China (The Great Peace Map Game)

China, officially the Republic of China, is a semi-presidential constitutional republic and until recently an authoritarian military dictatorship located in eastern Asia.

History

 * For history before 1920, see .

List of presidents

 * Cao Kun (1920–1924)
 * Wellington Koo (1924–1929)
 * Lin Sen (1929–1951)
 * Weng Wenhao (1951–present)

List of premiers

 * Duan Qirui (1920–1924)
 * Sun Yat-sen (1924–1929)
 * Wang Jingwei (1929–1950)
 * Sun Fo (1950–present)

Armed forces
The National Army (Guominjun) is the largest component of the Armed Forces of the Republic of China, usually at a peacetime strength of 1.5 million men, peaking at nearly 5 million during the Sino-Japanese War. For decades since the 1911 Revolution, the Chinese army was backwards and far behind both the Europeans and the Japanese. After much of China was reunited in 1924 by the Nationalist Party, a formal chain of command was established and a unified Chinese National Army was formed. The Military Affairs Commission, part of the Party's structure rather than the government, was at in charge of managing the military until the early 1950s (a formal Ministry of National Defense was established in 1951). During the mid-1920s, by the time of the unification, the Chinese army had poor organization, little or no training, outdated weapons and equipment, and corruption at all levels.

Beginning in the late 1920s and greatly accelerating in the 1930s, the Nationalist-led dictatorial government put a massive effort to improving the military of China. The early alliance with Japan provided massive Japanese assistance early on, implementing a standardized training program for all enlisted troops as well as staffing China's military academies, notably the Whampoa Military Academy. More moderniz equipment—including bolt action rifles, artillery pieces, helmets, and armored cars—were acquired during that period, mainly from Japan. Artillery capability was moderately developed by 1940, while China's armored forces were practically nonexistent up until the mid-1950s.

After taking massive losses during the Sino-Japanese War (1940–1944), the National Army was demobilized in the latter half of that decade to a strength of only one million as reconstruction and economic development were prioritized. By the late 1950s, as that had largely been accomplished and China underwent an economic boom, military development picked up again. China adopted new uniforms, semi-automatic rifles like the Type 56 carbine, and tanks (Type 63 light amphibious tank).

The Republic of China Navy (ROCN) was mostly neglected, consisting of outdated warships purchased from European countries during the 1930s or older models. Due to the land forces receiving the priority in development, the Chinese naval forces played only a small role in the wars with Soviet Russia and Japan. Plans to develop a Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) did not begin until the late 1930s, not in time for it to be used in the war with Japan. It did not formally come into existence until the early 1950s. By 1960, China's first indigenous-designed jet-engine fighter prototype (Shenyang J-8) was put into production for the ROCAF.

Sport
The country's first appearance at an international sporting event since the end of the Sino-Japanese War was at the 1958 World Cup. China did not pass the preliminary stage, with the Chinese national team performing the worst out of the total four countries in the group.