Chinese Civil War

The Chinese Civil War (1927–1950) was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang (KMT), or the Chinese Nationalist Party-led Nationalist Government of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China (CPC), for the control of each other's territory which eventually led to two de facto states, the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China both claiming to be the legitimate government of China. The war began in April 1927, amidst the Northern Expedition, and essentially ended when major active battles ceased in 1949–1950. Cross-Strait relations have been hindered by military threats and political and economic pressure, particularly over Taiwan's political status, with both governments officially adhering to a "One-China policy."

The war represented an ideological split (Left vs. Right) between the KMT's brand of Nationalism, and the Communist CPC. In mainland China today, the last three years of the war (1947–1949) are more commonly known as the War of Liberation, or alternatively the Third Internal Revolutionary War (第三次国内革命战争). In Taiwan, the war was also known as the Counter-insurgency War against Communists (反共戡亂戰爭) before 1991 or commonly the Nationalist-Communist Civil War (國共內戰) in both sides.

The civil war continued intermittently until the Second Sino-Japanese War led the two parties to form a Second United Front. Japan's campaign was defeated in 1945, marking the end of hostilities in World War II, and China's full-scale civil war resumed in 1946. After four more years, 1950 saw the cessation of major military hostilities—with the newly founded People's Republic of China controlling mainland China (including Hainan), and the Republic of China's jurisdiction being restricted to Taiwan, Penghu, Quemoy, Matsu and several outlying islands.

The Kuomintang defeat is attributed to several factors: Corruption - Chiang wrote in his diary on June 1948 that the KMT had failed, not because of external enemies but because of rot from within.; Strong initial support from the U.S. diminished, and then, stopped. (Partly because of KMT corruption and anti-democratic regime, and partly because of the uncertain U.S. foreign policy towards Communism between 1945 and 1950); Communist land reform policy promised poor peasants farmland from their landlords. This ensured PLA popular support.

To this day, no armistice or peace treaty has ever been signed, and it is debated as to the whether the Civil War has legally ended. The PRC still actively claims Taiwan as part of its territory and continues to threaten the ROC with a military invasion if the ROC officially declares independence by changing its name to and gaining international recognition as the Republic of Taiwan. The ROC mutually claims mainland China, and they both continue the fight over diplomatic recognition. Today, the war as such occurs on the political and economic fronts in the form of cross-Strait relations; however, the two separate de facto states have close economic ties.