沒有國民黨就沒有中國, Without the Kuomintang there would be no China, A Republic of China Story
- Thread starter CELTICEMPIRE
- Start date
四十一, Laos
Laos became independent from France at the same time as Vietnam and Cambodia. It was a monarchy under King Sisavang Vong and later Sisavang Vatthana. Its prime minister was Boun Oum. The country was an officially Buddhist state. It was a much smaller country than Vietnam, both in land area and population, and received a lot less attention than its eastern neighbor. Nevertheless, it still played an important role in the geopolitical struggle for Southeast Asia. Just like in Vietnam, attempts to avoid civil war failed. The Pathet Lao, which had fought against the French in the Indochina War, would fight against the new government as well. This war, just as the war in Vietnam, would involve outside powers.
(Sisavong Vatthana)
The Pathet Lao was a group of Laotian Communists. They were, ironically, led by Souphanouvong, a member of the royal family. At first, the Pathet Lao agreed to be part of a coalition government. However, their representation in the new government was small. They had close ties with the Viet Minh in Vietnam, and the two groups helped each other. They were the smallest group represented in the Laotian parliament. The largest group was the monarchist faction led by Boun Oum. The second-largest faction was the neutralist faction led by Phetsarath Ratanavongsa. Boun Oum and Phetsarath Ratanavongsa were princes as well. Members of the Pathet Lao thought that they were being treated unfairly, and should have been given more representation in government. They organized anti-government protests.
(Souphanouvong)
Tensions between the Pathet Lao and the government continued to rise. Eventually, civil war broke out as the Pathet Lao began their insurgency. They enjoyed some popular support, and were able to recruit followers among the Laotian people. However, unlike in Vietnam, there was no serious threat of Communists taking over the government, at least at first. This began to change as the Viet Minh increasingly ran across the border while retreating from Chinese offensives. They would use Laos as a staging ground for raids into Vietnam. It was widely believed that Vietnamese Communist leader Võ Nguyên Giáp was hiding somewhere in Laos. The Viet Minh increasingly fought alongside the Pathet Lao against the Laotian government. Large parts of the countryside were taken over. As a response, the United States began to send military and humanitarian aid to Laos. China sent some military aid.
(Pathet Lao soldiers)
The Royal Lao Army was losing ground to the Pathet Lao and their Vietnamese allies. In 1963, the Laotian Army launched the Xiangkhouang campaign with the aim of removing all Communist forces from Xiangkhouang Province. After the six-month campaign, the army was able to control most of the province, but at a high cost. For every Communist guerilla fighter killed, the army lost three soldiers. Most of the Communist retreated to other provinces, and made gains against the army elsewhere. By 1965, Chinese and Vietnamese military leadership was convinced that the only way to defeat the Viet Minh was to go into Laos and defeat both the Viet Minh and the Pathet Lao. In 1966, King Sisavang Vatthana gave his permission for over 50,000 Chinese soldiers under the command of Xue Yue to enter the country.
(Xue Yue)
The Chinese army would pursue and kill Communist guerillas. The Chinese Airforce bombed Pathet Lao targets. This had the unfortunate consequence of causing civilian casualties, and the bombing campaign inflamed anti-China sentiment among a large portion of the population. Nevertheless, the Chinese offensive, aided by Laos, was successful. By the end of 1967, the Pathet Lao had less than half the numbers they had two years earlier. The Pathet Lao would continue to wage their guerilla war against the Laotian government into the 1970s, the Chinese determined that the threat they posed was low enough that they withdrew troops from the country before then. Though the future of Laos was uncertain, it would never be a Communist country.
(Sisavong Vatthana)
The Pathet Lao was a group of Laotian Communists. They were, ironically, led by Souphanouvong, a member of the royal family. At first, the Pathet Lao agreed to be part of a coalition government. However, their representation in the new government was small. They had close ties with the Viet Minh in Vietnam, and the two groups helped each other. They were the smallest group represented in the Laotian parliament. The largest group was the monarchist faction led by Boun Oum. The second-largest faction was the neutralist faction led by Phetsarath Ratanavongsa. Boun Oum and Phetsarath Ratanavongsa were princes as well. Members of the Pathet Lao thought that they were being treated unfairly, and should have been given more representation in government. They organized anti-government protests.
