Jiang jieshi china taiwan

What was chiang kai-shek known for

Chiang Kai-shek [ a ] 31 October — 5 April was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and general who led the Republic of China ROC from until his death in After Sun's death in , Chiang became leader of the party and commander-in-chief of the NRA, and from to led the Northern Expedition , which nominally reunified China under a Nationalist government based in Nanjing.

After Japan's invasion of Manchuria in , his government tried to avoid a war while pursuing economic and social reconstruction. As the leader of a major Allied power , he attended the Cairo Conference to discuss the terms for Japan's surrender in , including the return of Taiwan, where he suppressed the February 28 uprising in In , Chiang's government was defeated and retreated to Taiwan, where he imposed martial law and the White Terror , a campaign of mass political repression; they lasted until and , respectively.

Beginning in , 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 till his death. Chiang presided over land reform , economic growth , and crises in the Taiwan Strait in — and again in After Chiang's death in , he was succeeded as leader of the KMT by his son Chiang Ching-kuo , who was elected president in following terms by the same parliament since Chiang is a controversial figure.

He is also credited with protecting the national treasures from the Forbidden City during the wars with Japan and the CCP, eventually bringing them to Taiwan, where he established the National Palace Museum. Critics fault him for his early pacifism toward Japan's occupation of Manchuria, flooding of the Yellow River , cronyism and corruption with the Four Big Families , and his right-wing dictatorship on both mainland China and Taiwan.

Like many other Chinese historical figures, Chiang used several names throughout his life.