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UNIT 4: THE SPRED OF COMMUNISIM4.1 MAO´S TRIUMPH IN CHINA
China in 1949 turned communist as a result of Mao Zedong’ s victory in the Chinese civil war. Indeed, the war between
the Chinese Nationalists of the Kuomintang (National People’s Party or KMT) and the Communists of the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) had broken out in 1927 when the KMT’s leader, Chiang Kai-shek, decided that the communists
were becoming too powerful and unleashed the “purification movement”, a huge purge in which thousands of
communists, trade unionists and peasant leaders were massacred, and the civil war started. 18 years later, the KMT and
the CCP staged the final struggle for power. USA hoped that the Nationalists would be victorious, so they helped the
KMT to take over all areas previously occupied by the Japanese. It was a signal of the incoming clash between Moscow
and Washington. As a proof of it, the Soviets allowed CCP guerrillas to move in freely within the area.
All the odds seemed to favor Chiang. However, the apparent strength of a KMT was rather deceptive, and by 1948, the
communist armies, better led, and with much higher morale, were large enough to abandon guerrilla warfare and start
to challenge Chiang’s forces directly. KMT armies began to disintegrate. In January 1949 the communists took Beijing,
and later in the year Chiang fled to the island of Taiwan, leaving Mao Zedong in control of continental China. In October
1949 in Beijing, Mao Zedong proclaimed the New People’s Republic of China with himself both as chairman of the CCP
and president of the new Republic.
4.2 COMMUNISIM IN NORTH KOREA
Once the war was over, North Korean president, Kim-Il-Sung made himself into an absolute ruler, he remained in power
without opposition for the next 40 years, until his death in 1994. Kim was a sort of revisionist; he had his own ideas
about what communism should be in his country. Kim’s communism main features were the following ones:
• Collectivization: He began a program of industrialization, and the collectivization of agriculture, aiming for self-
sufficiency in all areas of the economy, so that North Korea would not be dependent on help from its allies. But he
accepted aid from China and the USSR, which enabled the economy to expand during the first 10 years after the
war.
• Military Strength: He increased the size and capability of the army and air force after the disappointing
performance in the second half of the two- Korean wars. He never gave up the dream of bringing the south under
his control.
• Social control: Society was strictly regimented in pursuit of self-sufficiency. The State controlled everything: the
economic plans, the labor force, the military, the media, etc. Kim’s propaganda was directed towards building up
his personality cult. The government’s total control of communications with the outside world meant that North
Korea was one of the most isolated, secretive, and closed country in the world.
• “Warmongerism”: After the war Kim kept attempting to destabilize the government of the South (1968 attempt
to murder South Korean President). With the development of détente in the early 1970s, and the improving
relations East-West, the North called off its anti-South campaign and began talks with Seoul. In July 1972 both sides
agreed to work for unification. But sometimes Kim suspended all discussions and started to resort again violence
and crime: 1983 several leading South Koreans were killed in a bomb explosion; 1987 a South Korean airliner was
destroyed by a time bomb. In 1991 publicly stated the return to warmonger attitudes. With these actions Kim
intended to keep alive North Korea´s spirit of war and confrontation, and maintain people on alert.
The rift between the USSR and China placed Kim in a difficult position: At first, he stayed pro-Soviet, then switched
sides, and took allegiance to China, finally, he tried to be independent from both. At the end of the 1950s the USSR
ended its aid to North Korea and in 1966 the Chinese did too due to Mao’s Cultural Revolution, so none of Kim’s
development plans reached their targets. Another serious weakness was the excessive expenditure on heavy industry
and armaments. Consumer goods were secondary, life for most people was hard and material conditions basic.
In 1980 Kim il-Sung named his son Kim Jong-il his successor, who came to power in 1994, building up of a communist
dynasty. By the time he was coming to power North Korea was facing a crisis: The economy had deteriorated, the
population had increased threefold since 1954 and the country was on the verge of a great famine. Yet enormous
amounts of cash had been spent developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. Kim Jon-il was forced to take
drastic actions. He understood that North Korea needed to move away from its isolationism and aimed to improve
relations with the south and with the USA.
