Fujian People's Government

The People's Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China , also known as the Fujian People's Government , was a short-lived anti-Kuomintang government in the Republic of China's Fujian Province. The rebellion that led to its formation and its collapse are known as the Fujian Incident or Fujian Rebellion.



In November 1933, some leaders of the National Revolutionary Army's 19th Route Army including Cai Tingkai, Chen Mingshu, and Jiang Guangnai, who had gained fame for their role in the January 28 Incident, were deployed to southern China to suppress communist rebellion, but instead they negotiated peace with the rebels. In alliance with other Kuomintang forces under Li Jishen, the 19th Route leaders broke with Chiang Kai-shek and took control of Fujian where they were stationed and, on November 22 1933, proclaimed a new government. The chairman of the government was Li Jishen, Eugene Chen was foreign minister, Jiang Guangnai was finance minister, and Cai Tingkai was military head and governor of Fujian Province. A flag of red over blue with a yellow star was used and the Chinese era name of the new state was "Republic of China" with its founding being year one.

The rebels were motivated by, among other things, personal disagreements with Chiang Kai-shek, opposition to perceived appeasement of , and their assignment to the then relatively poor Fujian. The goals of the new government included the overthrowing of the Kuomintang government in Nanjing, various social and political reforms, and a stronger resistance to foreign interference in China. The rebellion brought a temporary halt to the central government's Fifth Encirclement Campaign in southeast China. However, implied or promised aid to the rebellion from the 's Jiangxi Soviet failed to materialize and the effort began to collapse.

The Kuomintang responded to the rebellion first with air attacks and, in January 1934, with a ground offensive that quickly led to the defeat to the formerly prestigious 19th Route Army. On 13 January 1934, the government was defeated and its leaders fled or defected to Chiang Kai-shek's forces.

References and further reading

*William F. Dorrill. ''The China Quarterly'', No. 37. , pp. 31-53.
*Frederick S. Litten. ''Republican China'', vol. XIV, number 1, November 1988, pp. 57-74. Accessed 20 February 2007.