Why didn't Mao Conquer Taiwan? (Short Animated Documentary)

In 1949 Mao won the Chinese Civil War and pushed the Koumintang government into exile in Taiwan. But why didn't he finish the job and Conquer the island, reunifying China in the process? Find out in this short and simple animated documentary.
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Sources:
Relations between the Chinese Mainland and Taiwan: Overview and Chronology by Winberg Chai
Taiwan and China by Lowell Dittmer
Unafraid of the Ghost: The Victim Mentality of Mao Zedong and the Two Taiwan Strait Crises in the 1950s by Kuisong Yang and Sheng Mao

[@andrewgutmann9432]

Truman: If you invade Taiwan I’ll nuke you. Mao: He’s just bluffing. Japan: Nah bro

[@stevekillgore9272]

Not bros

[@Ariana321]

Japan: "Yeah, we took out a few boats, and they unleashed the sun on us... twice."

[@foxharken]

@Nick Milligan despite this, Mac Arthur had no trouble freeing thousands of Japanese prisoners, soldiers and officers in China, arming them and using them to wage war on Mao's troops.

[@drlca6601]

@Nick Milligan depraved

[@voland6846]

@Nick Milligan Interesting that the US chose to nuke Japanese civilians, and then prosecuted only 27 members of the Japanese leadership for war crimes. Almost like.... the two things are entirely unconnected.

[@thatreddude8796]

I love how China didn’t have a Navy because Taiwan had taken it when they left

[@zachdew9gaming985]

Its big brain time

[@helix1016]

Pro gamer move

[@heyokaikaggen6288]

It's outrageously poor 'Communist Dictatoring.' Seizing the military heights is definitely Marxist Revolutionary 101. The Battleship Potemkin mutinied in 1905 and if Mao couldn't be bothered with history he just had to watch the 1925 movie instead.

[@helix1016]

@@heyokaikaggen6288 dude he was too busy starving his people to death

[@antoniopacelli]

@@helix1016 10 Millions people because substantial failure of "free food for all citizens" Communist policy. No need to work for food , no more people working in rice terrace, no more rice... That said, no one working in the research field Intelligence in the USA policy brought to many more deaths worldwide.. Nowadays we are talking of tens of millions per year.

[@VidIan262009]

“This plan was scrapped because frankly it was a stupid one.” Love it! Love this channel.

[@iamthinking2252_]

I love the “silly man” sign

[@dancingking9535]

That plan was called the ten thousand ships project - China planned to activate many ships to surround siege Taiwan's arbors to cut supplies from outside. To counter the siege, Taiwan had to prepare more than 120 days of food supplies as reserves, fortunately Taiwan's agriculture practice can harvest rice 3~4 times a year. After a few years China abandoned the project.

[@tsipher]

Problem with a Communist Government is that you need to operate fast and immediate, if you don’t win quickly, you won’t survive in the long run. Weird that Communism only thinks short term and cannot stand for very long when it comes to attrition.

[@irone7050]

the creator should make a video on how chiang scraped the plan to retake mainland china. maybe another video on why the KMT lost the majority support of the chinese and eventually lose the civil war, lmao

[@regisnewgate]

"...to put it mildy, it was a disaster" [EVERYONE DIED]. GDI im still laughing LOL, best vid i have seen in weeks

[@lajoyalobos2009]

"Mao somewhat opposed to being nuked" is right up there with "This angered his father, who punished him severely."

[@DrDoom-yf2qj]

This Mao guy must be important... my cat won't stop talking about him.

[@luism169]

Lmao

[@richardai1894]

Yeah my cat keeps on talking about Mao the dictator so I put him down. I can't have ANY communists in my house.

[@CrumpetCraig]

@@luism169 l-MAO

[@thegreatestchigone5813]

Richard Ai r/cursed comments

[@BIGMrighthere]

Lol that's pretty good

[@nicorhodes837]

1:57 General MacArthur: "oh so NOW you want to nuke China, smh"

[@evvec1490]

Lol

[@kskmohanty5559]

Truman:- u r FiReD

[@brandonlyon730]

I mean it was more of a threat then actually using the weapons compare what MacArthur wanted to do, and at that point China wasn’t as close to the Soviet Union as it used to be so unlike Korea they probably wouldn’t care what happened to the Chinese.

[@joedavies9621]

You called?

[@Pedrosa2541]

@@brandonlyon730 well, just the threat itself was enough to convince China to develop his own nuclear weapons, if USA would ever to nuke China, never more it would nuke someone, because every contry capable of having a nuke would do so.

[@dancemaniac3868]

My father was stationed on the island closest to China back in the day when he was a soldier in the Taiwan military. It's actually closer to China than to Taiwan such that on a clear day they can see each other. So their side put up a giant sign that said they'll take back Taiwan and our sign said we'll take back China. Fun times.

[@ThinkingReed_]

大膽二膽嗎？還是復興嶼？好好奇哈哈

[@masterchinese28]

I visited Kinmen (Jinmen) in 1997. My gf and I talked to a local guy at a bowling alley about what it was like growing up there. He told stories of the bombings when he was a kid. He and his classmates would actually get excited, because some of the bombs just scattered propaganda leaflets from the mainland. If they brought the leaflets to school, the teachers would give them pencils!

[@perasperaadastra9385]

Your channel is an invaluable resource for all the important 'obvious' questions that are never really directly addressed in history books.

[@Jeudaos]

so simple yet so utterly true. I've learned 100% more from youtube and wiki then i EVER did in the piss poor utah education system.

[@jason-qc5lr]

@@Jeudaos yes

[@JakeandElwoodBlues]

"Mao, somewhat opposed to being nuked..."

[@sychoecho9497]

I mean he isn't wrong

[@Ake-TL]

JakeandElwoodBlues I love the way he constructs sentences, best gag on the channel

[@markhenley3097]

He probably wouldn't care too much if a Chinese city was nuked. Saved him the trouble of killing them himself.

