One of the most fascinating events to me in modern Chinese history is the KMT army that fled to the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia. I heard they fought not only the Chinese Commies but also Burmese, Laotians, and were also hired as mercenaries by the Thai government to fight the Thai Commies. They were so powerful that none of the countries could do anything about them, and they were like their own small country.
Although the US and UN forced them to be repatriated to Taiwan, for some reason most of them never went to Taiwan. I heard that it’s because Chiang Kai shek wanted to re-invade the mainland via 2 fronts, Fujian (from Taiwan) and Yunnan (from SE Asia). Eventually they were pretty much abandoned and had to grow opium to survive. Supposedly they till raise the ROC flag and study Chinese and have statues of Chiang Kai shek around.
[quote=“aceman”]
Although the US and UN forced them to be repatriated to Taiwan, for some reason most of them never went to Taiwan. I heard that it’s because Chiang Kai shek wanted to re-invade the mainland via 2 fronts, Fujian (from Taiwan) and Yunnan (from SE Asia). [/quote]
US supported them in order to stop Chinese communists from invading the “Indochina” for a short period of time.
Burma and the KMT - indeed a very interesting story. It’s about heroin production (the KMT hand carried the stuff into the US protected to be “untouchable” diplomats) - and the whole thing was probably supported by the CIA
Another fascinating point: the KMT flags and the Burmese’ are so very, very similar.
The KMT involvement in the Golden Triangle is indeed an interesting story, but a bloody complicated one because it involves so many countries, warlords, ethnic insurgents, and other players.
A remnant of the KMT army which was fighting (and losing) in Yunnan fled across the border into the remote and rugged mountains of the Shan States of Burma in early 1950. At this time Burma’s newly independent government was too busy fighting communists and various ethnic uprisings to do anything about it. (However, from 1953 the Burma Army did start fighting the KMT.)
The Korean War began in June 1950. General MacArthur wanted to broaden the war - i.e. fight Communist China - and Burma was to be a second front.
(Side note: MacArthur had wanted Taiwanese troops to fight in Korea but this had been rejected by Truman).
An airstrip was built in the Shan States and men and equipment were flown in from Taiwan through Bangkok. The airline was a private American outfit based in Thailand called Cicil Air Transport (CAT). It had been founded in 1946 by General Claire Chennault, one of the leading figures of the China Lobby.
In 1951 the KMT twice sent troops into Yunnan but were defeated and retreated back to Burma. Jiang decided to send more men and arms but the numbers were still relatively small (About 12,000 total troops in Burma in 1952).
To be continued.
check out “lords of the rim” by sterling seagrave. jaw dropping stuff on this very topic. if you aren’t into chinese diaspora across the world, just go for page 207. just glimpsing this at caves’ll induce you to buy the book.
Okay. I’m writing this from scratch - most of my notes are on my ancient 5 inch disks.
The armistice that effectively ended the Korean War in June 1953 also ended the dream of a second front against the Chinese Red Army. At the same time, Burma
It makes an interesting “What if” to ponder Stilwell’s removal from CBI. If he had gotten his way and tied Lend Lease to Chinese resistence against the Japanese or if the US had followed his advice to bring the Communists in to fight with the government without having to surrender Yanan…Hmmmmmmmm
Do some research into the early days of ‘Air America’ and you’ll find all kinds of eye-popping history regarding this subject…
Agreed, fascinating …Drugs, secret airstrips, botched invasion plans, captured CIA officers on KMT base in Burma, Air America’s operations base in the Kaoshuing harbor…Very cool part of Taiwan’s history…
To this day, you can still see descendents of the mountain armies coming here and applying for citizenship…I have one such parent in my school, and I’ve met several others over the years…All from Burma and Northern Thailand.
It’s not such ancient history. Back in about 1989 I ran into a platoon of soldiers in black uniforms with KMT insignia marching in the hills behind Mae Salong.
The dream of a secure foothold on Burma's Andaman Sea is an old one, for both Karen and Mon insurgents, and was also once an irresistible lure to Chiang Kai Shek's Chinese army, the Kuomintang (KMT).
Before the KMT abandoned their mission to recapture China for the profits of the drug trade there were a few brief years when they posed a real threat.
When Mao Zedong’s communist forces secured mainland China in 1949 the KMT retreated to Taiwan but a remnant of one division was stranded in Yunnan province. They moved into the Shan States and built bases and, with Taiwanese and CIA assistance, prepared to retake China. This was the height of the Cold War, when America was at war with North Korea (and half a million communist Chinese “volunteers”), and the American hawks who formed the “China Lobby” were calling for direct confrontation with China. General MacArthur favoured using Burma as a second China front but was relieved of command by President Truman.
As the KMT was being built up in the inaccessible Shan States by airlifts, an ambitious strategy was hatched to establish a life-line down to the Andaman Sea. In 1952 almost a thousand KMT troops marched south to the sea to secure a beach head and meet six ships, the first of many planned convoys. As the vessels waited off shore, unable to land their men, arms, and ammunition, the Burmese engaged the KMT in a fierce battle and drove them back. This lost opportunity is one of the great "might have been
Before the KMT abandoned their mission to recapture China for the profits of the drug trade there were a few brief years when they posed a real threat. [/quote]
More on the subject here
It’s also known that the 93rd was recruited by the Thais to go to the conflict in Laos in return for Thai citizenship. A few thousand went, but the Thais reneged on the deal.