The International Position of the PRC 1949-52

Question 1

What was the Cold War?

Answer 1

The period of political and military tension between the USA and the USSR (1945 - 1991).

Question 2

What were the two aims of the PRC internationally in 1949?

Answer 2

1) To ‘liberate’ Taiwan and Tibet.
2) Fight imperialism.

Question 3

What is the Dalai Lama?

Answer 3

The head monk of the Tibetan branch of Buddhism.

Question 4

What was the significance of Tibet in 1949 (3)?

Answer 4

1) Tibet had been part of China until 1913, before becoming independent and ruled by a Dalai Lama.
2) Tibetans were racially different from the Han Chinese, and they had a different language and culture.
3) Tibet was economically underdeveloped and its society had many aspects of feudalism.

Question 5

When did the PLA enter Tibet?

Answer 5

October 1950.

Question 6

What was the ‘liberation’ of Tibet?

Answer 6

The PLA entered Tibet in October 1950, defeating the Tibetan forces, claiming that it had been ‘liberated from imperialist oppression’. The Tibetan government conceded defeat as there was no promise of outside intervention.

Question 7

How was Tibet/Xizang ruled after its ‘liberation’ (2)?

Answer 7

1) Xizang became an autonomous region within the PRC, with the Dalai Lama still being head of the government in the region.
2) Some eastern parts were given to neighbouring provinces (e.g. Sichuan and Xinjiang).

Question 8

What efforts did the PRC take to develop Tibet (3)?

Answer 8

1) The building of new roads.
2) The installation of electricity.
3) Land reform in western Tibet, not the autonomous regions.

Question 9

What did Jiang Jieshi take with him to Taiwan in 1949 (3)?

Answer 9

1) Much of the Chinese airforce and navy.
2) Around 2 million refugees.
3) A large part of Chinese gold reserves.

Question 10

What was the significance of Taiwan in 1949 (2)?

Answer 10

1) Taiwan is a large island off the east coast of China. It was under Japanese control 1895 - 1945, where it experienced economic growth.
2) Jiang Jieshi established a GMD government here in 1949.

Question 11

How was Jiang Jieshi able to retain China’s seat on the United Nations Security Council?

Answer 11

Jiang Jieshi still claimed that he was the leader of China, and the USA and other Western powers recognised the GMD as the sole legitimate government of China.

Question 12

What was the USA’s defence doctrine (1949) in the Pacific?

Answer 12

It defined a ‘defence perimeter’ in the Pacific that the USA was willing to defend with military force (1949). This did not include Taiwan.

Question 13

What were the 3 reasons why Mao’s planned invasion of Taiwan never occurred?

Answer 13

1) The PLA lacked the naval and air forces for a military invasion across a wide stretch of sea.
2) During the Korean War, China could not spare any troops.
3) During the Korean War, the USA included Taiwan in their defence perimeter in the Pacific, dispatching the US Seventh Fleet to Taiwan to deter any attack.

Question 14

When did Mao travel to Moscow to meet with Stalin?

Answer 14

December 1949.

Question 15

What did Mao aim to achieve by travelling to Moscow in 1949?

Answer 15

Mao wanted to negotiate a new treaty that would restore full Chinese sovereignty over Manchuria.

Question 16

When was the Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty signed?

Answer 16

February 1950

Question 17

What was the Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty regarded as?

Answer 17

An ‘unequal treaty’.

Question 18

What were the 5 main features of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty (1950)?

Answer 18

1) The USSR made a loan to China, which would be repaid (with interest) in grain and mineral exports.
2) The USSR would give up Soviet rights in Manchuria, but not until 1952.
3) The USSR were given exploited rights to exploit mineral deposits in Xinjiang for 14 years.
4) Mongolia would remain in the Soviet sphere of influence.
5) Soviet economic advisors in China would not be subject to Chinese law.

Question 19

How was Korea split after the end of WW2 (2)?

Answer 19

After Japan was expelled from Korea, the country was divided in two:
1) A northern zone occupied by USSR forces, with a communist government.
2) A southern zone occupied by the USA, with a Western government.

Question 20

Where was the dividing line in Korea?

Answer 20

Along the 38th parallel.

Question 21

When and why did war break out between North and South Korea?

Answer 21

In June 1950, North Korean forces invaded the south, capturing the capital city of Seoul.

Question 22

Who authorised the USA and her allies to join the Korean War?

Answer 22

The United Nations authorised the USA, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others, to intervene on the side of South Korea.

Question 23

When did the American/United Nations forces arrive in South Korea?

Answer 23

The summer of 1950.

Question 24

When did the PRC announce they would join the Korean War?

Answer 24

October 1950.

Question 25

Why did the PRC join the Korean War?

Answer 25

North Korea served as a buffer zone between Manchuria and South Korea. When UN forces invaded North Korea in October 1950, Mao feared having a hostile power near Manchuria.

Question 26

How many Chinese soldiers fought in the Korean War?

Answer 26

Around 3 million.

Question 27

How many Chinese soldiers died in the Korean War?

Answer 27

Around 900,000.

Question 28

How did the USSR aid North Korea?

Answer 28

They supplied weapons and aircrafts to North Korea, but did not send any ground forces.

Question 29

What is a war of attrition?

Answer 29

A type of warfare that occurs when neither side has a decisive advantage, with both sides trying to wear down the opposition with constant bombardments and attacks on opposition positions.

Question 30

What was the significance of Chinese involvement in the Korean War?

Answer 30

The Chinese intervention tipped the war in favour of the North. UN forces were pushed all the way back to Seoul, until a stalemate was reached in the summer of 1951, with both sides fighting a war of attrition.

Question 31

When and why was a ceasefire agreed between North and South Korea?

Answer 31

Following Stalin’s death (March 1953), a ceasefire was agreed in July 1953 as long as Korea remained divided along the 38th parallel.

Question 32

What was the ‘Bamboo Curtain’?

Answer 32

The metaphorical barrier that separated China from most of the Western world after the Korean War.

Question 33

What was the significance of the Korean War on China internally (2)?

Answer 33

1) The Resist America and Aid Korea campaign.
2) The PRC created an atmosphere of fear and suspicion towards foreigners.

Question 34

What was the significance of the Korean War on China internationally (4)?

Answer 34

1) Mao became convinced that the USA was planning an attack on China.
2) An increased Western perception of a strong communist bloc between the USSR and China.
3) Taiwan became involved in the USA’s defence perimeter in the Pacific.
4) The ‘Bamboo Curtain’ fell over China.