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APPROVAL SHEET Title of Thesis: The Price of Dependence: The Deleterious Effects of the Kuomintang's Reliance on United States Aid, 1941-1949 Name of Candidate: Chao Wei Ku Master of Arts, 2019 Thesis and Abstract Approved: Dr. Nianshen Song Assistant Professor Historical Studies Date Approved: ABSTRACT Title of Document: The Price of Dependence: The Deleterious Effects of the Chinese Nationalists’ Reliance on United States Aid, 1945-1949 Francis Ku Directed by: Drs. Nianshen Song, Meredith Oyen, and Rebecca Boehling. This thesis is an analysis on some aspects of the United States aid given to the Chinese Nationalists. The time frame it focuses on are the end years, 1945-1949, of the Chinese Civil War between the Nationalists and the Chinese Communist Party. Previous literature on the subject tend to frame the Nationalists as incapable of properly using given U.S. aid and uses that ineptitude as justification for lessening U.S. involvement with the Nationalists. In similar veins, the counter view was that the amount of given aid was pitiful and unable to truly help the Nationalists stabilize its regime following the devastation of World War II. Instead, my thesis questions the framing of U.S. aid being entirely positive to the Nationalist regime. It examines some of the negative impacts of U.S. aid on the Nationalist military and its actions. It also focuses on the consequences of U.S. presence on the Chinese social landscape and the diplomatic implications of closer relations with the U.S. vis-à-vis the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communists. Lastly, it covers the effects of expedited Japanese repatriation demanded by the United States on the Nationalist regime. From examining these conditions, there were clear examples where U.S. aid was not at all beneficial to the Nationalist government and weakened its position in China. The Price of Dependence: The Deleterious Effects of the Chinese Nationalists’ Reliance on United States Aid, 1945-1949 By Francis Ku Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, 2019. Table of Contents Abbreviations ii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: 20 Military Aid to the Nationalists Chapter 2: 42 Diplomatic and Social implications of Nationalist-American Cooperation Chapter 3: 60 Repatriation of the Japanese Conclusion: 73 Bibliography: 76 ii Lists of Abbreviations CCP Chinese Communist Party CER Chinese Eastern Railway PLA People’s Liberation Army PRC People’s Republic of China ROC Republic of China SMR South Manchurian Railway Company UN United Nations WWII World War II iii Introduction Since the end of World War II (WWII), the United States of America has been active all over the globe in its foreign policy. Prior to the war, the U.S. public was decidedly isolationist and its Congress rejected entry into the League of Nations, an American led creation by President Woodrow Wilson. Its entry into WWII and the subsequent Allied victory over the Axis brought a definite shift in global politics. The end of the conflict left the United States as the most dominant superpower left in the world alongside its rival, the Soviet Union. This marked the beginning of the Cold War between the two nations which would pit proxy forces aligned with either the capitalist western nations or the Communist international bloc against each other in an effort to gain control over the territory in conflict.1 The earliest manifestation of this confrontation was the resumption of the Chinese Civil War (1927-49) between the Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The civil war between the two factions saw the collapse of Nationalist power on the Chinese mainland and the birth of a new Communist state: The People’s Republic of China (PRC). What remained of the Nationalists retreated to the island fortress of Taiwan and continued on as the Republic of China (ROC). This event in U.S. historiography has generally been marked this event as the inevitable outcome of a corrupt and decrepit Nationalist government falling at the hands of a newer and more adaptable organization in the form of the CCP. U.S. influence on the defeat of the Nationalists was minimized. Simultaneously, the U.S. aid that was necessary in keeping the regime functional was emphasized as an example of American steadfastness and magnanimity. Essentially, the defeat of the Nationalist party was explained as an inevitable consequence of its 1 There are some that argue that the Cold War began following the wake of the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union. For more please see John Lewis Gaddis, Russia, the Soviet Union and the United States : An Interpretive History (New York: McGraw-Hill Pub. Co., 1990), 57. 