Christina Elizabeth Firpo
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824847579
- eISBN:
- 9780824869007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824847579.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
During the French Indochina War (1946-1954)—in which France attempted to reestablish colonial control over Indochina while the DRV aimed to establish Vietnamese sovereignty–the colony’s métis ...
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During the French Indochina War (1946-1954)—in which France attempted to reestablish colonial control over Indochina while the DRV aimed to establish Vietnamese sovereignty–the colony’s métis population became a potent and bitterly contested political symbol. To the DRV, métis who had voluntarily turned their back on their father state (France) in favor of their motherland (Vietnam) embodied the revolutionary spirit. To the French colonial government, by contrast, métis were not only a cultural affront but also a political danger given that they could easily defect and be drawn into the anticolonial movement. The French colonial government and the military continued to support the institutionalization of fatherless métis children in protection society orphanages so as to minimize the chances of their rebelling against the colonial government. Under the leadership of adult métis, the protection societies expanded their searches to include the métis children of African, Caribbean, and Indian troops who had been brought in to fight the war.Less
During the French Indochina War (1946-1954)—in which France attempted to reestablish colonial control over Indochina while the DRV aimed to establish Vietnamese sovereignty–the colony’s métis population became a potent and bitterly contested political symbol. To the DRV, métis who had voluntarily turned their back on their father state (France) in favor of their motherland (Vietnam) embodied the revolutionary spirit. To the French colonial government, by contrast, métis were not only a cultural affront but also a political danger given that they could easily defect and be drawn into the anticolonial movement. The French colonial government and the military continued to support the institutionalization of fatherless métis children in protection society orphanages so as to minimize the chances of their rebelling against the colonial government. Under the leadership of adult métis, the protection societies expanded their searches to include the métis children of African, Caribbean, and Indian troops who had been brought in to fight the war.
Xiaobing Li
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780813177946
- eISBN:
- 9780813177953
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813177946.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
Chapter 2 examines what the Viet Minh needed from China and Mao’s determination to support Ho’s war effort. It discusses Mao’s concerns about national security since Josef Stalin was not ready to ...
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Chapter 2 examines what the Viet Minh needed from China and Mao’s determination to support Ho’s war effort. It discusses Mao’s concerns about national security since Josef Stalin was not ready to send Soviet forces to defend Chinese borders against a foreign invasion. Mao therefore decided on a self-reliant, proactive defense to stop the Western powers outside the Chinese borders in neighboring countries like Vietnam and break the US military encirclement of China in East and Southeast Asia. Although external Cold War factors may appear to be one of the motives behind Mao’s decision, his strategy also was driven by significant internal factors. China’s power status depended more on its political stability and military strength than on its foreign relations. In this sense, Mao may have perceived China’s involvement in the French Indochina War as a chance to continue the Communist movement at home and to project New China’s power image abroad. The PLA’s victory in the civil war gave Mao and his generals confidence in their ability to help the Viet Minh drive the French Army out of Indochina and later to help Kim Il-sung to drive the UN force out of the Korean peninsula.Less
Chapter 2 examines what the Viet Minh needed from China and Mao’s determination to support Ho’s war effort. It discusses Mao’s concerns about national security since Josef Stalin was not ready to send Soviet forces to defend Chinese borders against a foreign invasion. Mao therefore decided on a self-reliant, proactive defense to stop the Western powers outside the Chinese borders in neighboring countries like Vietnam and break the US military encirclement of China in East and Southeast Asia. Although external Cold War factors may appear to be one of the motives behind Mao’s decision, his strategy also was driven by significant internal factors. China’s power status depended more on its political stability and military strength than on its foreign relations. In this sense, Mao may have perceived China’s involvement in the French Indochina War as a chance to continue the Communist movement at home and to project New China’s power image abroad. The PLA’s victory in the civil war gave Mao and his generals confidence in their ability to help the Viet Minh drive the French Army out of Indochina and later to help Kim Il-sung to drive the UN force out of the Korean peninsula.
Xiaobing Li
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780813177946
- eISBN:
- 9780813177953
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813177946.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
As a Communist state bordering Vietnam, China actively supported Ho Chi Minh’s wars against France in 1950–1954 and then America in 1965–1970. This book uses new Communist sources to offer an ...
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As a Communist state bordering Vietnam, China actively supported Ho Chi Minh’s wars against France in 1950–1954 and then America in 1965–1970. This book uses new Communist sources to offer an unprecedented Chinese military perspective on the Vietnam War. By documenting the level of Chinese military assistance to Vietnam, it reveals the extent to which the Chinese support of Ho’s military and political objective in the wars was a crucial and indispensable factor in North Vietnam’s victory. The study offers an overview and the particulars of Chinese aid to Ho’s army, or PAVN, in terms of training, weaponry, logistics, advisors, and technology during its transformative years of 1950–1956 in depth and detail based on a foundation of multiple documentary sources, memoirs, interviews, and secondary sources both in China and in Vietnam. With Chinese assistance, the PAVN experienced three important transformative changes from a peasant, rebellion force to a regular, national army. In retrospect, international Communist support to North Vietnam proved to be the decisive edge that enabled the PAVN, or NVA, to survive the American Rolling Thunder bombing campaign and helped the NLF, also known as the Viet Cong, to prevail in the war of attrition and eventually defeat South Vietnam. An international perspective may help students and the public in the West to gain a better understanding of America’s long war.Less
As a Communist state bordering Vietnam, China actively supported Ho Chi Minh’s wars against France in 1950–1954 and then America in 1965–1970. This book uses new Communist sources to offer an unprecedented Chinese military perspective on the Vietnam War. By documenting the level of Chinese military assistance to Vietnam, it reveals the extent to which the Chinese support of Ho’s military and political objective in the wars was a crucial and indispensable factor in North Vietnam’s victory. The study offers an overview and the particulars of Chinese aid to Ho’s army, or PAVN, in terms of training, weaponry, logistics, advisors, and technology during its transformative years of 1950–1956 in depth and detail based on a foundation of multiple documentary sources, memoirs, interviews, and secondary sources both in China and in Vietnam. With Chinese assistance, the PAVN experienced three important transformative changes from a peasant, rebellion force to a regular, national army. In retrospect, international Communist support to North Vietnam proved to be the decisive edge that enabled the PAVN, or NVA, to survive the American Rolling Thunder bombing campaign and helped the NLF, also known as the Viet Cong, to prevail in the war of attrition and eventually defeat South Vietnam. An international perspective may help students and the public in the West to gain a better understanding of America’s long war.