[@lukeskywalker1557]

*SOMEWHAT*

[@ArkadiBolschek]

@@markhenley3097 But you can't just let the yanks nuke your cities. It looks bad in front of the neighbours.

[@citywokbesitzer6834]

Chiang Kai Shek: "Hey Mao, wanna hear a joke?" Mao Zedong: "Yes, why not." Chiang Kai Shek: "Taiwan" Mao Zedong: "I don't get it." Chiang Kai Shek: "And you never will."

[@BlueflameKing1]

😆 well made.

[@jewishcoolmaker8900]

Mao: "you know what you don't get Chiang?" Chiang: "what?" Mao: "mainland China"

[@baran17413]

He literally took mainland China from him. Who cares about Taiwan

[@morfeusaquino4695]

@@baran17413 Look Taiwan gdp

[@kirilichushanka1357]

This is literally an awful format

[@rkc62]

Love the attention to detail on the drawings - P-51s in the right era, F-86s later. Forrestal class carriers instead of Enterprise/Nimitz class. Excellent.

[@drewconway7135]

1:48 Except Truman wasn’t president when the Korean armistice was signed. The hostilities in Korea ended in July 1953, six months into the Eisenhower administration.

[@ryanrichardson1187]

“Mao somewhat opposed to being nuked” is my new favorite quote

[@wramsey2656]

Lol yes he should have added...., “but not entirely “, as if someone would even consider “gee being nuked may not be as bad as they say”

[@markusdead96]

@@wramsey2656 lol

[@Cynderfan35]

@@wramsey2656 *meanwhile that one guy in Japan who survived from 2 nukes* "...someone didn't get the memo."

[@wramsey2656]

@@Cynderfan35 lol 🤣

[@spellmender7902]

Came here to say this. Thank you.

[@misomalu]

“Everybody died, this setback wasn’t enough to deter Mao, though” - Maoist China in a nutshell

[@emridatla3886]

We've got ourselves an underated comment, right here.

[@davidhynes]

Mao was a murderer and now Xi is a murderer, he killed 1000"s worldwide from the CCP Virus.

[@omarjaafar6020]

@@davidhynes i think nature made beacuase why would china realese a virus that would kill its own ecomony

[@m4rs12]

Mao: Oh well, that's not working. Let's do great leap forward instead... lmao

[@user-ee5bo5kg9j]

@@davidhynes you made the virus? Otherwise, how you prove it?

[@neilreid2298]

These are so good. Lot of key items packed into short vids. Perfect.

[@ollysalanson9452]

Thanks for making these videos, I really enjoy them!

[@pridelander06]

Maybe Mao expected his troops could make a Great Leap Forward into Taiwan. I'll see myself out.

[@drnolegs797]

Great leap forward 2! SeaBridge of Bodies Boogaloo!

[@littlechemie5425]

Long march to taiwan

[@clonetrooper730]

They'l just make the worlds largest human bridge to walk across, who needs a navy anyways.

[@tailszzz6611]

Bravo 👏

[@user-yf3fq2bh6p]

Good one !

[@bf945]

"Peaceful reunification". Yeah, ask Hong Kong how that is going.

[@s20031102]

B F We are becoming the refugees now, like Vietnamese refugees escaping the prosecution of Vietcong.

[@426mak]

Seems to work pretty well in Macau

[@claudeyaz]

@@s20031102 yeh I hope American gov let's them in.

[@slimpwarrior]

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is bliss.

[@DA-yh1vm]

Macau came back from Portugal,nothing happened,Hongkong came from a English country and then.

[@monk071]

0:01 You know it’s going to be good when there’s a literal sign 🪧 that says “It’s gonna be dope” in the very first second 😂

[@JD-gk7eh]

It's worth noting that a large-scale amphibious landing upon defended territory is an incredibly complex military procedure and only the US Navy were skilled and advanced enough to pull one off. Get it slightly wrong and your troops get slaughtered. Even when you get it right, it's insanely difficult. The planning of D-Day took over a year and even with all the drills and planning, the operation was *this close* to failing because certain pieces, such as removal of German batteries on the beach, failed to happen. When the UN forces did the one at Incheon a few years later, they had that experience to rely on that. Mao's PLA was not nearly at the level it would have needed to be to launch an invasion of Taiwan and it never reached it. We only hear about the PRC doing it now because they may be militarily sophisticated enough to succeed.

[@blackn7150]

I didn't realise that the USN had sole responsibility for the crossing of the Channel, the Landings and supply of materiel. I had foolishly thought the RN played a part but then again I also long fostered the misapprehension that troops from the UK and its colonies ,most importantly Canada, played a big role in D Day and the subsequent campaign. I have since reliably been informed that actually the whole second front was an entirely American affair and that in fact we have little to thank the Russians for either. All hail the USA, conqueror of Nazi Germany.

[@SkeetWeet4368]

@@blackn7150 The royal navy had declined massively after ww2 . any form of expertise or capability for large scale amphibious invasions had been lost for the royal navy by 1949

[@usedtoberyanpoopnownormal8822]

They really couldn’t because of one factor that also made Russia stall in Ukraine Corruption

[@drjamespotter]

@@SkeetWeet4368 Falkland Islands. We didn't build a bridge from Portsmouth.

[@SkeetWeet4368]

@@drjamespotter the falklands were an exception and the falklands war only involved some 30,000 soldiers nothing like the hundreds of thousands which would be involved in a war between China and Taiwan

[@ominosentenzioso5100]

1:58 McArthur likes this decision

[@redornament3248]

Time to nuke Winnie

[@KolchaksGhost]

*_PREPARE FOR ANNIHILATION, MANCHURIA_*

[@sviatoslavs.1305]

Perfection.

[@Tethloach1]

the great American hero.

