Fujian People's Government

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China^[1] (Chinese: 中華共和國人民革命政府; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Gònghéguó Rénmín Gémìng Zhèngfǔ), also known as the Fujian People's Government (Chinese: 福建人民革命政府; pinyin: Fújiàn Rénmín Zhèngfǔ), was a short-lived anti-Kuomintang government in the Republic of China's Fujian Province. The rebellion that led to its formation and its collapse are known as the Fujian Incident (閩變 Mǐnbiàn or 福建事變 Fújiàn Shìbiàn) or Fukien Rebellion in English.

In November 1933, some leaders of the National Revolutionary Army's 19th Route Army including Cai Tingkai, Chen Mingshu, and Jiang Guangnai, who had gained fame for their role in the January 28 Incident, were deployed to southern China to suppress communist rebellion, but instead they negotiated peace with them. In alliance with other Kuomintang forces under Li Jishen, the 19th Route leaders broke with Chiang Kai-shek and took control of Fujian where they were stationed and, on November 22 1933, proclaimed a new government. The chairman of the government was Li Jishen, Eugene Chen (陳友仁) was foreign minister, Jiang Guangnai was finance minister, and Cai Tingkai was military head and governor of Fujian Province. A flag of red over blue with a yellow star was used and the Chinese era name of the new state was "Republic of China" (中華共和國) with its founding being year one. Even though their English names are the same, the Fujian Republic of China (中華共和國, zhonghua gongheguo) is different from the real Republic of China (中華民國, zhonghua minguo), as "gongheguo" and "minguo" both mean "republic" in English.

The rebels were motivated by, among other things, personal disagreements with Chiang Kai-shek, opposition to perceived appeasement of Japan, and their assignment to the then relatively poor Fujian. The goals of the new government included the overthrow of the Kuomintang government in Nanjing, various social and political reforms, and a stronger resistance to foreign interference in China. The rebellion brought a temporary halt to the central government's Fifth Encirclement Campaign in southeast China. However, implied or promised aid to the rebellion from the Communist Party's Jiangxi Soviet failed to materialize and the effort began to collapse.

The Kuomintang responded to the rebellion first with air attacks and, in January 1934, with a ground offensive that quicly led to the defeat to the formerly prestigious 19th Route Army. On 13 January 1934, the government was defeated and its leaders fled or defected to Chiang Kai-shek's forces.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References and further reading

• William F. Dorrill. The Fukien Rebellion and the CCP: A Case of Maoist Revisionism The China Quarterly, No. 37. (Jan. - Mar., 1969), pp. 31-53.
• Frederick S. Litten. "The CCP and the Fujian Rebellion." Republican China, vol. XIV, number 1, November 1988, pp. 57-74. Accessed 20 February 2007.