WikipediaExtracts:Chiang Kai-shek

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Chiang Kai-shek (; Chinese: 蔣介石; pinyin: Jiǎng Jièshí; 31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975) was a Chinese military commander, revolutionary, and statesman who was President of the Republic of China from 1948 to 1975 and head of the Nationalist government from 1925 to 1948. As the de facto leader of the Republic of China (ROC), he ruled the country through World War II and oversaw the relocation of its government to Taiwan following its defeat in the Chinese Civil War.

Born in Zhejiang, Chiang received a military education in China and Japan, joined Sun Yat-sen's Tongmenghui in 1908, and, after the 1911 Revolution, participated in the National Protection War. In 1923, he was appointed by Sun as chief of staff of the Army and Navy Marshal stronghold, and served as commandant of the Whampoa Military Academy from 1924 until its closure in 1930. After Sun's death, Chiang wrested control of the party and army from Wang Jingwei in the Canton Coup. From 1926 to 1928, Chiang led the Northern Expedition and largely unified China under a Nationalist government based in Nanjing. He broke the First United Front by purging the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members in the Shanghai Massacre, triggering the Chinese Civil War. During the Nanjing decade, Chiang pursued modernization of China while prioritizing the suppression of the Communists over confrontation with Japan following the latter's invasion of Manchuria. The Xi'an Incident in 1936 forced him to form a Second United Front with the CCP against Japan. Between 1937 and 1945, Chiang led China in the Second Sino-Japanese War, mostly from the wartime capital of Chongqing. He attended the Cairo Conference to discuss the terms of Japan's surrender, including the retrocession of Taiwan, where he suppressed the February 28 Incident.

When World War II ended, the Chinese Civil War resumed. In 1949, Chiang's KMT was defeated by Mao's CCP and retreated to Taiwan. He imposed martial law and White Terror on the island that lasted until 1987 and 1992, respectively. Beginning in 1948, he was re-elected five times by the same Eternal Parliament with six-year terms as President of the ROC, the head of a de facto one-party state, for 25 years until his death. Chiang presided over land reform, economic growth, and the Taiwan Strait crises twice in 1954–1955 and in 1958. He was considered the legitimate leader of China by the United Nations until 1971, when the ROC's seat was transferred to the People's Republic of China.

Chiang is a controversial figure. Supporters credit him with unifying the nation and ending the century of humiliation, leading the resistance against Japan, fostering economic development and preserving Chinese culture in contrast to Mao's Cultural Revolution. He is also credited with safeguarding the Forbidden City's treasures during the wars, a substantial portion now housed at the Taipei Palace Museum. Critics fault him for his early appeasement of Japan, the deliberate flooding of the Yellow River, cronyism and corruption linked to the Four Big Families, and authoritarian rule on both mainland China and Taiwan.