UC San Diego

Hainan is the smallest province, largest island, and southernmost territory administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC). In May of 1950, seven months after the founding of the PRC, a military conquest brought Hainan under the control of the new regime. The campaign was successful as a result of coordination between mainland forces crossing the narrow strait in a flotilla of fishing boats, and a local Communist guerrilla force that had been fighting for over two decades to help bring about this victory. In the months and years that followed this campaign, conflict developed between the local Communist leaders and their new mainland masters. This study aims to explain the foundation of the local Hainan Communist movement, its precedents, its early development, and its survival on the island