Return to Chinese Rule 1945–1950

Abstract

Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, units of the Chinese Nationalist government brought about Taiwan Retrocession on 25 October. We view the Kuomintang’s (KMT’s) first uneasy years on the island, such as the violent 28 February 1948 incident, against the backdrop of both Mao’s looming military threat from the Mainland and the Truman administration’s tepid political/military support for Formosa.

Following the Nationalist government’s retreat to Formosa in 1949 and its first few perilous years in the shadow of Mao’s communists, American diplomacy primarily focused on economic support to stabilize the island, but there was little political appetite to extend military assistance in the wake of Chiang Kai-shek’s loss of the civil war.