(Souphanouvong)
Tensions between the Pathet Lao and the government continued to rise. Eventually, civil war broke out as the Pathet Lao began their insurgency. They enjoyed some popular support, and were able to recruit followers among the Laotian people. However, unlike in Vietnam, there was no serious threat of Communists taking over the government, at least at first. This began to change as the Viet Minh increasingly ran across the border while retreating from Chinese offensives. They would use Laos as a staging ground for raids into Vietnam. It was widely believed that Vietnamese Communist leader Võ Nguyên Giáp was hiding somewhere in Laos. The Viet Minh increasingly fought alongside the Pathet Lao against the Laotian government. Large parts of the countryside were taken over. As a response, the United States began to send military and humanitarian aid to Laos. China sent some military aid.
(Pathet Lao soldiers)
The Royal Lao Army was losing ground to the Pathet Lao and their Vietnamese allies. In 1963, the Laotian Army launched the Xiangkhouang campaign with the aim of removing all Communist forces from Xiangkhouang Province. After the six-month campaign, the army was able to control most of the province, but at a high cost. For every Communist guerilla fighter killed, the army lost three soldiers. Most of the Communist retreated to other provinces, and made gains against the army elsewhere. By 1965, Chinese and Vietnamese military leadership was convinced that the only way to defeat the Viet Minh was to go into Laos and defeat both the Viet Minh and the Pathet Lao. In 1966, King Sisavang Vatthana gave his permission for over 50,000 Chinese soldiers under the command of Xue Yue to enter the country.
(Xue Yue)
The Chinese army would pursue and kill Communist guerillas. The Chinese Airforce bombed Pathet Lao targets. This had the unfortunate consequence of causing civilian casualties, and the bombing campaign inflamed anti-China sentiment among a large portion of the population. Nevertheless, the Chinese offensive, aided by Laos, was successful. By the end of 1967, the Pathet Lao had less than half the numbers they had two years earlier. The Pathet Lao would continue to wage their guerilla war against the Laotian government into the 1970s, the Chinese determined that the threat they posed was low enough that they withdrew troops from the country before then. Though the future of Laos was uncertain, it would never be a Communist country.
Good check-in with a part of SE Asia that doesn't get much focus in alt-Vietnam War scenarios, to my knowledge.
Indeed and it is a shame since the Indochina war had huge shockwaves and other effects overall in the region.
@CELTICEMPIRE
BTW is there a current situation map for this Asia and world, I do love me some maps. Would even make one myself in a months ofter my holiday if you are in need of one pal, like we discussed in the PM, but as I said it might take a months and soem detail depiction of changes from OTL world, so I don't get stuff wrong
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The map posted earlier in this thread is mostly accurate except for changes due to decolonization.Indeed and it is a shame since the Indochina war had huge shockwaves and other effects overall in the region.
@CELTICEMPIRE
BTW is there a current situation map for this Asia and world, I do love me some maps. Would even make one myself in a months ofter my holiday if you are in need of one pal, like we discussed in the PM, but as I said it might take a months and soem detail depiction of changes from OTL world, so I don't get stuff wrong
Great update, now if Cambodia falls to civil war between Prince Norodom Sihanouk and the Khmer Rouge would Nanjing be able to intervene there or would Saigon do the intervening?
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I missed this comment somehow. If Cambodia fell into civil war, a joint Chinese-Vietnamese intervention would be likely.
四十二, China's Business
The 1960s saw the rise of the Chinese corporation and the Chinese businessman. Though there were companies that were 100% private, the major companies were all government owned, either in part or in full. Many of these companies were founded and run by former politicians. The most famous of these companies was Minkuo Electronics, founded by former Premier H. H. Kung in 1951. For the first few years they mostly manufactured radios. But in 1956 the company opened its first television factory in Zhengzhou, Henan. In the late 1950s, many landlords were given shares in the company as compensation during land reform. Due to government subsidies and wages in China being low, Minkuo electronics was able to cheaply produce television sets, which is what the company became famous for.
