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BENDIGO had become "the spearhead of communism" and its trades hall needed to be purged, an RSL sub-branch president declared as hundreds of veterans prepared to march on the View Street building. The year was 1949 and returned servicemen were part of what today appears the unlikely vanguard of the fight against the Red Menace. It's a reminder of a forgotten era for RSLs, which this month marks 105 years since the first sub-branch was established in Australia. But for much of its history Australia's RSL network often found itself on the front line of a threat lurking in domestic politics, not foreign battlefields. That includes in Bendigo, where sometimes violent trades hall meetings spurred an anti-communist fervor that soon spread into a string of country towns. So, how did our city become a hotbed for forces awaiting the downfall of capitalism? And why on earth were RSLs leading the charge? This is a story about the fight for control of Bendigo Trades Hall, which by the late 1940s had been taken over by unions aligned with groups like the Communist Party of Australia. Communist aligned trade union officials barred the doors to the View Street hall multiple times, angry crowds heckled speakers and punches were thrown and multiple groups claimed control of the city's industrial agenda. Bendigo's RSL sub-branch was one of the most vocal members of an alliance that appears to have shaped and reflected deeply held views about the threat of communism at all levels of Australian life. It helped workers elect anti-communist union members to positions of power and organised rallies, then Bendigo RSL president J Skehan told his sub-branch's Anti-Communist Committee at a meeting attended by RSLs and multiple unions. "It is up to us to rid Bendigo generally of the menace," he said in a Bendigo Advertiser story from 1949. The RSL even had a weekly column in the newspaper which, among other things, occasionally plugged upcoming ant-communist rallies. "Diggers assemble," one column from October 1949 implored readers. "Bendigo sub-branch secretary urgently requests all diggers to assemble at the Memorial Hall to-night at 6.45pm," the cryptic article continued. "They will be informed of what is required of them on their arrival. The matter is extremely urgent." What followed that night were clashes between militant and moderate unionists at the town hall, with the latter taking over proceedings. For many World War Two veterans, the fear of losing liberties they had fought for to totalitarian regimes like those in Russia and China was powerful. More showdowns would take place in the year that followed, including later that month when police "chased" militant unionists from the hall, according to a Bendigo Advertiser report. Crowds of as many as 500 people regularly turned up to force communists out of the hall over that two-year period, multiple media reports from Victorian news outlets show. Numbers alone were not enough to stop communist-aligned groups. Scuffles often broke out as speakers were howled down and eggs were thrown. Some workers turned hoses on union officials trying to speak at one worksite. Anti-communist trade union officials began warning workers that their rivals were recruiting "bashers" to protect themselves at meetings, and to stay safe at Bendigo rallies. Pro-communist groups alleged they were the victims of the same sorts of tactics. La Trobe University's Ian Tulloch said Bendigo's industrial unrest was not as significant as others elsewhere in the country, but was a sign of the times. "We are talking about this historical period just at the really early stages of the Cold War," the expert on Australian politics said. "Mao had just taken over in China, Russia had risen." More from this history series: Did a dodgy cop's incompetence blow up an open and shut case? RSL leaders had been concerned about communism for decades and were finding common cause with conservative politicians, parts of the Labor party, right-wing unions and other "fellow travellers", Mr Tulloch said. Communists were a force to be reckoned with and had come close to taking control of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in 1945. It would have been a glittering prize. Unions represented as much as 60 per cent of the workforce, so they had a lot of influence. What's more, many Australian workers were happy to give communist union officials the keys to union buildings. "These leaders were all elected by members, of course. So it wasn't just that they took nefarious means to take over," Mr Tulloch said. Many workers - including in Bendigo - believed communist union leaders were among the few militant enough to deliver them better pay. They had a point. Then prime minister and Labor party leader Ben Chifley had taken over the country as World War Two ended. He had inherited an economy that had been pummeled by the war and was trying to rebuild it. Chifley feared what might happen if unions allowed inflation to rise by pushing for wages his government deemed to be too high. "I can imagine, quite easily, that this enabled a lot of Australian Communist Party officials to become elected," Mr Tulloch said. And why wouldn't you be prepared to strike for better pay and conditions? More from this history series: Should councils tax you? Why Bendigo's once wanted a slice of your income That is exactly what had happened earlier in 1949, when communist union leaders helped lead a coal worker strike with the support of people across the country. Chifley was so alarmed he deployed the army to fill labour shortages. It was the first time outside of war that soldiers had been used to break a strike. The Reds were not just under the bed. They were on the picket lines. Still, the Australian Communist Party largely failed to turn that workplace support into ideological change. People wanted better pay, not revolution. That communists controlled Bendigo's Trades Hall must have seemed an ominous sign to many when war with Russia seemed possible, if not likely. The fights over trade unions could not have come at a worse time for the Labor government, which was fighting a losing battle to keep control in a looming election. The Coalition was telling voters there was no difference between a moderate and militant in the Labor movement. When you vote LABOR you vote SOCIALIST! And socialism is the road downhill to communism," one typical 1949 Liberal party election advertisement declared in the Bendigo Advertiser. Labor lost power and unions lost their inside link to the corridors of power. Things turned out much better for the Bendigo RSL anti-communist campaign. It was so successful that towns like Echuca and Ballarat reenergised their own anti-communist movements. The new Coalition government tried unsuccessfully to ban the Australian Communist Party in the 1950s. Even without a ban, communist leaders in Bendigo had already lost power. Moderate unionists smashed their way into the hall in August 1950 after communists barricaded the doors, bringing that battle for Bendigo to a close. This story is the latest in the Bendigo Weekly's regular history series WHAT HAPPENED? Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

