Chinese History

China's modern history begins with the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. The state gradually disintegrated into two seperate regions, one ruled by the Republican government, and a larger area ruled by a variety of local warlords. The Nationalist government was then established in the South, and the capital moved to Nanjing. At this point, Japan began its gradual annexation of Chinese territory. The Chinese Communist Party established its first military forces after being outlawed by the Nationalist government and the country slid further into civil war between warlords, Nationalists and Communists. As World War II began and the Japanese occupied much of the country, a tenuous alliance was formed against them by the Communists, Nationalists and various warlords. This alliance was later broken - the antagonism and mistrust caused by its disintegration is still reflected in divisions between the various parties that exist in China and Taiwan today.

The Japanese were eventually defeated by a combination of Allied and Chinese forces, although a further four years of civil war between the Communists and Nationalists ensued. The People's Republic of China was founded after the Communist victory in 1949. With millions of its remaining supporters and military forces, the Nationalist government fled to Taiwan, where it remained in power there until the 1990s. At this point, it was voted out of office by the Taiwanese electorate in favour of the pro-independence DPP. A step up in the movement for Taiwanese independence can be traced back to this change of party.

Today, China has the world's largest population and armed forces, one of its largest economies, and has already become a global superpower. The country has undergone a traumatic process of reform and change in recent years - indeed over the last 150 years - but despite the country's problems, Chinese people today probably enjoy a higher standard of living and a more peaceful existence than at any other period in history.

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