Home > Xi'an Incident

During the Sino-Japanese War, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, Commander in Chief of National Revolutionary Army of the Kuomintang (KMT), refused to ally with the Communist Party of China to fight against the Japanese, and instead opted to fight both at once.

KMT generals Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng (with the support of the Communist leader Zhou Enlai), kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek and forced him to join a united front with the Communists against the Japanese.

Even though the ceasefire was in effect, the armies were never under a united command, and the KMT never fully cooperated with the military forces of the Communist Party.

After the war, Zhang Xueliang was placed under permanent house arrest by Chiang and were brought over to Taiwan along with retreating KMT forces. Yang Hucheng was murdered by Chiang's secret police, along with his family.