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BENDIGO had become "the spearhead of communism" and its trades hall needed to be purged, an RSL sub-branch president declared as hundreds of veterans prepared to march on the View Street building.

The year was 1949 and returned servicemen were part of what today appears the unlikely vanguard of the fight against the Red Menace.

It's a reminder of a forgotten era for RSLs, which this month marks 105 years since the first sub-branch was established in Australia.

But for much of its history Australia's RSL network often found itself on the front line of a threat lurking in domestic politics, not foreign battlefields.

That includes in Bendigo, where sometimes violent trades hall meetings spurred an anti-communist fervor that soon spread into a string of country towns.

So, how did our city become a hotbed for forces awaiting the downfall of capitalism?

And why on earth were RSLs leading the charge?

A story in Melbourne paper The Argus from Wednesday August 10, 1949. Image courtesy of TROVE

Bitter feud a sign of the times

This is a story about the fight for control of Bendigo Trades Hall, which by the late 1940s had been taken over by unions aligned with groups like the Communist Party of Australia.

Communist aligned trade union officials barred the doors to the View Street hall multiple times, angry crowds heckled speakers and punches were thrown and multiple groups claimed control of the city's industrial agenda.

Bendigo's RSL sub-branch was one of the most vocal members of an alliance that appears to have shaped and reflected deeply held views about the threat of communism at all levels of Australian life.

It helped workers elect anti-communist union members to positions of power and organised rallies, then Bendigo RSL president J Skehan told his sub-branch's Anti-Communist Committee at a meeting attended by RSLs and multiple unions.

"It is up to us to rid Bendigo generally of the menace," he said in a Bendigo Advertiser story from 1949.

The RSL even had a weekly column in the newspaper which, among other things, occasionally plugged upcoming ant-communist rallies.

"Diggers assemble," one column from October 1949 implored readers.

A meeting outside trades hall shortly before moderate union and RSL groups stormed the building. Picture: BENDIGO ADVERTISER, courtesy of the Bendigo Library

"Bendigo sub-branch secretary urgently requests all diggers to assemble at the Memorial Hall to-night at 6.45pm," the cryptic article continued.

"They will be informed of what is required of them on their arrival. The matter is extremely urgent."

What followed that night were clashes between militant and moderate unionists at the town hall, with the latter taking over proceedings.

For many World War Two veterans, the fear of losing liberties they had fought for to totalitarian regimes like those in Russia and China was powerful.

More showdowns would take place in the year that followed, including later that month when police "chased" militant unionists from the hall, according to a Bendigo Advertiser report.

Crowds of as many as 500 people regularly turned up to force communists out of the hall over that two-year period, multiple media reports from Victorian news outlets show.

Numbers alone were not enough to stop communist-aligned groups.

Scuffles often broke out as speakers were howled down and eggs were thrown. Some workers turned hoses on union officials trying to speak at one worksite.

A front page story from the Bendigo Advertiser at the height of the conflict. Image courtesy of the Bendigo Library

Anti-communist trade union officials began warning workers that their rivals were recruiting "bashers" to protect themselves at meetings, and to stay safe at Bendigo rallies.