[@Brandonhayhew]

Chess-Playing Skeleton AlternativeHistory made a video about that of Dropping nukes to Province of China for lesser reason. To create a stop supply from reach North Korea an ally of China

[@TheIdontknow1994]

I like the idea of Maos generals discussing the optics of: "just do a zerg rush"

[@thiccfork8664]

Mao: "let's just 12 pool taiwan"

[@shlubster1]

Hahah nice Starcraft reference

[@emrejohnnebioglu1628]

@@shlubster1 I thought the zerg thing was from the game Rust?

[@swagtheyolo7061]

No. Zerg is a faction in Starcraft with cheap units that you spam. Which the term 'zerg', 'zerging', 'zerg rush' comes from

[@emrejohnnebioglu1628]

@@swagtheyolo7061 when I think of Zerg rush, I think of a bunch of nakeds charging a compound

[@BuzWeaver]

To the point and simple. Nicely done!

[@deltafire12]

Subscribed because the more I see those character designs with their faces and body language, the more I laugh. And then to top it off there’s your beautiful narrator accent - perfect! 🤣

[@cyberpunk.386]

Favourite quotes: “Mao somewhat opposed to being nuked.” “Mao ordered the shelling of these islands again, because at this point why not. It was something to do I guess.”

[@chairsilver2]

lol

[@kavky]

"In the end Mao didn't conquer Taiwan for a very simple reason, he couldn't."

[@gmailquinn]

Calm down Or be invaded. -ike

[@howardbaxter2514]

@@gmailquinn and if there is one man that knows anything about invading, it is Ike.

[@johnbell1810]

@@howardbaxter2514 where's an Ike when you need one?

[@elgirl19]

That feeling in eu4 when you only have 1 province left before you complete a mission but the number 1 mega power is guaranteeing.

[@brandonlee934]

hoi4 as well

[@fromfareast3070]

you cant form the Nation because it's missing one province

[@ericmars9354]

Damn, man, that hurts.

[@Caldera01]

You speak the languange of Gods. I love you already.

[@cheapacreeps5677]

Get yourself a sugar daddy and together you shall defeat France

[@toot4you19]

Possibly the shortest yet best video i have seen in a long time about history/ china

[@dan_taninecz_geopol]

This US blocking was also the origin of China's famous "final warnings". They issued about 900 of these in response to US flights through the South China Sea, leading to a popular joke in the Soviet Union.

[@jackespinos7138]

"I've got a PLAn" PLA = People's Liberation Army thats a good one lmao

[@mikewazowski2462]

Lmao? More like lMAO

[@scotandiamapping4549]

Yeah I only just noticed that

[@highspy6851]

I had a gahd damn PLAN ARTHUR !

[@rayh6118]

@@highspy6851 have some godamn faith Ah wait communism reject faith

[@sarpbakrsoy8125]

woah I thought it was just a typo that's actually really good.

[@PurpleWarlock]

"I've got PLAn." Clever.

[@CarthagoMike]

A _Cunning_ plan?

[@zinc8208]

@@CarthagoMike PLA aka People's Liberation Army

[@CarthagoMike]

@@zinc8208 As wel as a clever reference to Blackadder, which you seem to have overseen.

[@casuallatecomer7597]

Incidentally, the PRC navy is called the 'People's Liberation Army Navy' so you could say that Chinese admirals and naval officers for the PRC 'had a PLAN'.

[@quisqueyanguy120]

@@CarthagoMike PLAn = People's Liberation Army Navy, aka, the (communist) chinese navy.

[@InviniteStudios]

Who else is here because of the rising tensions in 2022?

[@Hudramshinzoffy]

I hope China doesn’t cross the line to become an aggressor nation in 2022

[@A_Egg124]

Me

[@tubefu]

who is madder: Mao or Biden?

[@omkarhegde8229]

@@tubefu xi

[@lii1Il]

Very interesting! Thank you.

[@jerrytom8309]

In a nutshell: Taiwan has a big sugar daddy.

[@jackmion]

Being so tiny comparing to the giant next to the island which says they will invade you anytime soon, what alternative do you have?

[@CC-dk5di]

@@jackmion Tell your government to join the US, or at least become a military base of the US so you will be safe.

[@leogogo7041]

@@CC-dk5di haha, Good idea. US will lose Hawaii if they do this.

[@jacobbai9619]

@@CC-dk5di American would have done that 10 years ago if they dared to, but the facts hurt.

[@angelsaavedra633]

@@leogogo7041 why?

[@Deadlyaztec27]

Mao: "Many of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make"

[@Roboprogs]

You didn’t slay the dragon?!?

[@Deadlyaztec27]

@@Roboprogs What?

[@skymaster4121]

Maoist philosophy in a nutshell....

[@vgt]

@@Deadlyaztec27 Your original comment is a reference to the movie "Shrek" and you didn't get Roboprogs' comment which is also a reference to the movie "Shrek"???

[@kushal4956]

that's literally every war general

[@nik65stgt60]

Great content!

[@KamramBehzad]

Never knew any of this. Thanks.

[@fernandokaiser3053]

Chiang Kai-shek: *dies in 1975* Mao: Hehe now I can inva-*also dies in 1976*

[@TEverettReynolds]

The world already decided this by 1971... They should have mentioned that the original legitimate China Government, the Republic of China (ROC), that retreated to Taiwan in 1953, was kicked out of the UN in 1971, and replaced by the Rebels, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), who then claimed ownership of Taiwan. And the UN agreed.

[@henriquesantarem5565]

@@TEverettReynolds yea, the communists winning was a desaster to China, colective farms, the cultural revolution the destruction of 4,000 years of history and most importantly 80 million died.

[@albens5852]

@@henriquesantarem5565 Chinese History makes my brain hurt anyway.

[@AICW]

@@henriquesantarem5565 Every time I watch a HEMA video, I get sad because there will never be a "HEMA" equivalent of a historical revival of Chinese martial arts. Because all the foundational martial texts were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution. All that's left is wushu (which is a performance sport) and hand-to-hand martial arts. Would have loved to see how ancient Chinese generals used things like crossbowmen, spear formations, shield tactics, etc...