,The Clinton administration (Bill Clinton, US President 1993-2001) agreed to ease economic sanctions against North
Korea. In return, in 1999 Kim suspended his long-range missile tests. In 2000 President Kim Dae-jung of South Korea
visited Pyongyang. In October, American Secretary of State, Madelaine Albright, also paid a visit to North Korea and
had positive talks with Kim. In 2001 Kim paid state visits to China and to the Russian Federation and promised that the
missile testing would remain in suspension at least until 2003. But the situation inside North Korea did not improve
substantially, in April 2001 it was reported a severe winter, with food shortages and most people surviving on 200 grams
of rice a day, due to the tremendous failure in agriculture production, between 1993 and 2000 mortality rates for
children under 5 had risen from 27 to 48 per thousand; per capita Gross National Product had fallen from $991 per year
to$457; the percentage of children vaccinated against infectious diseases such as polio and measles had fallen from 90
to 50 %, and the access of the population to safe water fell from 86 to 53%.
Relations with the USA worsened when the Republican George W. Bush came to power in January 2001. He seemed
reluctant to continue the sympathetic approach of Clinton. It had to do with the defensive stances adopted by
Washington in the international stage as a result of the 11 of September terrorist attack, especially with the ‘axis of evil’
(Iraq, Iran and North Korea). The confrontation with the USA developed due to North Korea´s possession of nuclear
weapons. North Koreans claimed that their nuclear reactor plants were to provide electricity, but America was
suspicious about it, so they imposed technology sanctions on North Korea. However, January 2003 President Bush
offered to resume fuel and food aid to North Korea if it dismantled its nuclear weapons program, but Koreans insisted
that they had no nuclear weapons. However, in April 2003 North Korean claimed that they already had nuclear weapons
and would shortly have enough plutonium for eight more nuclear warheads and USA´s president decided to calm down
things, especially as American forces were embroiled in the situation in Iraq. In August 2003 the Americans pointed out
a step-by-step approach to dismantling nuclear facilities would be accepted and matched by ‘corresponding steps’ by
the American side. At first, North Korea accepted but then, in October 2006 they claimed to have successfully exploded
a nuclear device underground. In 2009 relations between North and South Korea became strained after the north had
carried out more nuclear tests, in March 2010 a South Korean corvette, the ‘Cheonan’, was sunk by a torpedo fired
from a North Korean submarine, in November 2010 the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong was bombarded by North
Korean shells and rockets.
In December 2011 Kim Jong-il died and his third son, Kim Jong-un, was named the next Supreme Leader. Soon it was
shown that he would continue with broadly the same policies as his father.
4.3 VIETNAM AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
The Indo-China Union, established in 1887, consisted of three distinctive areas, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and was
part of the French empire in South-East Asia. The region became an almost non-stop conflict area from the end of WWII.
From 1946 to 1954 in Vietnam the nationalists were fighting for independence from France. The French defeat in
Europe in June 1940 raised hopes of Vietnamese independence, but these were dashed whit the Japanese invasion of
Indochina in September. The Vietnamese nationalists, in combination with the communists reacted and launched a full-
scale uprising in the South. But the French and the Japanese worked together, and the uprising was crushed. With the
independence movement wiped out in the South, the communist leader, Ho Chi Minh, moved to the North and
organized the communist and nationalist resistance movement, the League for the Independence of Vietnam
(‘Vietminh’).
By the end of 1945 the French deployed a force of 50,000 troops to take control of the territory. At first the French
compromised with Ho Chi Minh, they controlled the south but recognized the independence of the Vietnamese
Republic in the North. During the summer of 1946 it became clear that the French had no intention of allowing the
North independence. Ho Chi Ming demanded full independence for the whole Vietnam, which was rejected by France
and hostilities began when they bombed a Northern port, killing thousands of Vietnamese civilians.
The French were defeated in 1954. The Vietminh were successful because of their guerrilla tactics and massive support
from the Vietnamese and because the French failed to send enough troops. But the decisive factor was that from 1950
the new Chinese communist government of Mao Zedong supplied the rebels with arms and equipment. After the French
defeat, by the Geneva Agreement (April 1954) Laos and Cambodia became independent, while Vietnam was
temporarily divided into two states. Ho Chi Minh government remained in the North, and South Vietnam had a separate
government until elections in July 1956 to elect a new government for the whole country, but the elections never took
place. With the Cold War, the Americans were determined to prevent Vietnam becoming a communist government.