Pro-communist groups alleged they were the victims of the same sorts of tactics.

La Trobe University's Ian Tulloch said Bendigo's industrial unrest was not as significant as others elsewhere in the country, but was a sign of the times.

"We are talking about this historical period just at the really early stages of the Cold War," the expert on Australian politics said.

"Mao had just taken over in China, Russia had risen."

RSL leaders had been concerned about communism for decades and were finding common cause with conservative politicians, parts of the Labor party, right-wing unions and other "fellow travellers", Mr Tulloch said.

Communists were a force to be reckoned with and had come close to taking control of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in 1945.

It would have been a glittering prize. Unions represented as much as 60 per cent of the workforce, so they had a lot of influence.

What's more, many Australian workers were happy to give communist union officials the keys to union buildings.

"These leaders were all elected by members, of course. So it wasn't just that they took nefarious means to take over," Mr Tulloch said.

Many workers - including in Bendigo - believed communist union leaders were among the few militant enough to deliver them better pay.

Ben Chifley. Image courtesy of the National Museum of Australia

Wages stagnate in post-war rebuild

Then prime minister and Labor party leader Ben Chifley had taken over the country as World War Two ended.

He had inherited an economy that had been pummeled by the war and was trying to rebuild it.

Chifley feared what might happen if unions allowed inflation to rise by pushing for wages his government deemed to be too high.

"I can imagine, quite easily, that this enabled a lot of Australian Communist Party officials to become elected," Mr Tulloch said.

And why wouldn't you be prepared to strike for better pay and conditions?

That is exactly what had happened earlier in 1949, when communist union leaders helped lead a coal worker strike with the support of people across the country.

Chifley was so alarmed he deployed the army to fill labour shortages. It was the first time outside of war that soldiers had been used to break a strike.

The Reds were not just under the bed. They were on the picket lines.

Still, the Australian Communist Party largely failed to turn that workplace support into ideological change.

People wanted better pay, not revolution.

That communists controlled Bendigo's Trades Hall must have seemed an ominous sign to many when war with Russia seemed possible, if not likely.

The fights over trade unions could not have come at a worse time for the Labor government, which was fighting a losing battle to keep control in a looming election.

The Coalition was telling voters there was no difference between a moderate and militant in the Labor movement.

When you vote LABOR you vote SOCIALIST! And socialism is the road downhill to communism," one typical 1949 Liberal party election advertisement declared in the Bendigo Advertiser.

Labor lost power and unions lost their inside link to the corridors of power.

Things turned out much better for the Bendigo RSL anti-communist campaign.

A front page story from the Riverine Herald on Saturday October 22, 1949

It was so successful that towns like Echuca and Ballarat reenergised their own anti-communist movements.

The new Coalition government tried unsuccessfully to ban the Australian Communist Party in the 1950s.

Even without a ban, communist leaders in Bendigo had already lost power.

Moderate unionists smashed their way into the hall in August 1950 after communists barricaded the doors, bringing that battle for Bendigo to a close.

This story is the latest in the Bendigo Weekly's regular history series WHAT HAPPENED?

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

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How Bendigo became 'the spearhead of communism' | This week in history - Bendigo Advertiser

Time for a Realiti check.

Canadian singer Grimes (nee Claire Boucher) hit the wrong note with many of her followers in a new TikTok video thats gone viral.

In a roughly minute-long clip that the musician and romantic partner of Tesla TSLA, +4.58% founder Elon Musk posted on Wednesday, Grimes claimed that artificial intelligence enables communism. In her own words:

So, typically, most of the communists I know are not big fans of A.I. But, if you think about it, A.I. is actually the fastest path to communism.

I have a proposition for the communists. So, typically, most of the communists I know are not big fans of A.I. But, if you think about it, A.I. is actually the fastest path to communism, the Realiti singer began.

So, if implemented correctly, A.I. could actually, theoretically solve for abundance. Like, we could totally get to a situation where nobody has to work. Everybody is provided for with a comparable state of being, comfortable living, Grimes continued. A.I. could automate all the farming, weed out systematic corruption, thereby bringing us as close as possible to genuine equality.

She concluded: So basically, everything everybody loves about communism but without the collective farm cause, lets be real, enforced farming is really not a vibe.

This sparked a strong reaction on both TikTok and Twitter TWTR, +3.49%, with many viewers questioning her grasp of communism. For one thing, people are still expected to work under the classless society derived from Karl Marx. All property is publicly owned, and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs, per the Oxford Dictionary definition of the political theory.