[@AnTiThesis-HaT-HoT]

@@albens5852 you have a brain?

[@nton8057]

Its Funny how large bodies of water are the best defence against invasion despite modern tech which is why Japan , USA and Britain rarely ever got invaded.

[@zedsdeadbaby]

usa never got invaded? ask native americans how they're doing.

[@shogun2heroicvictories15]

Britain got occupied, raped and pillaged countless times. And Ireland was constantly invaded and occupied.

[@thehoosher9322]

You guys dont get it

[@shogun2heroicvictories15]

@@thehoosher9322 While water does prove to be a great defence, it doesn't make it impossible. It makes it difficult. I get what you are saying, but lets be honest, at the end of the day once some manages to cross the sea and land on your beaches, is the day you hope they are peaceful and not here to steal your land and enslave your people.

[@sangtalkidsangtalkid1976]

@@herbthompson8937 So he is right.. It's not enough to have a large water body around you.. You need to be able to defend, aka modern warfare tech..

[@markdierking9347]

thanks. a lot of important details you revealed to explain history in a brief great summation. excellent analysis never mentioned in the american education system in the 70s, at least, and probably never understood then, either. btw, History Matters, i agree with the recent commenter that you need to slow down the pace so the information can be contemplated easier by us plebes.

[@Chamdar17]

youtube has a speed-adjust function, just slow the video down or pause it as often as you like. These aren't history texts, they're satirical yet somewhat informative briefs. I speed them up to 2x to save time ;)

[@markdierking9347]

@@Chamdar17 duh

[@PedroLanzarini]

From time to time we're always here, right bois?

[@samaritan3712]

Truman: ''Nah, i won't intervene in the Chinese Civil War'' Also Truman: ''Woe is me! How could the Kuomintang lose the Civil War?!''

[@JH-hb5cc]

Panteleimon Ponomarenko because even without US intervention, Chiang should of won. He was absolutely incompetent and very brutal which led to the communists winning. The Communists deserved to win

[@girlgarde]

Actually, the Americans gave large amounts of aid to the Kuomintang in terms of money, supplies, weapons, equipment and vehicles not to mention had U.S advisors helping them out. The Americans did everything short of sending large numbers of ground troops to China which wouldn't have worked for various reasons. In other words, Chiang had an overwhelming advantage and he still lost because he was inept and he never felt the need to use propaganda and expected the Chinese people to obey him solely because he had the biggest guns. I don't blame the Chinese people for siding with Mao and the Communists as they saw them as a ticket to a better life and a strong China. Sure, Mao had terrible policies once in power but the Chinese people didn't know what would happen in the future.

[@girlgarde]

@@JH-hb5cc Despite Mao's bad policies once in power, the Communists actually did things to help the Chinese people and were good and caring to them unlike the Kuomintang who behaved like brutal thugs so between the two factions, the Communists deserved to win even IF it made the Cold War even MORE intense. Of course, if the U.S hadn't freaked out and refused to give Mao the time of day and lumped him in with the Russians, they could've kept Communist China neutral as the Chinese had certain issues with the Russians that only got overlooked by both sides due to the U.S shunning Communist China which forced Mao to ally China with the USSR.

[@DeclinedMercy]

@@girlgarde the communists were good to the Chinese people? They buried children alive for stealing food during the famine their crazy policies caused.

[@girlgarde]

@@DeclinedMercy I meant BEFORE they came to power and before Mao started going crazy.

[@angelwashere8864]

He didn't put reasurch points in the navy

[@garrettjohnson343]

Nah he has a bunch of shitty 2 width infantry

[@kel000001]

They don’t start with a lot of research slots so it’s only fair

[@markhenley3097]

Because he spent it all on mass attack doctrine.

[@garrettjohnson343]

He was eyeing Papua New Guinea and Iwo Jima

[@alex_ho]

Building up a good navy to invade some islands is the most annoying thing in HOI4. Especially if your opponent is the UK or Japan.

[@nemo7782]

Very concise. Well done!

[@Add50326]

This was a very interesting video. I never knew this before.

[@epicbomb3716]

When Mao Laughs It Becomes LMAO

[@stickyrice5943]

And when he laugh so hard it becomes LMFAO

[@sharkronical]

When Mao tries to talk to cats it becomes Maow

[@epicbomb3716]

@@sharkronical That's Funny.

[@chriskonstandinos4996]

that's a good one🤣🤣

[@rafterrafter1227]

...and when he doesn't ; M y A s O ff..😝

[@CoralCopperHead]

I just gotta say, I absolutely love it every time one of your characters whips out a sign to reinforced your point while you're speaking. "How do plane?" was a real gem.

[@NJFireDepartment]

Why do he do signs. I mean he can make them talk in an week

[@jsquared1013]

"Behold" for the non-existent PRC Navy got me 😂

[@iamthinking2252_]

Or even “silly man” and sliding right up to Mao

[@The_whales]

there’s also “behold” at 0:41

[@lvasiescu]

Man, your videos are informative and fucking hilarious. THANK YOU!!!

[@Tall-Cool-Drink]

Short and sweet. Thanks.

[@winstonho0805]

2:06. Mao Zedong in front of a portrait of himself drooling over nuclear weapons. Nice.

[@LocalHeretic-ck1kd]

I saw Mao Zedong drooling over nuclear weapons. Priceless.

[@BCrane-ej4iq]

Art.

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Better than nice.🤣🤣🤣

[@cryptosporidium1375]

Somebody has to stroke one off on his casket again.

[@roskillboyz8880]

Well they have them now, beware of the dragon

[@kwaobenti]

I love the bit of drool on Mao's mouth at 2:06 when looking at a nuclear bomb!

[@mrcocoloco7200]

He is hungry for more Power!