(H. H. Kung)
Minkuo Electronics would not turn a profit until 1960. In 1962, 80-year-old CEO H. H. Kung retired. T. V. Soong, who had just briefly served as ambassador to the United States, was given control of the company. Soong was the brother-in-law of both H. H. Kung and Chiang Kai-shek. Under Soong’s leadership, the company grew rapidly, as profit margins soared and new factories were built. More and more Chinese could afford a TV, even if the many still could not. By 1965, over 50,000,000 Chinese households had a television, with over 90% of them manufactured by Minkuo. Minkuo televisions would soon be exported, first to other countries in Asia, and then to the world. Minkuo electronics played an important role in Chinese diplomacy during the 20th century.
(T. V. Soong)
Weng Wenhao, another former premier, returned to the world of business after leaving politics. He became the CEO of North China Petroleum, which extracted oil in China’s Northeastern provinces. His company’s oil wells were sometimes targeted by Communist insurgents within China, and they had to be heavily guarded by the army. Weng Wenhao’s previous career as a geologist helped him with his new position. China would not be among the world’s major oil producers, however. The number of miners in the country would dwarf the number of oil workers. There were gold mines, silver mines, aluminum mines, lead mines, zinc mines, tungsten mines, etc. However, iron and coal would be the most heavily mined resources in China by far.
(Weng Wenhao)
Jingxing Zhengfeng Coal Mine Co., Ltd. was a major coal mining corporation based in Hebei Province. The corporation was founded as a government enterprise in 1912, but mining in the area went back to the Song Dynasty. During the chaotic period of the early Republic of China, ownership of the mines frequently changed hands. During the Second World War, the mines were occupied by Japan. After the resumption of the Chinese Civil War, the area was on the front lines of the fighting between the Nationalists and Communists. Thus, it wasn’t until the 1950s that China would be able to make money off of the mines again. Member of the Legislative Yuan Li Zhuchen became CEO in 1954.
(Left: Li Zhuchen, right: miners in Jingxing)
Iron mines could be found throughout China, and were an important part of the Chinese economy in the mid-20th century. The iron mines were overwhelmingly located in the Northern part of the country. These mines had to be guarded by the army, not just to defend against local Communist insurgents, but also against the Chinese Communist exiles in Mongolia. The iron itself was shipped to factories to make steel. Miao Jiaming was China’s biggest steel magnate, owning steel mills across the country. In addition, he owned tin mines and banks in Southern China, particularly in his home province of Yunnan. While most of the prominent figures involved in state-run business were members of the Kuomintang, Miao was a political independent.
(Miao Jiaming)
One of the early owners of the Jingxing Zhengfeng coal mines was Gao Xingqiao, a non-politician. He switched to real estate after the government confiscated the mines in 1918. He invested in shopping malls in Tianjin. His son, Gao Bohai, took over the family business in 1948. He expanded into hotels, and also owned movie sets and TV stations. They did a significant amount of business in places like the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where there were large numbers of overseas Chinese. The Gao family would be an early example of successful businessmen who were not working in the government, making them an exception to the general trend of the times. Of course, they were not the only non-government businessmen in China. Several famous restaurant chains would be founded in the 1960s, though most of them would take a few decades to expand beyond their provinces and across the country.
(Tianjin Quanyechang, built in 1928, one of the many Gao family properties)
(H. H. Kung)
Minkuo Electronics would not turn a profit until 1960. In 1962, 80-year-old CEO H. H. Kung retired. T. V. Soong, who had just briefly served as ambassador to the United States, was given control of the company. Soong was the brother-in-law of both H. H. Kung and Chiang Kai-shek. Under Soong’s leadership, the company grew rapidly, as profit margins soared and new factories were built. More and more Chinese could afford a TV, even if the many still could not. By 1965, over 50,000,000 Chinese households had a television, with over 90% of them manufactured by Minkuo. Minkuo televisions would soon be exported, first to other countries in Asia, and then to the world. Minkuo electronics played an important role in Chinese diplomacy during the 20th century.
