subsequent passing of theHong Kong national security law, which continued the gradual integration of Hong Kong with mainland China.[citation needed]
After theGreat Retreat, the Republic of China (Taiwan) government remained anti-communist and attempted torecover the mainland from the Communist forces. During theCold War, theRepublic of China was known asFree China[12] while the People's Republic of China on the mainland China was known asRed China[13] orCommunist China in the West, to mark the ideological difference between the Free World and Communist Socialist World. The Republic of China government also actively supported anti-communist efforts in Southeast Asia and around the world. This effort did not cease until the death of Chiang Kai-shek in 1975.[14]
Even though contacts between Kuomintang and CCP had existed since the 1990s to re-establishcross-strait relations, the Kuomintang continues to be nominally opposed tocommunism, as anti-communism is written under Article 2 of Kuomintang's party charter.[15]
... The Party unites as party members all who believe in the Three Principles of the People, both at home and overseas. It abides by the teachings of late National President, the late Director-General, and the late Chairman Chiang Ching-kuo in its wish to bring about ethnic integration, unite the people, revive Chinese culture, practice democratic constitutional government, oppose communism, oppose separatism, and champion the interests of the Chinese nation ...