Other viewers pointed out that Musk, Grimess boyfriend and the father of her child, is the third wealthiest person in the world with a net worth around $150 billion, according to Forbes. So her push for economic equality falls somewhat flat when considering her own lavish lifestyle.

Just to be clear here the girlfriend of a billionaire who is currently vying for the most wealth ever amassed in history is arguing that AI will somehow bring us Communism, thereby forcing her bf to share his wealth with the rest of us? Like, couldnt he just do that whenever? wrote Twitter user @ibvanmat.

Why is GRIMES of all people talking about communism? asked another.

Grimes has adopted her boyfriends stunning ability to say a bunch of techbro nonsense and think she sounds profound, mused another viewer, whose comment has been liked 900 times.

The clip went viral overnight, with the original video drawing more than 14,000 comments and around 151,000 likes on TikTok. Grimes was also trending on Twitter on Thursday, with more than 17,000 tweets discussing her comments by the afternoon.

See the original post:
Elon Musk's partner Grimes says 'A.I. is the fastest path to communism' - MarketWatch

On Thursday, I debated against the cult Slovenian philosopher Slavoj iek at the Cambridge Union. The motion? This House believes that Marx was right. It is extraordinary, on one level, that such a debate can still be held. No one would dream of discussing whether Torquemada or Mullah Omar or Anders Behring Breivik was right. In the grisly tally of murder, Marxism stands unchallenged. The abominable Atlantic slave trade claimed ten million lives. The Nazis, their evils protracted by the lights of perverted science, killed 17 million. Communism has so far slaughtered 100 million. Marx may not have killed anyone with his own hands. Neither, as far as we know, did Hitler, but no one tries to claim that this exculpates him from the horrors unleashed by his doctrines. Only communists get a special pass here. Every barbarity they inflict is explained away as not real socialism.

To see how absurd that is, imagine arguing that Hitlers crimes were not real fascism. Fascism, like every other doctrine, is judged by its actual record. Only communism is treated as textbook theory, too pure and numinous to be sullied by real- world examples. Yet history has furnished us with some laboratory-standard experiments: China versus Taiwan, East Germany versus West Germany, North Korea versus South Korea. While free-marketeers are generally prepared to accept that, say, South Korea, marred by occasional corruption and abuses, is an imperfect capitalist state, Western communists resolutely refuse to allow similar inferences to be drawn about North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela or anywhere else. Such, at any rate, were my arguments in the debate. But I was uneasily aware as I made them that they were unlikely to hit home. Marxism is more like a religious sect than a political creed. The more palpably absurd its tenets become, the more the faithful flaunt their piety by embracing them. Marx insisted that his doctrines were scientific truths rather than political opinions. Yet every prediction he made turned out to be wrong. The market system did not destroy the bourgeoisie it enlarged it. It did not concentrate wealth in the hands of a tiny oligarchy it increased it across the board. It did not exhaust resources it kept finding more. Most obviously, it did not collapse under the weight of its contradictions.

Yet, in every generation, a new crop of devotees arises to explain that this time it will be different, this time the prophecy will be fulfilled. Marxists resemble nothing so much as doomsday cultists, constantly shifting the date of their Armageddon as it keeps failing to materialise. Then again, religions evolve, adapt, spawn heresies that sometimes displace them. During the debate, iek told me that he had become something of a hate figure among younger Leftist radicals because he diverged from the woke line on some gender and identity issues.

Woke began as an offshoot of left- wing ideology, transferring the role of the proletariat from the traditional working class to various minorities and ethnicities. But it soon evolved its own dogmas and sacraments, its own purity rites. Like Marxists, wokies are millenarians, working for a magical tomorrow that owes nothing either to past practice or to human frailties.

Like Marxists, they see themselves as an elect, and are constantly on the lookout for deviations from orthodoxy. One of the things they have started to notice is that the old cadger himself had, by their lights, some sacrilegious views. Even if we discount Marxs abhorrent anti-Semitism (which wokies too rarely count as proper racism), we are left with his dismissal of backward races, which he believed would hold humanity back, and his pleasure that lazy Mexicans had been conquered by an expanding America: In America we have witnessed the conquest of Mexico and have rejoiced at it. It is to the interest of its own development that Mexico will be placed under the tutelage of the United States.