, President Eisenhower became obsessed with the ‘domino theory’ applied to countries: if a country fell communist, it
would quickly “knock over” all its neighbors. However, the US attitude was a clear violation of the Geneva Agreement.
By the Geneva Accords in April 1954 Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel into two separate states:
North Vietnam, under Ho Chi Minh’s communist government
The South of the country, under US protection, was officially run by an International Commission chaired by India until
elections were held and a ‘transitional’ government was elected→ Ngo Dinh Diem (anti-communist) prime minister.
Geneva’s accords Final Declarations was that new elections would be held two years later in 1956 to unify the country.
These elections did not take place: Diem (and USA) refused to make preparation since both were convinced that due
to his great popularity Ho Chi Minh would be the winner and they were not willing to accept a unified Vietnam under a
communist influence.
Civil War developed in South Vietnam between the Vietcong (communist guerrillas) and government forces which
involved the North (support to the Vietcong) and the US, since in Washington and in the Pentagon, they believed that
if Vietnam fell into the hands of the communists the whole of the region would follow the same path (in line with the
co-called Domino Theory).
In 1960 opposition groups (members of the Vietminh) to Diem’s government (accused of being ineffective, corrupted,
and Western puppet) formed the National Liberation Front (NFL). They demanded a coalition government which would
introduce reforms and negotiate for a united Vietnam. The NFL launched a guerrilla campaign led by the Vietcong
attacking government officials and buildings. But Diem began to introduce harsh security measures against any real or
potential dissenting voice against his rule, which increased his unpopularity. As a result, the US did not interfere when
a coup overthrew Diem’s government (Nov 1963). After this, South Vietnam was ruled by a succession of generals,
Americans had already accepted South Vietnam’s claims that communists were behind all the troubles, so the American
military presence kept growing.
Americans had been supporting South Vietnam with economic aid and military advisers since 1954, but Kennedy and
Lyndon Johnson felt prepared to go further and keep the country in the non-communist bloc.
The phases of war (correspond to the successive American presidencies)
• JFK (1961-1963): tried to keep American involvement down to an anti-guerrilla campaign sending 16,000
‘advisers’, helicopters, equipment and introduced the ‘safe village’ policy (local peasants were moved in masse
into fortified villages, leaving Vietcong isolated outside, which was a failure.
• Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969): assumed the Vietcong were controlled by Ho Chi Ming and in 1965 he decided to
bomb North Vietnam so he would call off the campaign. Over the next seven years a greater tonnage of bombs
was dropped on North Vietnamese and over half a million American troops arrived in the South. Vietcong still
managed to attack in February 1968 (Tet offensive) which convinced Americans of the hopelessness of the
issue. The public opinion pressured the USA government to withdraw from Vietnam: Johnson announced
(March 1968) that he would suspend the bombing of North Vietnam and seek a negotiated peace. In May peace
talks opened in Paris but no quick compromise could be reached, and they lasted five years.
• Richard Nixon (1969-1974): “Vietnamization” = idea that the Americans would rearm and train the South
Vietnamese army to look after the defense of South Vietnam, allowing a gradual withdrawal of American
troops. On the other hand, he began the heavy bombing of North Vietnam again, and also the Ho Chi Minh
Trail. At the end of 1972 the Vietcong controlled the entire western half of the country and Nixon was under
pressure at home and from world opinion to withdraw.
Nixon realized a monolithic communist plan to dominate the world, relations between China and the USSR had become
extremely cold (border clashes between them in Mongolia), so he took the chance to improve relations with China: trade
and travel restrictions were removed. China unfroze relations with the USA. In February 1972 Nixon paid a visit to Beijing
and a ceasefire was arranged for January 1973. They agreed that American troops would withdrawn from Vietnam, and
North and South would respect the frontier. The Vietcong continued their campaign and without the American presence
in April 1975 Saigon was occupied by the North Vietnamese and Vietcong. They country was no united under a
communist government and free from foreign intervention (communist governments in Laos and Cambodia). The
American policy of preventing the spread of communism in South-East Asia ended in a complete failure.
, Why did the USA fail?
- The Vietcong and the NLF were supported by ordinary people due to their rejection against a corrupted and
inefficient government which failed to introduce the necessary reforms.
