Shanghai Massacre (1927)
Tue Apr 12, 1927
Image: [socialistalternative.org]
On this day in 1927, conservative forces led by Chiang Kai-shek carried out the Shanghai Massacre, attacking and disarming workers' militias by force, resulting in more than 300 people being killed or wounded.
This incident marked the beginning of a campaign of violent suppression of Chinese communists by conservative factions in the Kuomintang, killing 300,000 people over the course of three years.
The Shanghai Massacre began before dawn, when nationalist troops began to attack district offices controlled by the union workers. Under an emergency decree, Chiang then ordered the 26th Army to disarm the workers' militias.
The union workers organized a mass meeting denouncing Chiang Kai-shek the next day, and thousands of workers and students went to the headquarters of the 2nd Division of the 26th Army to protest. Soldiers opened fire, killing 100 and wounding many more.
This incident marked the beginning of a prolonged purge of communists from the Wuhan province, and the ensuing violence killed over 300,000 people in less than three years. Stalin offered his support, sending a telegram to the Chinese communists on June 1st, urging them to take up arms against the state.
- Date: 1927-04-12
- Learn More: www.socialistalternative.org, en.wikipedia.org.
- Tags: #Communism, #Labor, #Massacre.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org
The Kuomintang were eventually pushed out of China through the aftermath of World War 2. The remnants of the Kuomintang armies splintered and variously ran heroin operations in SE asia while the bulk of them took control of Taiwan by military dictatorship until the 1990s.