1 poor decisions and refusal to heed American advice. This, however, is an overly simplified explanation for the complete collapse of a government that was a staunch ally of the United States during WWII. It leaves out the implications of U.S. aid that began during WWII and the role of U.S. support in goading Nationalist leadership into decisions it would not have taken otherwise. In addition, the dependence of the Nationalists upon that aid also forced its leadership into accepting demands by the United States that may have harmed its chances against the CCP. Simply put, American aid to China was a foreign policy nightmare full of contradictions that at once prevented the collapse of the Nationalist regime while also impairing the government’s ability to act in concordance to its own power. While this thesis does not lay the blame of Nationalist defeat at the feet of the United States, it does attempt to provide a more nuanced view on the negative impact of the United States on the Chinese Civil War. It hopes to show that there are consequences to foreign aid and that lack forethought or planning. This is especially relevant in contemporary circumstances where similar scenarios may occur. Background Although the topic of this thesis is focused on the last three years of the Chinese Civil War (1946-1949), it is necessary to explain the situation that caused the conflict in the first place. The conditions for the conflict originated from the fall of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Following its collapse during the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, the ROC was formed as an attempt to transform China into a modern republic. However, the most dominant military force of the factions deposing the Qing, the Beiyang Clique, did not support the formation of a democratic coalition and suppressed any dissenters against its domination.2 Its leader, Yuan Shikai, went so far as to attempt to crown himself emperor and restore imperial rule. This event sparked outrage 2 Colin Mackerras and Robert Chan, Modern China : A Chronology from 1842 to the Present (San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Co., 1982), 246. 2 amongst various factions in China and the more powerful warlords revolted against Yuan’s rule. Shocked by the vehemence of the opposition, Yuan soon stepped down from his position, became ill, and died soon after.3 The death of Yuan left a power vacuum which saw Chinese warlords, supported by opportunistic imperial powers, warring against each other in a chaotic period known as the Warlord Era. Various warlords would fight over the control the capital, Beijing, in attempts to declare themselves the rightful rulers over the ROC. 4 Within this period, Sun Yat-sen would found the Nationalist Party. An early supporter of the Xinhai Revolution, Sun had been traveling the world, raising funds to aid revolutionary efforts against the Qing Dynasty. When the revolution finally occurred, Sun rushed back to China from the United States and was among those who attempted to establish China’s first assembly. However, due to suppression by the Yuan government, Sun would flee from the capital and establish the Nationalist Party in southern China. 5 Finding difficulties in securing funding from Western powers and the Japanese, Sun turned to the Soviet Union for help in organizing the newly formed Nationalist party. Seeing potential in the new revolutionary party, Stalin agreed to Sun’s request and sent military aid and advisors to establish the Nationalists as a formidable faction within China. Within the agreement, the Nationalists would integrate the CCP into its party structure in what was known as the First United Front. However, mutual distrust between the more conservative factions of the Nationalist Party and the CCP seethed beneath the surface until the eventual death of Sun. 3 Ibid., 256-258. 4 Jay Taylor, The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-Shek and the Struggle for Modern China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009), 32. 5 Mackerras and Chan, Modern China , 264-265. 3 After Sun passed away from illness, his protégé, Chiang Kai-Shek, would claim leadership over the Nationalist Party as the Generalissimo.6 Although having no previous political experience, Chiang became the de-facto leader of the organization due to his loyalty to Sun and control over the military arm of the party. Under Chiang’s leadership, Nationalist forces launched the Northern Expedition (1926-28) and forcefully unified all the warlords under their leadership. The Nationalists claimed legitimacy over the ROC, ending the Warlord Era and giving China a semblance of unification. The warlords officially recognized Chiang as the nominal leader of China in exchange for near autonomy over their own territories and positions within the National government. This meant that even at the height of Chiang’s power the Nationalist Party was never truly unified, with Chiang unable to fully consolidate his rule over China.