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Historic Betrayals that Shocked the World

Khalid Elhassan January 12, 2023 32 min

A Chinese Hero’s Betrayal of China

Betrayal - Wang Jingwei, as head of a puppet state, receives Nazi diplomats in 1941 — Wang Jingwei, as head of a puppet state, receives Nazi diplomats in 1941. Pinterest

The 1911 Revolution and overthrow of the imperial system led to a chaotic period of warlord rule. A nationalist party, the Koumintang, was formed to restore order. In 1925, it sent what was known as the Great Northern Expedition to bring the warlords to heel and restore the central government’s authority. Jingwei became chairman of the national government. However, Chiang Kai-shek, the successful general who led the campaign against the warlords, formed a rival government in southern China. Jingwei formed a government in northern China in collaboration with the communists, but fell out with and purged them. At that point, his government collapsed and his supporters flocked to Chiang Kai-shek.

Betrayal - Wang Jingwei, Indian nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose, and Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo in 1943 — Wang Jingwei, Indian nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose, and Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo in 1943. Pinterest

Bitter, Jingwei became an extreme right winger. When the Japanese invaded China in 1937, he flew to meet their representatives in Hanoi, and issued a declaration that called for peaceful negotiation with the invaders. In 1939, he flew to Japan for negotiations. While there, he betrayed China and negotiated a deal on his own behalf. In 1940, he defected and was appointed by the Japanese to head a puppet regime, based in Japanese-occupied Nanking. Jingwei’s government nominally “governed” the Japanese-conquered territories in China. He remained Japan’s Chinese puppet ruler until his death in 1944.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.