Could it be that the woke are breaking from the old faith? Might they even cancel its original prophet? iek told the Cambridge Union that he radically oposes radically opposes the politically correct obsession with identity and gender politics. In this sense, I am an orthodox Marxist. One thing is already depressingly clear. If identity politics takes over from traditional Marxism, it will be every bit as repressive and intolerant as its predecessor. It has left us in no doubt on that score.

Excerpt from:
Communism is evolving. But the new version isn't any less toxic than the old - Telegraph.co.uk

Canadian singer-songwriter Grimes (Claire Elise Boucher).

Just like her partner Elon Musk, Grimes seems to want to save humanity from itself, via grand, poorly thought-out ideas that involve little more than sitting back, and letting the billionaires take care care of it.

Dont waste time thinking about all that staggering wealth inequality, climate change, or whatever - artificial intelligence is going to swoop down and save us, somehow.

In a TikTok posted to her account on Wednesday with the caption A.I. is the fastest path to communism, the pop star offered her insight into the state of the world, and the limitless luxury of the future.

So typically, most of the communists I know are not big fans of A.I, Grimes began. But, if you think about it, A.I. is actually the fastest path to communism. She went on to explain, So, if implemented correctly, A.I. could actually theoretically solve for abundance. Like, we could totally get to a situation where nobody has to work; everybody is provided for with a comparable state of being, comfortable living. A.I. could automate all the farming, weed out systematic corruption, thereby bringing us as close as possible to genuine equality.

She concluded her proposal by adding, So basically, everything that everybody loves about communism, but without the collective farm. Cause, lets be real, enforced farming is really not a vibe.

The most accurate statement was surely the final sentence - enforced farming is indeed, not a vibe. Idyllic farming sims like Stardew Valley aside, the average urban dweller is hilariously unequipped for the simple life. One cant deny that the cant someone else do it? philosophy is extremely appealing, at least, when applied to machines.

But Grimes might have been better off opening a book (or at least skimming Wikipedia) before filming that TikTok clip - she seems to have a fundamental misunderstanding of what communism is. Hence, Twitter leftists leaped at the opportunity to explain what Grimes misinterpreted.

Other Twitter users poked fun at Grimes confident, casual ignorance, along with the irony of her being in a relationship with one of the richest men on the planet.

Communists, of course, do not envision a world devoid of work, but a world in which workers are entitled to reap the benefits from their labour. The intent is defined by the phrase, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Before being associated with hyper-capitalist Elon Musk, Grimes appeared to be a proud anti-capitalist (and edgelord), even quoting Joseph Stalin in her senior yearbook photo.

Grimes appears to be, like so many artists that inhabit the world of the uber-wealthy, cosplaying as a revolutionary, vaguely posturing towards leftist ideas, while demonstrating a complete misunderstanding (and seemingly, a lack of interest) towards them.

And to be fair, why would she? Grimes, along with Elon Musk, doesnt need to worry about who controls her hypothetical, godlike AI; the two are forever cushioned by the invisible safety net of immense wealth and privilege.

Maybe that future Mars settlement could use someone a bit more ... down-to-earth.

Go here to read the rest:
On TikTok, Grimes Pitches Fully Automated Luxury Communism - Forbes

By Richard Baum, Ph.D., University of California, Los AngelesChinasGuomindangforcibly conscripted millions of young men for the war effort. (Image: Everett Collection/Shutterstock)A Near Miss

By the time the Chinese communists completed the Long March early in 1936, their ranks had been decimated by the pursuing nationalist armies and by the rigors of their 6,000 mile trek. They were exhausted, and vulnerable.

It was against this backdrop that in December 1936, the Young Marshal, Zhang Xueliang, was ordered by the nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-shek, to attack the communist stronghold in Yanan. Had he obeyed, there is little doubt that the Chinese Communist Party would have been wiped out in short order.

But Zhang Xueliang rebelled, and the communists were spared a final, fatal Nationalist assault. In the negotiated truce that followed, the communists were abletorevivethemselves, regroup, and gradually regain their lost momentum.

This is a transcript from the video series The Fall and Rise of China. Watch it now, on The Great Courses Plus.

When war with Japan broke out six months later, the massive Japanese assault that followed proved disastrous for the nationalists. It was directed largely at their strongholds. Most of the fatalities occurred during the nationalists unsuccessful defence of Shanghai, which fell to the invading Japanese in the autumn of 1937.