[@noscoper1488]

China now :how bout I do anyway

[@hasan_z]

So good that US can't use nuke threats against them any more!

[@zouzhengliling]

Mao Zedong was a military genius. After he signed an alliance agreement with the Soviet Union, he went to war with the United States in North Korea, and the United States did not dare to use nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union's allies. Can't retake Taiwan because there is no navy and air force, unlike North Korea that only relies on the army

[@blueoak5262]

Cute animations like this help people typically bored with learning history maintain their attention and illustrate events mentally.

[@lii1Il]

It's time for an update. My cat keeps telling me Maos up to something again!

[@whoisj]

Q: Why didn't Mao Conquer Taiwan? A: The United States said "No."

[@nicak777alex9]

It is a little sad to see the state of USA politics nowadays, where all people does is consider the country a failure for some of it's mistakes, and never counts all the good ( self service of course, but good nonetheless ), that it did. Just in Taiwan live 23 million people. 23 million people that don't live under one of the worst totalitarian regimes in the world thanks to the USA. The USA in it's fight against communism liberated many countries and helped millions of people around the globe to improve their living conditions. Of course it did so with only it's own interest in mind, and of course it also fucked up in other places, like the middle East. But I think the good it did was far more than the bad. Btw I'm Argentinian, not an American. My country was in one of the Condor plan of the USA to depose tyrants around the world, the guy who governed us was trying to turn us into Cuba, and thanks to that guy dozens of people were hunted for nor agreeing to his regime, little kids were, literally and without irony, to love the leader. I still have some books from my grandmother in which they told kindergartners, that the leader loved them and they should love him even more than their parents.

[@rhino015]

@@nicak777alex9 yeah true. But I think it’s actually a good sign that most of the world can admit that their government isn’t perfect. You see the Chinese troll farm accounts posting in comments on China related news articles and videos etc and it’s clear that they’re talk as if the CCP has never made a mistake in 70 years. I mean they’re probably just in a sweat shop of computers with 1000 other people forced to say good things about the CCP for a job, but it’s concerning to think maybe some people in China might believe that propaganda. And they think we’re the ones brainwashed when we have free access to any information including their propaganda, and they’re the ones whose access to information is controlled and restricted haha. Logic should make them realise that’s not a good thing.

[@rhino015]

@@billhuang8412 The way you’re implying it’s a bad thing that USA just left Afghanistan means you must think it was good that they went there. And therefore spending decades over there spending trillions of dollars must be a very selfless brave act by your logic. Do you think the CCP has ever done anything wrong? If so, what?

[@rhino015]

@@billhuang8412 which weapon are you talking about? Was that answering the question about the CCP ever doing anything wrong?

[@arbiter204]

@@billhuang8412 we spent billions, no trillions trying to help to no avail

[@str2010]

"The invasion was, to put it mildly, a disaster." -1,000,000 social credits

[@endo4137]

F

[@sviatoslavs.1305]

F

[@tigershark8867]

F

[@lasagnakob9908]

F

[@suzuya_96]

F

[@williamlee7782]

An interesting piece of context was that Chiang Kai Shek (leader of the nationalist party) and his wife both spoke perfect English. He also graduated military academy in China and in Japan so had a bit of an elite pedigree. They flew to the USA to urge for support during the civil war with Mao and they got it despite losing to Mao and the communist party. I personally do not think it was a threat of nukes that had Mao fall back, it was a lack of any form of Navy that allowed Mao and his huge army to cross the strait to fight in a fortified battle. But, I've no evidence to support this. Reading "Wild Swans" offered some good context as told by three generations of daughters during this turbulent time period of China. Highly recommend it.

[@weigao9430]

those three ladies were great

[@qiyuxuan9437]

Thats correct, navy is the main issue, nuke not so much. China was prepared to get nuked, a lot of very deep bunkers were built in major cities, many are still in use today. Many important military industries moved from coastline to mountains deep inside mainland. By the time in 1960s China also developed nukes, and also ICBM that can reach U.S in 1970s.

[@TheSwiftCreek2]

For those in support of Mao they would suffer starvation, etc. for decades. They made the wrong choice and suffered for it.

[@jason-qc5lr]

no shit they lost, the people were in favor of the coms

[@John-jz4vu]

This is wrong. Chiang did not speak English, and he was a very traditional Chinese imperialist, with a Confucian style of governance. Her wife graduated from Wesleyan in the United States. She grew up in a wealthy Christian family in Shanghai, living a very Westernized life and can speak English. Many people believe that Jiang met her because of political relations and converted to Christianity. An interesting fact: Chiang's ambassador to the United States, Hu-shih said her wife's English accent was gross.

[@Henry-teach-Chinese-in-jokes]

I hope more people can learn Chinese to get comprehensive firsthand information about China and seek more job opportunities. Chinese language is concise and beautiful. I’ve spent lots of time in making many videos teaching Chinese in a humorous way. I hope somebody can give me some advice about how I can reach my target audience who want to learn Chinese.

[@jesusislordsavior6343]

If you've mastered the language perfectly through early exposure and steady discipline, if you derive aesthetic pleasure from its use, power to you. I have no doubt that you are a clever and dedicated teacher. But the sales pitch could be more convincing, coming as it does frmo a position of relative privilege. It's like a musician with absolute pitch telling prospective students that ear training is fun and might just put them on a career path. In the vast majority of cases that isn't true. It is no accident that languages which use some variation of the Latin alphabetic script have proliferated around the globe. Simplicity suits simple minds. Msny of us, unlike you, have simple minds.

[@Henry-teach-Chinese-in-jokes]

@@jesusislordsavior6343 Thank you very much for your response. Chinese is not complicated. Chinese elementary school students can easily learn 3000 Chinese characters, which cover 99% characters in newspapers and books. Honestly in a Chinese’s eyes many western information about China is very biased. There are 1.4 billion Chinese. If 20% people share one point of view, that’s nearly 300 million population, but it is still minority. On many aspects western media side with 10% or 20% Chinese. This is why I hope more people learn Chinese to get comprehensive firsthand information about China.

