ABSTRACT
On 9 July 1956 the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the GMD launched the Northern Expedition which aimed to reunify the country through the elimination or neutralization of the warlords and, in the longer term, to roll back the influence of the foreign powers. The NRA fought effectively, and by late November the GMD was in a position to set up a national government in Wuhan in central China. The dramatic success of the expedition, however, greatly strengthened the hand of Chiang Kai-shek, as commander-in-chief of the NRA, increasing the likelihood of a split between him and left-dominated national government. On 16 September the FEB met with the CEC for two days of discussion. Voitinskii feared that Borodin, captivated by the upsurge in the mass movements that had accompanied the Northern Expedition, was now gratuitously antagonizing Chiang Kai-shek. He opined: ‘Subjectively, Chiang Kai-shek has not become an enemy of the revolution, he has struck against the right, and needs us, and it is possible to work with him.’1 The meeting thus resolved ‘in no case to give Chiang Kai-shek grounds for a decisive action against the left GMD nor to leave the front.’5 Since many in the GMD were calling for the return of Wang Jingwei, leader of the GMD Left, to serve as a counterweight to Chiang Kai-shek, the meeting agreed not to back Wang against Chiang, but to call for cooperation between them. It hoped that if Wang took charge of the party, this would reduce the threat posed by Chiang.3 Chen Duxiu and Peng Shuzhi now adhered to a policy of preserving the united front at all costs, whether for reasons of party discipline or out of newly-acquired conviction. Peng, for instance, criticized the Canton comrades. ‘They deny not only the big, but also the small bourgeoisie, taking only workers and peasants into considera tion . . . Borodin considers that Chiang Kai-shek will be a military dictator. But China is going through a long revolution and does not need military dictatorship.’4 Six days later, the FEB wrote to EC Cl calling for Borodin to be withdrawn from China, a request that was turned down by the Politburo on 50-1 October.5