(T. V. Soong)
Weng Wenhao, another former premier, returned to the world of business after leaving politics. He became the CEO of North China Petroleum, which extracted oil in China’s Northeastern provinces. His company’s oil wells were sometimes targeted by Communist insurgents within China, and they had to be heavily guarded by the army. Weng Wenhao’s previous career as a geologist helped him with his new position. China would not be among the world’s major oil producers, however. The number of miners in the country would dwarf the number of oil workers. There were gold mines, silver mines, aluminum mines, lead mines, zinc mines, tungsten mines, etc. However, iron and coal would be the most heavily mined resources in China by far.
(Weng Wenhao)
Jingxing Zhengfeng Coal Mine Co., Ltd. was a major coal mining corporation based in Hebei Province. The corporation was founded as a government enterprise in 1912, but mining in the area went back to the Song Dynasty. During the chaotic period of the early Republic of China, ownership of the mines frequently changed hands. During the Second World War, the mines were occupied by Japan. After the resumption of the Chinese Civil War, the area was on the front lines of the fighting between the Nationalists and Communists. Thus, it wasn’t until the 1950s that China would be able to make money off of the mines again. Member of the Legislative Yuan Li Zhuchen became CEO in 1954.
(Left: Li Zhuchen, right: miners in Jingxing)
Iron mines could be found throughout China, and were an important part of the Chinese economy in the mid-20th century. The iron mines were overwhelmingly located in the Northern part of the country. These mines had to be guarded by the army, not just to defend against local Communist insurgents, but also against the Chinese Communist exiles in Mongolia. The iron itself was shipped to factories to make steel. Miao Jiaming was China’s biggest steel magnate, owning steel mills across the country. In addition, he owned tin mines and banks in Southern China, particularly in his home province of Yunnan. While most of the prominent figures involved in state-run business were members of the Kuomintang, Miao was a political independent.
(Miao Jiaming)
One of the early owners of the Jingxing Zhengfeng coal mines was Gao Xingqiao, a non-politician. He switched to real estate after the government confiscated the mines in 1918. He invested in shopping malls in Tianjin. His son, Gao Bohai, took over the family business in 1948. He expanded into hotels, and also owned movie sets and TV stations. They did a significant amount of business in places like the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where there were large numbers of overseas Chinese. The Gao family would be an early example of successful businessmen who were not working in the government, making them an exception to the general trend of the times. Of course, they were not the only non-government businessmen in China. Several famous restaurant chains would be founded in the 1960s, though most of them would take a few decades to expand beyond their provinces and across the country.
(Tianjin Quanyechang, built in 1928, one of the many Gao family properties)
Could it be possible to have a Chinese businessman build his own version of Disneyland?
It just seems reasonable that if American culture has evolved more-or-less the same as OTL, and there’s no reason why it wouldn’t have, a Chinese businessman would look upon the success of the growing Disney theme park empire and think “I can do that too!”.
On a related note, what’s the state of China’s answer to Hollywood? Are there any studios working in the field of animation or is China still mostly importing Disney films?
As I understand it, Shanghai was the birthplace of Chinese animation in the early 20th century. Without the Communist victory in the civil war it stands to reason that animated films are developed further in China.
Oh lord, I wonder how Japan will try to one-up this. I can already see the titles: "The Tiger and the Dragon: The Sino-Japanese Economic War". And if the bubble keeps growing, wonder how hot that could get come the 80s...
Then it’d make sense to have Chinese Disney and Chinese Disneyland in Shanghai.
I doubt there's much of a race- without becoming America's bastion in Asia and the rapid reindustrialisation of the early fifties, Japan is going to be a much, much smaller economy than OTL.
And on that note, Japan would be leftier without the Americans being scared by the CCP's victory.