[@1wun1]

Communists: We'll make a long swim to Taïwan Nationalists: lMao

[@sabre1667]

Most underrated

[@emmanroyhippy6859]

I have a PLAn

[@MotivationThinker521]

@@emmanroyhippy6859 lol🤣🤣🤣

[@mexicobasado8177]

@@emmanroyhippy6859 PLAn never became more than a idea on a piece of PAPer (people s' armed police)

[@nickmcgargill6216]

As Mao called it "the Great Swim Forward."

[@Kez_DXX]

It's so surreal seeing a photo of Mao and Chiang toasting when Japan surrendered. Probably the most cordial moment for the two factions.

[@claudiu-mihaipuiu1221]

A common enemy tends to unite bickering people.

[@jamesrosewell9081]

@@claudiu-mihaipuiu1221 One of the best lessons from history...

[@yuanli7197]

Chiang Kai-shek was willing to resist the Japanese aggression because the communist sympathizers kidnapped him and forced him to sign an agreement between the Communist Party and the Kuomintang to resist the Japanese aggression.

[@dvf1736]

@@yuanli7197 his generals weren't even communist sympathizers, they were just generals who had actual strategic sense and realized that they can't fight both the Japanese and the Communists. Plus, the US, a major source of aid, threatened to cut off that aid if they didn't cooperate and even had plans to replace Kai-Shek due to his incompetence

[@morphingninja]

@@jamesrosewell9081 unfortunately disproven with a certain virus but perhaps because there were those that were seen as a bigger enemy.

[@williamking6787]

Truman with the "Silly Man" sign as he leans into Mao is hilarious and is definitely a gag you should use more

[@SeldimSeen1]

Thank you. Always wondered what happened here.

[@wuqinghui8199]

According to some Chinese sources when Chiang retreated back to Taiwan he didn’t exactly just flee there himself, he brought whatever left of the entire KMT loyalists and the entire country’s gold reserve + millions of artifacts . This meant that Chiang was able to mass a 2 million men army in the small state of Taiwan. This makes Taiwan impossible to invade unless they fight a war of attrition slowly draining the 2 million men and Taiwan’s resources which would cost much much more than its worth.

[@howardbaxter2514]

Mao wouldn’t care. If there is one thing he is willing to sacrifice, it is his own people. In reality, probably the only reason why he didn’t successfully invade Taiwan was the threat of having a nuke dropped literally on his head. As someone else had put, he doesn’t care about other people’s lives, just his own,

[@sesameseedbar8853]

Basically. They also took almost all of China's original historical artefacts with them to. If you want to see historic China, visit the Taiwan National museum. Not only is it one of the best museums you'll see, it holds tons of history of both the war and Chinese artefacts dating centuries old.

[@K3rrJu5t1n]

@@sesameseedbar8853 so Chiang preserved Chinese history for the Commies to not alter Chinese history? I think it is what Mao did

[@asllen3310]

If they took all of the treasures (including the forbidden city), then they might have the Imperial Seal Jade Stamp

[@thomasfoster1899]

Was it called formosa before .??

[@felipedaiber2991]

1:05 I dunno sending tons of troops into death untill you overwhelm the enemy seems to have worked extremely well for Mao over his career

[@274pacific]

Not when you’re still trying to consolidate power after a revolution

[@mikewiltshire9121]

Except the PLA didn't take heavy casualties during the civil war. The Korean war was something else.

[@randymagnum143]

Works well for famine, also.

[@subg8858]

With no real Air Force or navy they would have just sunk all the transport ships before they even got to taiwan

[@comicconcarne]

@@randymagnum143 The famine of the Great Leap Forward was mainly one bad crop in 1960 and the fallout into the next years. In '58 and '59, the farmers got a bumper crop and said they'd never had so much rice. Some of the factors were man-made, but not ones they knew about in the 50s (climate change, sparrow ecology, etc.) Mao's redistributing of the farms did not in itself cause the famine.

[@theunitedstatesofamerica3556]

Why is this in my recommended at the same exact time China is surrounding Taiwan 💀

[@Ti4goGL]

Ikr

[@spaceman9599]

Good to know, and well told!

[@deebee7786]

"If Mao didn't, i will" -Winnie the Pooh

[@baronvonbeandip]

Thanks, West Taiwan. Very cool.

[@darkminister1503]

Now they have everything

[@deebee7786]

Not "have", "steal"

[@mikeschmidt2526]

the bear want to do, what the cat didn't

[@CheeseBae]

Xinnie the Pooh

[@philagelio336]

2:14 “I’ve got a PLAn” I see what you did there

[@CarthagoMike]

A _Cunning_ plan?

[@generalgunner]

I don't get it. (Please don't Woosh me...)

[@philagelio336]

People’s Liberation Army, PLA-n

[@CarthagoMike]

@@generalgunner It is a double reference basicly, referring both to the People's Liberation Army (navy) as wel as Blackadder, a historical series in which the sentence _I have a cunning plan_ Is often used for plans that even in forsight are so utterly ridiculous nobody in their right mind would execute them... except those not willing to see the flaws of their own plans.

[@zaikolebolsh5724]

The PLA ain't that cunning

[@TravisBroski]

“To put it mildly, a disaster.” *giant text “EVERYONE DIED” is on screen*

[@BatCaveOz]

"I've got a PLAn" circa 2:13 was genius.

[@grownupgaming]

As a Taiwanese American, this story is heartwarming and I plan to tell it each Thanksgiving.

[@nibistewgamer1742]

your time runs low, china will be reunited under the peoples republic

[@jimmylives]

Taiwanese thought PRC would be joke

[@gabbon2234]

@@nibistewgamer1742 did you even watch the video..

