BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Owning up to the Past: The KMT's Role in the War Against Japan and
  the Impact on CCP Legitimacy - Dr Robert Weatherley\, Fellow of Robinson 
 College\, Lecturer at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
DTSTART:20121107T130000Z
DTEND:20121107T140000Z
UID:TALK39242@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr. Meredith M. Hale
DESCRIPTION:This article examines the emergence of an increasingly vocifer
 ous public debate in China over the true contribution made by the KMT (Chi
 nese Nationalist Party) in the war against Japan (1937-45). Following year
 s\nof rigid adherence to the traditional Maoist line that the Chinese Comm
 unist Party (CCP) won the war almost single-handedly\, the CCP has finally
  moved towards a more honest assessment that recognises the pivotal contri
 bution made by the KMT\, historically a sworn enemy of the CCP after the c
 ivil war of 1945-49. The rationale for conceding this point is ultimately 
 linked to the question of nationalist legitimacy. At a time of increasing 
 socio-economic uncertainty and in an effort to fill the ideological void l
 eft by the demise of Chinese Marxism\, the CCP is trying hard to bolster i
 ts nationalist credentials. One way that it is doing this is by presenting
  a united patriotic front on the war against Japan\, with itself at the he
 lm. However\, things have not materialised in the way the CCP had anticipa
 ted. Along with strong expressions of national pride in China's war effort
 \, some members of the public have responded with sympathy towards the KMT
  veterans who fought the Japanese. But with this sympathy has come antipat
 hy towards the CCP who are accused of persecuting KMT soldiers after 1949\
 , of re-writing the history of the war for its own propaganda purposes and
  of betraying the nation by\, amongst other things\, avoiding armed confli
 ct with Japan and leaving the KMT to fight the war on its own. In light of
  this growing public reaction\, I argue that instead of fortifying the CCP
 's nationalist legitimacy\, the official reappraisal of the KMT's role in\
 nthe war runs the risk of eroding that legitimacy.
LOCATION:Combination Room\, Wolfson College
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR