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Communism Spreads in East AsiaChina
Korea
Vietnam
China’s Communist Revolution• After WWII, Mao
(communist) resumed civil war against the Chiang Kai-shek aka Jiang Jieshi (nationalists) due to his weak and corrupt leadership
• Mao wins▫ People’s Republic of
China▫ Communist▫ Supported by Soviet
Union• Nationalists fled to
Taiwan▫ Supported by USA▫ Considered breakaway
province by mainland China
Why Mao Won?
• Support of peasants
▫ Redistributed land to peasants
▫ Ended oppression by landlords
• Nationalists brought economic hardships, government corruption, reliance on West
• Won railroads and captured city by city with help from peasants
Mao’s Totalitarian State
• One party• No religion:
▫ discouraged practice of Buddhism & Confucianism
• Government control of landlords and businesses• Labor camps• Killed opposition• With Soviet help, build infrastructure• Collectivization: forced agricultural land and
labor to increase productivity• Allied with the SU in 1950s
Great Leap Forward
• People to make superhuman effort to increase farm and industrial output
• Communes: several villages for agriculture and industry
• Epic Fail: low quality, useless goods, food shortages▫ Famine: 2 years= 55
million died• Mao reduces size of
communes
China’s Cultural
Revolution• Goal: Free China of bourgeois
(elite/upperclass) tendencies▫ Red Guards (Mao’s “Gestapo”)
beat and killed bourgeois▫ Skilled workers and managers
were forced to leave their jobs and do manual labor, some in labor camps
▫ Schools and factories closed▫ Economy slowed and civil war
loomed▫ Mao backed off the revolution
and restored order
A propaganda report emphasizes the effect of brainwashing and the cult of personality of Mao Zedong in communist China.
China: The Wild CardDespite sending economic aid, China &
Soviet Union weren’t allies due to border and ideological disputes▫ Soviets end up withdrawing aid &
advisors in 1960
• USA support Kai-shek & nationalist movement to Taiwan▫ Refused to acknowledge China for fear
of threat of communism spreading throughout all of Asia
▫ BUT, strategic to improve relations with China against the Soviet Union
▫ 1971, USA allowed People’s Republic of China (communist China) to replace Taiwan in the UN
▫ 1972: President Nixon visits Beijing to open trade relations with China
▫ 1979: US set up formal diplomatic relationship
Korea:
WWII &
Cold War
• Prior to WWII, Korea was occupied by Japan• After WWII, Soviet Union and USA split Korea into North &
South along the 38th Parallel north▫ North Korea=communist, supported by Soviets; ruled by Kim Il Sung▫ South Korea=democratic, supported by USA; ruled by Syngman Rhee
North Korea begins
war
• North wants control of whole peninsula & attacks the South-1950
• United Nations, headed by USA & General MacArthur, sent troops to help South▫ NOTE: MacArthur is eventually
fired for wanted to invade China (allies with Soviets)
• North takes most of peninsula, but stopped at Pusan
• Inch’on: UN troops landed behind enemy lines, captured railroads, cutting North’s troops off from North and supply lines▫ Led to North
surrender in South• UN moved North to
Yalu River (border of Korea & China)▫ Mao, worried about
USA/UN, sent Chinese troops to border
▫ With help from Chinese, North pushes South back to 38th
Parallel
Stalemate
• An Armistice will be signed -1953- due to stalemate
• Troops will dig in and still today occupy the DMZ-demilitarized zone: area with no military forces▫ Along 38th Parallel
• NO peace treaty has ever been reached
• 2013: North Korea claims it is breaking armistice with nuclear buildup and testing
Two Koreas• North: communist
▫ Economic decline▫ Inefficient collective farms▫ Build up of nukes▫ Chinese give economic aid▫ Isolated▫ Poor-no electricity▫ Cult of personality around dictator
• South: democratic
▫ Capitalist
▫ Economic boom
▫ Economic & military aid from USA
▫ prosperous
French Lose Indochina
• French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)▫ Wanted independence after WWII
• Communist Guerrillas: small groups of communist soldiers making raids on French colonists
• Ho Chi Minh: Communist who fought Japanese during WWII then turned on French▫ national hero▫ Uses USA Declaration of
Independence to gain USA support to declare independence from French
• USA backs France due to Ho’s ties to communism▫ Economic aid, no military
aid• Dien Bien Phu: French
lose final battle in 1954 and leave Vietnam
• Geneva Conference: USA, Britain, France vs SU, China, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam▫ French Indochina becomes
3 independent countries: Laos and Cambodia
become communist▫ Divide Vietnam at 17th
Parallel
Vietnam Divided• North Vietnam
▫ Led by Ho Chi Minh
▫ Communist
▫ Support of Soviet Union & China
Send economic aid, but no troops
• South Vietnam
▫ Led by Ngo Dinh Diem
▫ “Democratic”
Corrupt and brutal
▫ Support of USA
USA’s Domino Theory:
-view that one communist victory would lead to rest of governments in region to fall to communism
-USA wanted to prevent this
Ho Wants Unified Vietnam
• Ho uses his Vietcong to attack the South• President JFK sends military advisors to
train South’s army (Vietminh)
▫ Kennedy’s thoughts on Vietnam “It is their war. They are the ones who have to win it or lose it” Did not like the growing USA involvement
▫ South’s Diem and USA’s JFK both assassinated Wonder if outcome in Vietnam would have
been different?
• USA President LBJ increases USA military presence in Vietnam
Gulf of Tonkin
• South raiding North on islands in Gulf of Tonkin
• North attacks USS Maddox thinking it assisted in raids
• President LBJ tells Congress about attack, but not raids▫ Believing attack on Maddox was unprovoked,
Congress passes Tonkin Resolution President can take all necessary measures to
prevent further aggression in Southeast Asia
• USA begins bombing targets in North (Operation Rolling Thunder)▫ > 2 million USA troops sent to Vietnam
Ground War
• North Guerrillas: knew country better than USA▫ Villages became military
targets▫ Couldn’t trust anyone Aid USA during day,
Vietcong by night
• Ho Chi Minh Trail▫ Supply line running from
north to south through Cambodia & Laos Forced war to expand into
Cambodia & Laos (by President Nixon)
TET Offensive• 1968: North led massive attack in
South on TET-Vietnamese New Year
• Failed with massive casualties• BUT infiltrated South• Turning Point-positive for North
because no part of South was secure from attack
Issues for USA
• Highly televised war that divided the nation
• Civilian casualties, American casualties = extremely high▫ Large numbers of POWs and MIAs
• USA morale was low• Due to tv and no explanation of
civilian deaths (traitors), soldiers not heroes to many people
• Tired of body bags for a war that didn’t involve us
Paris Peace Accord: 1973
• USA involvement in Vietnam-longer than 10 years
• Nixon signs cease-fire• USA withdraws with no victory• Separated North and South Vietnam at
17th Parallel and created a demilitarized zone (DMZ)
• North promised not to invade South• South left to determine own future
• 1975: North conquered South & became communist▫ USA applies embargo
Khmer Rouge
• During Vietnam War, Khmer Rouge (communist guerrillas) overthrew Cambodian government
• Khmer Rouge led by dictator Pol Pot▫ 1/3 of population (1 million)
was slaughtered, starved, or worked to death to rid country of western influence
• After Vietnam unified, took over Cambodia and ended genocide
Did the “dominoes” fall?
• After the USA withdraws from Vietnam, some dominoes did fall-former French Indochina
▫ Vietnam
▫ Laos
▫ Cambodia
• Stopped there; other parts of Southeast Asia remained capitalist and democratic