[@maclain728]

@@nibistewgamer1742 Uh huh, China’s only been saying that one for oh 70 years

[@nibistewgamer1742]

@@maclain728 it has taken a long time for china to catch up to the USA, soon

[@CJ-dw3dr]

So to sum up the article, Mao didn't invade Taiwan for these reasons: 1. James Bissonette

[@L_back]

2. Kelly Moneymaker

[@AndrewAMartin]

3. Spinning Three Plates

[@juanaragon9226]

4. Spencer Lightfoot

[@tyvamakes5226]

5. Izzy?

[@paraparbd2772]

6. Rashid Ali

[@captgeesh5163]

Could you do a video about Tamberlain?

[@whatsreal7506]

Well done! Excellent!

[@larrytolemy2621]

Almost 70 and still learning something new every day! THANX!

[@zt3195]

Hell yes Larry keep on learning!!

[@maogu1999]

Oh? At this point, you were probably in one of these wars.

[@w3ss3x]

@@maogu1999 not even close

[@anl8244]

@@maogu1999 only vietnam war or gulf war if he is american,70 isnt that old

[@tacolepaco]

@@anl8244 Well it kinda is and isn't, time just keeps moving foward so we forget how long ago were those times, the 2000s were 20 years ago, and it is crazy to think that.

[@mokodo_]

the whole video in 2 words: 'because merica'

[@skip123davis]

💪🏻

[@DTD110865]

We certainly helped.

[@kleanovodust-bin69]

Just like everything in our world, amirite? [Vietnam War was US fault.]

[@fluff5]

Murica*

[@blankblank5409]

skip davis Uggh gross smelly testosterone

[@mannyespinola9228]

Thank you for this video

[@williamsparks1521]

Nice informative History lesson

[@Fireheart1945]

"Somewhat opposed to being nuked"

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

Lol yes

[@ls200076]

@@luxembourgishempire2826 Wanna join a glorious kingdom? You'll get sea acces.

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

@@ls200076 If we were to join any country it would be Belgium. If it's the Netherlands, France or Germany then it's a no.

[@3RAN7ON]

2:06 I love how he's drooling over the nuke!

[@scotandiamapping4549]

I never noticed that

[@rayh6118]

Thought that was a cigar

[@sammeo]

Lol I thought it was his tooth

[@mikedl1105]

Mao wanted to leave Taiwan for Nancy Pelosi

[@Hazardx88]

Love this channel 🇺🇲

[@harrywoodroofe4878]

-10 social credit

[@Ypog_UA]

dying in failed invasion of taiwan: *social credit lvl 100 china communist mafia boss*

[@alperentas149]

-10 come from telling the china lost Taiwan, -90 come from saying the Taiwan is separate state.

[@sweetpotato3910]

Still believe china has a social credit? U LuL😂

[@JasonTubeOffical]

Hitler Loli it’s real? Literally go there and see for yourself

[@sweetpotato3910]

@@JasonTubeOffical 😂social credit just for people who have debt and not paying. The government will spread the news about the people who have debt and run... But the west media says china social credit in different ways😑

[@williamhild1793]

The Holy Trinity: James Bissonette, David Archeologist, and Sky Chappell!

[@doni6324]

It used to also be Party Boyco 😔

[@BDFJH]

Saint Azarka Flash would like a word with you

[@james_baker]

James Bisonette - absolutely! David Archeologist - dig it! Sky we love you, but really Spinning Three Plates - how cool is that?

[@dophan6938]

What ever happened to David Archeologist?

[@williamhild1793]

@@dophan6938 I'm not sure. I'll see what I can...DIG UP!!! HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW!!!!!

[@Jomonoupapjanmbliyew]

Now its all making sense 🤔🤔,that was brilliant explanation.

[@dnote5788]

Dude..The nuke light had me rolling!!

[@okinawatim3421]

China: **Shells Taiwan** The USA: **I will slam you against a table**

[@Kirealta]

Ya i'm sure, you couldn't even slam vietnam.

[@Kirealta]

@mansour Pro IsraelOkay Eddie bravo.

[@romansnider4676]

@@Kirealta You mad you got wrecked?

[@Kirealta]

@@romansnider4676 Vietnam no.1 undefeated!

[@romansnider4676]

@@Kirealta We not gonna talk about your enslavement?

[@fullmetaltheorist]

"The invasion was to put it lightly a disaster." Video : *Everyone died*

[@K3rrJu5t1n]

*plays Geography Now closing theme*

[@dallasyap3064]

Love the video. Informative, entertaining, short but concise. I was also curious why didn't Truman just threaten to bomb China during the Korean War? Why after when Mao had intentions to invade Taiwan?

[@masterchinese28]

MacArthur asked Truman for fifty nukes just for that reason. That is why MacArthur was suddenly "retired" mid-war. Truman & co were not going to go down that path, even if they hated communism.

[@cme98]

What a disastrous leader he turned out to be. After he dies his wife was sent to prison. The communists learned to hate him. I’ll never forget that first visit of Chinese delegates who came to visit the USA in 1977. All wearing their Chairman Mao suits (the only acceptable attire all Chinese had to wear, like a catholic school girls uniform) all rather surprised by the new Kodak instant camera which developed color photographs right before your eyes. They hadn’t even seen a Polaroid camera. They were asking about all the big movie stars of 1949 & saddened with the news Clark Gable was dead. This was 1977. Nobody except the elite of the most elite communists drove a car. Their streets filled with bicycles. And… their air was clean. Right after their visit Ronald Reagan won the 1980 election by promising the Iranians he would give them a better deal if they kept the hostages until after he became President. Reagan then sold our manufacturing to China & encouraged companies to rebuild there so that they didn’t have to follow strict regulations for pollution. At this point in American history we were at our lowest level of poverty ever in this country. It’s brown slowly upwards ever since thanks to the backstabbing President Reagan who made China what it is today.

[@jonbaxter2254]

"How do plane?" Ah yes, I ask myself everyday...

