Chiangism

Chiang Kai-shek, the head of the Kuomintang, warned the Soviet Union and other foreign countries about interfering in Chinese affairs. He was personally angry at the way China was treated by foreigners, mainly by the Soviet Union, Britain, and the United States.[12] Chiang's New Life Movement campaigned for the end of Soviet, Western, American, and other foreign influences in China. Chen Lifu, a CC Clique member of the KMT, said, "Communism originated from Soviet imperialism, which has encroached on our country." It was also noted that "the white bear of the North Pole is known for its viciousness and cruelty."[13]

Chiang was also staunchly against imperialism and colonialism, as he opposed FDR's offer of China's seizure of Indochina and argued that China had no intent to replace Western imperialism with its own. He also viewed foreign powers, including the USA, the USSR, and the Empire of Japan as imperialist powers that wanted to exploit China.[14][15][16]

After the government of the Republic of China moved to Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek's economic policy turned towards to economic liberalism. He used Sho-Chieh Tsiang and other liberal economists to promote economic liberalization reforms in Taiwan.[17]

However, Taylor has noted that the developmental model of Chiangism in Taiwan still had elements of socialism, and the Gini index of Taiwan was around 0.28 by the 1970s, lower than the relatively equal West Germany. Taiwan was one of the most equal countries in the pro-western bloc. The lower 40% income group doubled their income share to 22% of total income, with the upper 20% shrinking from 61% to 39%, compared to Japanese rule.[18] The Chiangist economic model can be seen as a form of dirigisme or bureaucratic capitalism,[19][20] with the state playing a crucial role in directing the market economy. Unlike most other major capitalist countries, small businesses and state-owned enterprises flourished under this economic model in Taiwan, but it didn’t see the emergence of corporate monopolies.

After the democratization of Taiwan, it began to slowly drift away from the Chiangist economic policy to embrace a more free market system as part of the economic globalization process under the context of neoliberalism.[21]

The Blue Shirts Society was a fascist ultranationalist paramilitary organization within the Kuomintang. They were modeled after Benito Mussolini's Blackshirts of the National Fascist Party and the Sturmabteilung of the NSDAP and were anti-communist and rigorously nationalist. The intended goal of the Blue Shirts was to destroy the communists, "suppress feudal influences", and "deal with foreign insults", in particular, Japanese and Western. In addition to being anti-communist, some Kuomintang members, like Chiang Kai-shek's right-hand man, Dai Li, were anti-American and wanted to expel American influence from China. Close Sino-German ties also promoted cooperation between the Nationalist Government and Nazi Germany.

Chiang Kai-shek started the New Life Movement under Confucian ideals. It was a government-led civic campaign in the 1930s Republic of China to promote cultural reform and Neo-Confucian social morality and to ultimately unite China under a centralized ideology following the emergence of ideological challenges to the status quo. The movement itself was modeled on Confucianism, mixed with Christianity, nationalism, and authoritarianism that have some similarities to fascism,[22] and thus, it rejected individualism and liberalism. The Kuomintang launched the initiative on 19 February 1934 as part of an anti-communist campaign and soon enlarged the campaign to target all of China.

Some historians regard this movement as imitating Nazism and regard this movement as being a neo-nationalistic movement used to elevate Chiang's control of everyday lives. Frederic Wakeman suggested that the New Life Movement was "Confucian fascism",[23] However, Chiang repeatedly attacked his enemies such as the Empire of Japan as fascistic and ultra-militaristic.[24][25] The Sino-German relationship also rapidly deteriorated as Germany failed to pursue a detente between China and Japan, which led to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. China later declared war on fascist countries, including Germany, Italy, and Japan, as part of the Declarations of war during World War II.

Other historians, such as Jay Taylor, argue that Chiang's ideology does not espouse the general ideology of fascism despite his growing sympathies with fascist ideas in the 1930s.[18]

The military played a large role in China's government during Chiang's rule, with the National Revolutionary Army under direct control of the Kuomintang until 1946.

The Kuomintang was a Chinese nationalist revolutionary party that had been supported by the Soviet Union. It was organized on Leninism.[26] Contrary to the view that he was pro-capitalist, Chiang Kai-shek behaved in an antagonistic manner to the capitalists in China, often attacking them and confiscating their capital and assets for the use of the government.

Chiang cracked down on pro-communist unions and peasant organizations, and the wealthy Shanghai capitalists at the same time. Chiang Kai-shek continued Sun's anti-capitalist ideology. The Republic of China's media openly attacked the capitalists and capitalism, supporting a government-controlled economy instead of privately owned ones.

Jay Taylor has noted that Chiang's hybrid revolutionary nationalism ideology is inspired by both the French republican movement and Confucianism. He described Chiang as a "left-leaning Confucian-Jacobinist".