After occupying Shanghai and several key cities on the North China Plain, the Japanese next trained their sights on the nationalists capital of Nanjing. Though the Japanese assault began as a conventional military operation, it, however, quickly degenerated into uncontrolled havoc. By the end of January 1938, widespread looting, robbery, and arson had left much of the Guomindang capital in ruins.

After Nanjing, the Japanese army conducted an all-out offensive throughout the urban centers of the Yangzi River delta. By October 1938, the nationalists were forced to retreat into the deep rural interior of Sichuan Province. They made their headquarters in the commercial hub city of Chongqing. Nonetheless, Guomindangs military supply routes continued to came under heavy Japanese aerial bombardment.

The communists were able to avoid the brunt of Japanese attacks, which were directed mainly against Nationalist-held cities, rail lines, and commercial centers in east and northeast

With war material, consumer goods, and foodstuffs all in extremely short supply in Chongqing, inflationary pressures began to mount on the nationalists. These pressures were compounded by ill-advised government policies that responded to growing commodity shortages by increasing the supply of money, thereby fueling an inflationary spiral.

To compound to the problem the Guomindang forcibly conscripted millions of young men for the war effort. With their meagre pay, they were unable to support themselves and their families. They, thus, not only deserted but preyed on civilians in the countryside, stealing from those more helpless and vulnerable than themselves.

As corruption rose to dangerous levels, the Nationalists image suffered and popular morale steadily eroded.

To mobilize peasant support, the Red Army, (now named the Peoples Liberation Army or PLA), paid great attention to the political indoctrination of its recruits, so that they would not exploit local farmers. In this respect, their wartime behavior compared quite favorably with that of their increasingly predatory nationalist counterparts.

In addition, Yanan served as a magnet for patriotic Chinese from all parts of the country. Between 1937 and 1942, tens of thousands of people made their way to the communist base area to join the anti-Japanese resistance.

In the effort to counteract growing communist influence in the villages of north China, Japanese commanders pursued a scorched-earth policy of kill all, burn all, destroy all. Entire villages, suspected of harboring Communist agents, were burned to the ground, their inhabitants slaughtered. As a result, a deep and abiding rage against Japan took root among the peasants of north China. This rage ironically further propelled the Chinese communists in the rural psyche.

Learn more about the birth of Chinese communism.

Never trusting each other, Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek each sought to take advantage of the others vulnerabilities and weaknesses. The tensions between them reached the boiling point in July of 1941, when 9,000 communist troops from the PLAs New Fourth Army were ambushed by 80,000 nationalist soldiers in the mountains of south-central China. More than 3,000 Communists were killed, while additional thousands were sent to Guomindang prison camps.

Although from a purely military viewpoint the massacre was an unmitigated disaster for the communists, they were able to turn it to their advantage. By focusing their propaganda on Chiang Kai-sheks cold-blooded perfidy and his lack of sincerity in resisting Japan, they were able to generate considerable political capital and sympathy from the New Fourth Army Incident.

Learn more about the socialist transformation of 1953-1957.

When the US ended its neutral stand in the Sino-Japanese war, it got an opportunity to observe both the nationalists as well as the Communist Party.

General Stilwell observed that Chiang Kai-shek was far more interested in preserving his forces for the final showdown with communism than he was in engaging Japanese troops on the battlefield. The Dixie Mission on the other hand, too, felt the leadership of the Guomindang was corrupt, inept, ineffectual, and alarmingly isolated from the common people. By contrast, they found the communists to be well-led, highly disciplined, and uncorrupt.

In one rather prescient memo, a State Department observer named John Stewart Service predicted quite accurately that if present trends continued, with the Guomindang becoming increasingly undemocratic, unpopular, and economically irresponsible, the future of China would belong not to the nationalists but to the communists.

This glaring difference in the very moral fiber of the two parties would never have become obvious if not for the Sino-Japanese conflict. With the stunning reversal of its fortune, the Communist Party successfully used it as a stepping stone to emerge strong, unified and as the leaders of China.

Chiang Kai-shek asked Zhang Xueliang to attack the communist stronghold in Yanan. He rebelled and refused to follow the orders.

The PLA paid great attention to the political indoctrination of its recruits, so that they would not exploit local farmers.

He predicted that with the Guomindang becoming increasingly undemocratic, the future of China would belong to the communists.

Continue reading here:
Reversal of Fortune: The Rise of the Chinese Communists - The Great Courses Daily News