| Sop it was natural that he would face trouble from the Communists.
Chiang was even captured by the Communists in 1936, but released him so
that he could fight the Japanese invaders. Japan launched a full-fledged
aggression on China in 1937 and in this period of crisis, Communists formed
a united front with Chiang Kai-Shek. With the defeat of Japan in 1945, a
fierce Civil War broke out in China between the forces of Chiang and communists,
now led by Mao Zedon. In 1948, a decisive battle was fought between the
two in which the forces of Chiang Kai-Shek were defeated badly and Chiang
along with his supporters fled away from China and took shelter in Formosa
(Taiwan). In Taiwan, he established an independent government with American
help. |