N.K. Silverman

A.P. Comparative Politics

CHINA HISTORY STUDY GUIDE

  • 1839-1842—The Opium War is provoked by Britain because they are dissatisfied with trade agreements. The British forced the importation of narcotics on China. They then obtained commercial concessions and established extraterritoriality in China. France, Germany, and Russia successfully put forward similar demands soon after.
  • 1894-1895—The Japanese win the first Sino-Japanese War which results in Korean independence. Britain and US promote the Open Door Policy in which all nations would enjoy equal access to China’s trade.
  • 1900—Boxer Rebellion is a failed attempt to suppress foreign influence.
  • 1911—Sun Yat-Sen began a revolution after belated domestic reforms by the imperial court fail. The Ch’ing Dynasty is overthrown and a republic is established.
  • 1925—Sun Yat-Sen dies and Chiang Kai-Shek takes over Guomindang.
  • 1931—Japan invades Manchuria (Heilongjiang area).
  • 1934-1935—The Long March is forced on the CCP by Chiang. The CCP had set up a government in the southeast and were forced to march 6000 miles to Shensi in the northwest. The 100,000 member Red Army, led by Mao Zedong, Zhou En-lai, and Lin Biao, made it over 18 mountain ranges and 24 rivers while under constant air and land attack by the Guomindang
  • 1949—1 October—Mao Zedong, having led the Communists to victory against the Nationalists after more than 20 years of civil war, proclaims the founding of the People's Republic of China. The Nationalists retreat to the island of Taiwan and set up a government there.
  • 1950—China intervenes in the Korean War on the side of North Korea. Tibet becomes part of the People's Republic of China
  • 1958—Mao launches the "Great Leap Forward", a five-year economic plan. Farming is collectivized and labor-intensive industry is introduced. The drive produces economic breakdown and is abandoned after two years. Disruption to agriculture is blamed for the deaths by starvation of millions of people following poor harvests.
  • 1966-76—“Cultural Revolution”, Mao's 10-year political and ideological campaign aimed at reviving revolutionary spirit, produces massive social, economic and political upheaval.
  • 1972—US President Richard Nixon visits. Both countries declare a desire to normalize relations.
  • 1976—Zhou and Mao die. "Gang of Four", including Mao's widow, jockey for power but are arrested and convicted of crimes against the state. From 1977 Deng Xiaoping emerges as the dominant figure among pragmatists in the leadership. Under Deng as “paramount leader,” China undertakes far-reaching economic reforms.
  • 1979—Diplomatic relations established with the US.
  • 1989—Troops open fire on demonstrators who have camped for weeks in Tiananmen Square initially to demand the posthumous rehabilitation of former CCP General Secretary Hu Yaobang, who was forced to resign in 1987. The official death toll is 200. International outrage leads to sanctions.
  • 2001 November—China joins the World Trade Organization.
  • 2003 March—National People's Congress elects Hu Jintao as president. He replaces Jiang Zemin, who steps down after 10 years in the post.
  • 2003 March-April—China and Hong Kong are hit by the pneumonia-like SARS virus, thought to have originated in Guangdong province in November 2002. Strict quarantine measures are enforced to stop the disease spreading.
  • 2003 June—Sluice gates on Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower scheme, are closed to allow the reservoir to fill up.
  • 2006 November—African heads of state gather for a China-Africa summit in Beijing. Business deals worth nearly $2bn are signed and China promises billions of dollars in loans and credits.
  • 2007 April—During a landmark visit, Wen Jiabao becomes the first Chinese prime minister to address Japan's parliament. Both sides agree to try to iron out differences over their shared history.
  • 2007 July—China's food and drug agency chief is executed for taking bribes. Food and drug scandals have sparked international fears about the safety of Chinese exports.
  • 2008 May—A massive earthquake hits Sichuan province, killing tens of thousands.
  • 2008 August—Beijing hosts Olympic Games.
  • 2010 October—Jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo is awarded Nobel Peace Prize, prompting official protests from Beijing.
  • 2011 February—China formally overtakes Japan to become the world's second-largest economy after Tokyo published figures showing a Japanese GDP rise of only four per cent in 2010.
  • 2013—Xi Jinping is named General Secretary of CCP and Chairman of Central Military Commission. He will take over as President in 2013