Who is chiang kai shek

He received formal military training at the Paoting Military Academy in northern China, and later in Japan. When uprisings against the ruling Qing Manchu dynasty broke out in China in , Chiang returned home and joined the struggle, which ended in the overthrow of the Manchus and the formation of a Chinese republic.

He began to build up the Nationalist army, based on methods Chiang observed during a visit to the Soviet Union. In , he formed a new central government out of Nanking, with himself as head of state.

The Communists were operating their own opposition government from rural strongholds, while war with Japan—which seized Manchuria in —seemed imminent. Chiang initially focused on the communist threat rather than confront Japan directly, a choice that angered many of his supporters. Japan invaded China the following year, sparking the Sino-Japanese War. China fought Japan on its own for more than four years, until the Allies with the exception of the Soviet Union declared war on Japan in In , his Western-educated wife, Soong Mei-ling, became the first Chinese and only the second woman to address a joint session of the U.

Congress, when she asked for increased U. Upon his defeat, Chiang fled with the remnants of his Nationalist government to Taiwan, which had been turned over to the Nationalist government after the defeat of Japan according to terms agreed upon in Cairo in But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present.

In October , during a civil war, embattled Chinese Communists broke through Nationalist enemy lines and began an epic flight from their encircled headquarters in southwest China. Known as the Long March, the trek lasted a year and covered some 4, miles or more, by some His wife, Soong Mei-ling, travelled with him and became famous in the west as Madame Chiang.

In , civil war broke out between the KMT and the Communists. In , the Communists were victorious, establishing the People's Republic of China. Chiang and the remaining KMT forces fled to the island of Taiwan. There Chiang established a government in exile which he led for the next 25 years. This government continued to be recognised by many countries as the legitimate government of China, and Taiwan controlled China's seat in the United Nations until the end of Chiang's life.

He died on 5 April Search term:. Home United States U. Latest show. VOA Africa Listen live. VOA Newscasts Latest program. VOA Newscasts. Previous Next. East Asia. Joyce Huang. Get Adobe Flash Player. Embed share The code has been copied to your clipboard. The URL has been copied to your clipboard. No media source currently available.