Kuomintang

The KMT (initials of the Kuomintang or Guomindang) is a Chinese political party now based in Taiwan. In contrast with the Communists they were called the "Nationalists."

Founded in 1912 by Sun Yat-sen, it helped topple the Qing Emperor and promoted modernization along Western lines. The KMT came to power in 1927 under Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975), and moved the national capital from Beijing to Nanjing.

The party was always concerned with strengthening Chinese identity at the same time it was discarding old traditions in the name of modernity. In 1929, the KMT government suppressed the textbook Modern Chinese History, widely used in secondary education. The Nationalists were concerned that, by not admitting the existence of the earliest emperors in ancient Chinese history, the book would weaken the foundation of the state. The case of the Modern Chinese History textbook reflects the symptoms of the period: banning the textbook strengthened the Nationalists' ideological control but also revealed their fear of the New Culture Movement and its more liberal ideological implications.

The KMT tried to destroy the Communist party of Mao Zedong, but was unable to stop the invasion by Japan, which controlled most of the coastline and major cities, 1937-1945. Chiang Kai-shek secured massive military and economic aid from the United States, and in 1945 became one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, with a veto. The KMT governed most of China until it was defeated in civil war by the Communists in 1949.

The collapse of the KMT regime can in part be attributed to the government's economic policies, which triggered capital flight among the businessmen who had been the KMT's strongest supporters. The cotton textile industry was the leading sector of Chinese industry, but in 1948, shortages of raw cotton plunged the industry into dire straits. The KMT government responded with an aggressive control policy that directly procured cotton from producers to ensure a sufficient supply and established a price freeze on cotton thread and textiles. This policy failed because of resistance from cotton textile industrialists, who relocated textile facilities and capital to Hong Kong or Taiwan around the end of 1948 and early 1949 when prices soared and inflation spiraled out of control. Their withdrawal of support was a shattering blow to the morale of the KMT.

The leadership and hundreds of thousands of businessmen and other supporters fled to Taiwan, and continued to operate there as the "Republic of China." The KMT regime kept the island under martial law for 38 years, killing up to 30,000 opponents during its dictatorial rule by Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo (1910-1988). It allowed democracy, with full election of parliament in the early 1990s and first direct presidential election in 1996. Since the 1910s it has received support from the international Chinese diaspora.

The KMT lost power in the 2000 elections to the Democratic Progressive party. It has restructured itself, but continues to represent the descendants of the mainland Chinese who arrived in 1949, as opposed to the native islanders who support the Democratic Progressive party. The KMT is committed to "One China" but the Democratic Progressive party seeks independence, a demand that is fiercely opposed by China, even to the point of military threats. The KMT leader Ma Ying-jeouis is currently well ahead in polls for the presidential elections in March 2008.

Bibliography

• Bedeski, Robert E. State-Building in Modern China: The Kuomintang in the Prewar Period. U. of California Press, 1981. 181 pp.
• Fairbank, John K., ed. The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 12, Republican China 1912-1949. Part 1. Cambridge U. Press, 1983. 1001 pp.
• Fairbank, John K. and Feuerwerker, Albert, eds. The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 13: Republican China, 1912-1949, Part 2. Cambridge U. Press, 1986. 1092 pp.
• Hille, Kathrin. "Resurgent KMT must confront its dark past," Financial Times December 6, 2007 online
• Hood, Steven J. The Kuomintang and the Democratization of Taiwan. Westview, 1997. 181 pp.
• Rigger, Shelley. Politics in Taiwan: Voting for Democracy (1999) online edition
• Wachman, Alan M. Taiwan: National Identity and Democratization (1994) online edition
• Zanasi, Margherita. Saving the Nation: Economic Modernity in Republican China. U. of Chicago Press, 2006. 320 pp.

Primary sources

• Esherick, Joseph W., ed. Lost Chance in China: The World War II Despatches of John S. Service. Random House, 1974. 409 pp.