Retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan

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The remnants of the government of the Republic of China (ROC), alongside many refugees, retreated to the island of Taiwan (Formosa) on December 7, 1949. The members of the Kuomintang (KMT), its officers, and approximately 2 million ROC troops took part in the retreat, in addition to many civilians and refugees, fleeing the advance of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP, who now effectively controlled most of mainland China, spent the subsequent years purging remnant Nationalist forces in western and southern China, solidifying the rule of the newly established People's Republic of China (PRC). ROC troops mostly fled to Taiwan from provinces in southern China, in particular Sichuan Province, where the last stand of the ROC's main army took place. The flight to Taiwan took place over four weeks after Mao Zedong had declared the founding of the PRC in Beijing on October 1, 1949. In addition, some of the ROC troops in Yunnan also fled to Burma, where...

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