Losing becomes self perpetuating. Kuomintang leader General Chiang Kai-shek had to flee to Taiwan after losing the Chinese civil war. His comrades were now in a strange land and many of the locals found the former Japanese administration more efficient. The General had an idea to return to national glory before the Americans got serious about not cashing his checks. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
I found it strange that this Taiwan stamp portrayed their leader in the guise of a General. Many if not most of the General Chiang’s battles had not gone well. Yet here he is, at nearly 70, presenting himself as a military leader ready to win back the China he had lost. To have survived so long Chiang had his fans, but this was not a convincing guise to convince anyone new.
Todays stamp is issue A124 a $2 stamp issued by the Republic of China on Taiwan on October 31st, 1956. It was a six stamp issue in various denominations displaying President Chiang Kai-shek as a military leader. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used. This was a bulk postage issue therefore unused versions are more valuable. A mint version of this stamp is up at $16.
At the end of World War II, Taiwan had been under Japanese occupation for over 50 years. Things had been peaceful and there had been economic progress. At suggestion of the Allies, Chinese Kuomintang(KMT) forces accepted the Japanese surrender. The KMT administration proved much rougher than the Japanese. On February 28th, 1947 a local 40 year old widow lady was selling contraband cigarettes on the street when agents from the tax authority approached her. One of the agents hit her over her head with a pistol as an angry crowd formed. Soon the agents fled after shooting into the crowd. This lead to days of riots where over 5000 people were killed. Thus the KMT’s legitimacy was already suspect when their leaders arrived in defeat from the mainland.
The legitimacy of General Chiang was already under question. The KMT had been the recipient of massive amounts of American aid over many years to have nothing but Taiwan to show for it. He was still asking for and getting even more aid while making big promises. Thus the sneer in America of General Cash my Check. The Soviet Union was at the time having similar feelings about all the aid going to Red China while their great leap forward proved to be such a stumble.
Nevertheless, General Chiang had a plan to turn things around. It was modeled after Sun Yat-sen’s successful effort to bring down the Qing Dynasty in 1911. See https://the-philatelist.com/2019/04/26/china-1961-remembering-sun-tat-sen-for-trying-to-bring-peace-order-and-good-government-over-from-hong-kong/ . Small units of special forces would foment trouble while the Muslim opposition army funded from Taiwan acted as a warlord army. It sounds pretty fanciful that it could work, but Chiang had often been attracted to such schemes.
In late 1965, Project National Glory got under way when special forces were to be landed in the mainland. The Red Chinese navy caught the ships and two were sunk. Earlier a practice for an amphibious landing was botched when three landing craft overturned in high waves. General Chiang gave up on these fanciful schemes in the early 70s when many countries withdrew recognition from Taiwan as the spokesman for all of China.
Chiang Kai-shek died in 1976 at the age of 89. His son by his first wife succeeded him. His then current wife, number four and First Lady fled to the USA as she was on bad terms with the son from another mother. See https://the-philatelist.com/2018/03/06/madame-chaing-efforts-to-help-warphans/ .
Well my drink is empty and I am left wondering how much the USA and the Soviet Union squandered trying to influence what happens in China. Not money well spent. Come again tomorrow for another story to be learned from stamp collecting.