- The Vietcong were experts in guerrilla warfare and were fighting in familiar territory, which for Americans was
harder to deal with (no distinguishing uniforms, guerrillas easily merge with the local peasant population)
- The Vietcong received troops from North Vietnam and China and the USSR, who supplied arms.
- North Vietnamese and the Vietcong showed amazing resilience.
The effects of the war were far-reaching: Vietnam was united but the cost was appalling.
- 1- 2 million Vietnamese civilians had lost their lives and around 18 million were left homeless.
- North Vietnamese army probably lost 900,000 troops, while the South lost 185,000.
- 48,000 American servicemen lost their lives, with a further 300,000 wounded.
- A third of the South was severely damaged by explosives and defoliants.
- The problems of reconstruction were enormous.
- Blow to American prestige: Involvement in the war was seen as a terrible mistake, together with the Watergate
scandal (espionage operation into the Democrats’ Headquarters in the Watergate hotel complex in Washington
DC ordered by Nixon and brought into light by The Washington Post) forced Nixon to resign.
Laos and Cambodia.
In Laos after the independence there was a conflict between the right-wing government backed by the USA, and various
left-wings groups led by the Pathet Lao (left-wing nationalist party which fought against the French). At first, the Pathet
Lao was willing to take part in coalition governments to bring a peaceful social change. But the USA saw Pathet Lao as a
communist threat so by 1960 they had removed all left-wingers from important positions. The left reacted and turned
to the armed forces. Washington gathered an army of 30 000 anti-communists from all over Asia to crush them. Between
1965-1973 the US air force carried out bombing raids causing enormous casualties and devastation. But it was
unsuccessful, American troops withdrawal from Vietnam and the communist takeover. Pathet Lao took control (Dec
1975) and Lao’s Democratic Republic was proclaimed.
Cambodia before WWII was a French protectorate with its own king with very little power. In 1941 (Japanese
occupation) Norodom Sihanouk came to the throne. In March 1945 Sihanouk proclaimed Cambodia an independent
state. After the war, while it was peaceful Sihanouk placed himself at the head of the nationalist movement, avoided
conflict and won respect and popularity. In 1954 the Geneva Conference recognized the independence of Cambodia and
the Sihanouk government´s authority. In 1955 he abdicated in favor of his father, Norodom Suramarit (new monarch’s
prime minister, foreign minister, and permanent Cambodian representative in the UN). When his father died in 1960,
he took the title of ‘head of the state’ which permitted him to wield real power. Although he was popular among the
ordinary people, many of the intelligentsia resented his growing political ambition and authoritarianism. The opposition:
pro-democracy groups and the Communist Party (1951) (Communist Party of Kampuchea, its members are the Khmer
Rouge)→ Sihanouk founded his own party: The People’s Socialist Community and remained in power for the next 15
years. Despite his authoritarianism the country enjoyed peace and reasonable prosperity.
Sihanouk’s foreign policy antagonized the USA as he remained neutral in international affairs. In the case of the Vietnam
war, he realized they would end victorious, so he agreed to allow the Vietnamese communists to use bases in Cambodia
and the Ho Chi Ming trail through Cambodian territory. The Americans bombed Cambodian villages in their attempts to
disrupt the movement of troops and supplies from North to South Vietnam through the Ho Chi Minh trail. So, in May
1965 Sihanouk broke off relations with USA, and moved closer to China.
In the late 1960s Sihanouk’s popularity waned: Right-wingers resented his anti-Americanism and collaboration with the
Vietnamese communists, while the left and communists opposed his authoritarianism. In 1967, communists under the
Pol Pot leadership provoked an uprising among peasants in the north of the country. Sihanouk used troops to end it,
villages burnt, and suspects were murdered or imprisoned. In March 1970, while Sihanouk was visiting Moscow, General
Lon Noi staged a coup and overthrew Sihanouk. Lon Nol became head of the government.
The Lon Nol period in power (1970-1975): was a disaster, he drew Cambodia into Vietnam’s issue. Immediately American
and South Vietnamese troops invaded eastern Cambodia to destroy Vietcong bases and disrupt the Ho Chi Ming trail.
The country, infrastructure, and its traditional economy was severely destroyed due to the American bombardment.
In April 1975, Lon Nol’s regime collapsed, Khmer Rouge entered the capital, and Pol Pot became the ruler of Cambodia.
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