[@fristnamelastname5549]

Step 1: Flip arms. Step 2: Fail. Step 3: Realize you can't plane. Step 4: Blame your problems on other people. Step 5: Join an extreme racial party. Step 6: Takeover said Party with number of political purges. Step 7: Lead a World wide Revolution. Step 8: Takeover China. Step 9: Try to takeover Taiwan. Step 10: Fail to take Taiwan. Bonus Step: Realize that you never learned how to plane.

[@chuckguy5815]

I never knew why he didn’t attack Taiwan. Thank you for the history lesson.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

One thing not mentioned is that post-WWII, Mao was still consolidating his power within the PRC. Once consolidated, it had to be maintained, which is how the Cultural Revolution came about (it was the last of several internal campaigns to strengthen Mao). China’s aggressive foreign policy was always subordinate to Mao’s domestic politics.

[@hello-cn5nh]

It's because there weren't enough children in Taiwan for Mao to sleep with. We all know how commies are

[@Asuka.the.Perfectionistic]

​@@MarcosElMalo2 now i gotta mention the actual outcome of Cultural Revolution (knowledgeful teacher and professor being trialed, relics destroyed) was never what Mao wanted, the job of Cultural Revolution was just too grand for Mao to predict what would go wrong. In short, he made the decision without thoroughly consider what might go wrong

[@Asuka.the.Perfectionistic]

@Lex Beaf 文化大革命确实没错，但是我觉得是毛错误地预估了可能出现的情况，才导致了各种批斗，迫害等甚至在一定程度上可以说是倒行逆施的行为。不过统一思想确实很重要，尤其是那个年代人心还不是很稳的情况下

[@happ3golucky]

I think you should make an update for this one.

[@baddogdax69]

When I lived n Taiwan they had a Office Of Main Land Reclamation, it was listed as such in the phone book (1980’s)

[@masterchinese28]

When I lived there in the 90's, some still thought that they would take over at some point. I found it amusing that their map of China still included Mongolia, which the KMT still considered to be theirs. It wasn't until the end of that decade (98 or 99, if I remember correctly) that they finally did away with their very redundant "provincial government" which had been working parallel to their "national government."

[@hazardauzanto5349]

USA & Taiwan: "Can't Touch This"

[@sovietdominion]

@OdinSon Hammer time!

[@gavindy_Sv2]

Damnit now I’ve got that song stuck in my head

[@thanosmom9118]

@@gavindy_Sv2 Can’t touch this

[@gavindy_Sv2]

@@thanosmom9118 lmao that’s so wrong

[@jamiebarba5701]

@@gavindy_Sv2 Can't touch this.

[@SamAronow]

1949: The PRC vs the KMT 2020: The PRC *and* the KMT vs the DPP

[@austinchase2]

Why again?

[@ericw.1620]

KMT is gonna have to flee to another island soon

[@madensmith7014]

@@austinchase2 PRC and KMT still wants to have one China while the DPP wants Taiwan to be Taiwan.

[@fristnamelastname5549]

PRC: I want Communism. KMT: I hate Communism. DPP: I want Taiwan to be free. PRC and KMT: Ya, we don't like you.

[@POCLEE]

@@austinchase2 Because they put C before R.

[@Buble12138]

Actually, a key factor influencing the mainland's recapture of Taiwan was Kim's unpredictable Korean civil war.

[@maazkalim]

Which one of them?

[@tommylennon4795]

legend has it that James Bissonette prevented the invasion by threatening Mao personally

[@Ypog_UA]

"It's gonna be dope" -Mao Zedong, 1949

[@ZhangtheGreat]

Yup, this is now an official Mao quote. Don't try to convince me otherwise.

[@likelihoodoccurrence2384]

Joe Biden broke off, incoherent with anger with Trump.,...Joe Biden broke off ,incoherent with anger with Trump....

[@travelsofmunch1476]

Spoiler: It wasn’t so dope

[@tritium1998]

@@travelsofmunch1476 Not really. The rest of the developing world (a black hole of history since no one's jealous enough to cry about it) gained less population and nukes. Meanwhile, the founders of the USA and Germany are glorified for achieving less.

[@sammeo]

@@travelsofmunch1476 things got dope again a decade after mao died.

[@sharpshooter13ify]

US: hey Mao wanna hear a joke? Mao: sure, what is it? US: Taiwan. Mao: ......I don’t get it. US: Exactly!

[@oscar7476]

whats so funny huh?

[@genghiskhan.2265]

@@oscar7476 he is saying china won’t get Taiwan blah blah

[@oscar7476]

@@genghiskhan.2265 if taiwan isnt part of china then the usa should be controlled by the indians, australia should be controlled by the aboriginals. dont let people brainwash you about taiwan being independent

[@mappingowo3966]

US: hey Xi wanna hear a joke? Xi: sure, what is it? US: Common prosperity. Xi: ......I don’t get it. US: Exactly!

[@JannPoo]

@@oscar7476 Dude, Taiwan isn't controlled by its native population, it's controlled by Chinese that emigrated from mainland China. It's basically just two Chinese factions that waged war until one retreated to an Island. Think of the American Civil War except the Confederate retreated to Hawaii.

[@18661873]

Short and to-the-point.

[@jesusislordsavior6343]

You must have a very busy schedule. No time to waste.

[@stimublu8570]

The successfully defend against landing on Kinmen Island is actually a very intersting case. You see PLA knows their light infantry can not hope to land against armored warship with automatic weapons, but KMT back then was so courpted and hated so people inside just feed intel to PLA about their force positioning. And in that day, officially, there is not supposed to be an warship with automatic guns at the beachhead. But since KMT is so courpted, the capitan of the ship was running an embazzling schem of american provided ration spam, selling it to the island and these island guard couldnt come up with enough money to pay for that month's delivery. So the capitan just stall and park his warship in the island against his original order and wait for the island guards' payday for more money. And thats when the PLA landed and get masscared by automatic gun and struat tanks.