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MODERN HISTORY OF CHINA

Objective chronological listing of significant events leading up to modern China.

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1948

  • January - Nationalist forces routed outside the city of Shenyang in Manchuria.
  • January - Exchange rate of the Chinese currency suffers dramatic falls .
  • January - Central committee of the Democratic League meets in Hong Kong and forms an alliance with the Communists.
  • April - Chiang Kai-shek and Li Zongren elected president and vice president by the National Assembly in Nanjing.
  • April – The U.S. Congress approves the China Aid Act.
  • May - Siege of Changchun begins. The five month siege would end in surrender of the Nationalist defenders and the deaths of about 300,000 civilians due to starvation.
  • May - Temporary Provisions for Mobilization for the Period of Suppressing Rebellion. The Constitution is suspended. The Temporary Provisions would not be terminated until 1987.
  • June – Kaifeng, capital of Henan province, is captured by the Communists.
  • August – Announcement of reforms: a new currency called the Gold Yuan is introduced, all precious metals and foreign currencies to be handed to the government in exchange for the new currency, prices and wages are fixed at their August 1948 levels, all strikes and public protests are prohibited.
  • September – Communists capture Jinan, capital of Shandong province. The first large city south of the Great Wall to be taken permanently by Communists forces.
  • October – The United States decides to evacuate its citizens from Beijing and Tianjin.
  • November – Harry Truman re-elected president of the United States.
  • November – The city of Shenyang in Manchuria is captured by Communist forces. U.S. consul general Ward stays behind and is put under house arrest.
  • November - All of Manchuria comes under Communist control.
  • November - U.S. military supplies begin to arrive in China under the U.S. China Aid Act. Much of the aid is delivered to Taiwan.
  • December - Communist forces capture Xuzhou, gateway to Nationalist capital Nanjing.
  • December - Beijing surrounded by Communist forces.