Relations between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party discusses the relationship between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) throughout their history.
In 1923, after Kuomintang leader Sun Yat-sen and Soviet representative Adolph Joffe signed the Sun–Joffe Manifesto, and at the request of the Communist International, the CCP members were allowed to join the Kuomintang as individuals as part of the First United Front, but a split occurred in 1927. After the split in 1927, the two parties engaged in armed confrontation as part of the Chinese Civil War. After the Xi'an Incident, the Kuomintang was forced to ally with the CCP to fight against Japan, which laid the groundwork for the civil war in the future.
The civil war resumed in 1946 and continued until 1949 when the CCP established the People's Republic of China. After 1950, the Kuomintang lost all control of the Chinese mainland. The Republic of China government moved to Taiwan and pursued an anti-communist political ideology. After that, the two sides engaged in armed confrontation for many years and competed for the right to represent China at the international level. After Taiwan achieved democratic transformation and the Kuomintang lost power for the first time in 2000, it started improving relations with the Communist Party. After the first meeting between the leaders of the two parties in 2005, the relationship between the two parties became one of the communication channels between China and Taiwan in cross-strait relations.
The First United Front (1923–1927)
The first Kuomintang-Communist cooperation occurred in the 1920s. Initially, the Kuomintang (KMT) cooperated with the emerging Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, due to political differences—the KMT aimed to establish a democratic republic of the people, by the people, and for the people, independently governed by the Chinese, while the CCP aimed to establish a communist state led by the working class— the Three Principles of the People and communism were irreconcilable. Coupled with the reluctance to allow other parties to disrupt the chaotic situation, the KMT adopted an anti-communist policy. Later, the CCP proposed establishing an "anti-imperialist and anti-feudal" front and sought cooperation with the KMT to form a "revolutionary united front." In July 1922, at its Second National Congress, the CCP proposed "external cooperation" (meaning all cooperation would not involve internal party affairs), but Comintern representative in China, Maring, advocated "internal cooperation" (meaning CCP members would join the KMT individually), transforming the KMT into an alliance of revolutionary classes. This proposal was accepted by the CCP at the time. China was then in a period of warlordism. In December 1921, Maring, a representative of the Comintern, with the consent of Sun Yat-sen, went to Sun's Guilin headquarters for nine days with Zhang Tailei. He had three long talks with Sun and made extensive contact with other leaders of the Kuomintang. Afterwards, Maring proposed that the Chinese Communist Party should cooperate with the Kuomintang. In modern Chinese history, both the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party were revolutionary parties born with the mission of saving the country and the people.
In September 1922, through Zhang Ji's introduction, Sun Yat-sen personally led the alliance, and Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, and others formally joined the Kuomintang. In January 1923, after talks in Shanghai, Sun Yat-sen and Soviet representative Joffe issued a joint declaration, also known as the Sun-Joffe Declaration. The declaration stated that "the communist system is not suitable for China; the Soviet Union will abandon its unequal treaties and privileges against China; the Northeast Railway issue will be resolved through negotiations between China and the Soviet Union; and the Soviet Union has no intention of separating Outer Mongolia from China, therefore the Soviet troops stationed in Mongolia need not withdraw immediately," thus initiating an alliance with Russia and accommodation of the Communists. In February, Liao Zhongkai was sent to negotiate with the Soviet Union, and in August, Chiang Kai-shek was sent to the Soviet Union to investigate military affairs. In October, the Comintern appointed Mikhail Markovich Borodin as an advisor to reorganize the Kuomintang.
In June 1923, the Third National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) established the policy that all CCP members should join the Kuomintang (KMT) in their individual capacities and form a "revolutionary united front " with the KMT. From January 20 to 30, 1924, Sun Yat-sen convened the First National Congress of the KMT in Guangzhou. The congress adopted the policy of alliance with Russia and tolerance of the CCP, and elected the Central Executive Committee of the KMT. Ten CCP members, including Li Dazhao, Tan Pingshan, Mao Zedong, Lin Zuhan, and Qu Qiubai, were elected as members or alternate members of the Central Executive Committee, representing approximately one-quarter of the total members. This marked the formal establishment of the first Kuomintang-Communist cooperation.
Following the meeting, members of the Chinese Communist Party who held important positions in the Kuomintang (KMT) Central Committee included: Tan Pingshan, the Organization Minister, and Lin Zuhan, the Agriculture Minister. Subsequently, the CCP, under the guise of cooperation, divided and expanded within the KMT, and the so-called left and right wings within the KMT later arose from this CCP-led division.
With Soviet assistance, the military component of the Whampoa Military Academy was established in Guangzhou's Huangpu District in May 1924. Chiang Kai-shek served as its principal, Liao Zhongkai as its party representative, and Zhou Enlai as its deputy director of the political department. The Whampoa Military Academy emphasized both political education and military training, drawing on the Soviet military system and focusing on cultivating patriotism and revolutionary spirit. The establishment of the Whampoa Military Academy laid the foundation for the National Revolutionary Army.
The split between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party
The first Kuomintang-Communist cooperation accelerated the development of the CCP. However, after Sun Yat-sen's death in March 1925, factions rose up within the Kuomintang, and the Kuomintang-Communist cooperation gradually began to falter. The Soviet Union accelerated its efforts to divide the Kuomintang through the Chinese Communist Party. On June 23, the Shamian Massacre occurred. The Guangdong-Hong Kong strike was originally led by Liao Zhongkai, the leader of the Kuomintang left wing, but it was actually dominated by the Communist Party. On August 20, Liao Zhongkai was assassinated. Soviet advisor Borodin accused Hu Hanmin, the anti-communist right wing leader, of being the mastermind and forced him to step down. On November 23, 1925, Xie Chi, Zou Lu and other Kuomintang elders held the " Fourth Plenary Session of the First National Congress of the Kuomintang " at Biyun Temple in Xishan, Beijing, and announced the separation from the Communist Party.墨爾. 蔣介石的功過: 德使墨爾駐華回憶錄. 1994年.「史達林承認過去以共黨分子分化國民黨為錯誤之舉，唯有蔣介石才能牽制日本，須先嚴防日本侵犯中國而逼進蘇聯邊界。同時蘇聯消息報、真理報也公開支持蔣介石」
In January 1926, the Second National Congress of the Kuomintang (KMT) was held. Chiang Kai- shek, returning to Guangdong after his second Eastern Expedition, proposed the Northern Expedition. Wang Jingwei expressed his support, while Borodin had no objection. The Xishan Conference was denied, and Xie, Zou, and others were expelled from the party. However, shortly afterward, the Northern Expedition plan was suddenly rejected by Soviet advisor Jishanjia, and again in February and March (leading to the Zhongshan Incident). Wang Jingwei also cooperated with the Soviet Union in resisting the Northern Expedition (as evidenced by the private conversations between Chiang and Wang, which were quickly learned by Jishanjia). In March, the "Zhongshan Incident " occurred. Li Zhilong, a Communist Party member and acting director of the Naval Bureau, falsely ordered the Zhongshan warship to sail from Guangzhou back to Huangpu to be loaded with coal. He then sailed back to Guangzhou the following day with ulterior motives. On the morning of the 20th, Chiang Kai-shek purged Communist Party members from within the KMT and restored military and political power to the party. In May, at the Second Plenary Session of the Second National Congress of the KMT, Chiang Kai-shek proposed the " Party Affairs Reorganization Plan," limiting the proportion of Chinese Communist Party members holding positions within the KMT. Borodin also agreed to cooperate, making the Northern Expedition possible. Following the Northern Expedition in July, Chiang Kai-shek, Commander-in-Chief of the National Revolutionary Army, rose rapidly in status. Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party expanded within the Kuomintang and its military political departments, leading to increasing internal contradictions within the Kuomintang.
In October 1926, peasant movements broke out in Hunan and Hubei provinces. The slogans were " Down with the local tyrants, distribute the land, and give all power to the peasant associations." At that time, Mao Zedong visited Hunan to understand the situation and wrote the "Research Report on the Peasant Movement in Hunan." The report praised the peasant mass movement, pointing out that "correcting a wrong requires going to extremes," "revolution is not a dinner party or writing an essay," and "revolution is one class overthrowing another." In a report to the Central Committee in 1927, the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party stated: "Amidst this encirclement of the peasant movement by social forces, we also acknowledge that the current peasant movement is indeed too left-wing and immature. Therefore, we issued a notice prohibiting peasant associations from imposing fines and arrests, and restricted the executive committee members of district and township peasant associations to be current farmers. Those who impose fines and arrests must be eliminated. Almost unconsciously, we sided with the rich peasants and landlords while restricting the poor peasants. Only after Comrade Mao Zedong returned from his inspection of the countryside did we realize that it was truly necessary for the poor peasants to fiercely attack the local tyrants and evil gentry."郭廷以，中華民國史事日誌，第二冊