[[Image:PRCFounding.jpg|right|thumb|[[Mao Zedong]] proclaims the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949.]]
[[Image:PRCFounding.jpg|right|thumb|[[Mao Zedong]] proclaims the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949.]]
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In the face of economic collapse the Communists won the civil war in 1949 under Mao Zedong (1893-1976). Mao established a totalitarian Stalinist regime, driving the KMT to [[Taiwan]]. Taiwan is recognized as an integral part of China in theory, but in practice has been independent since 1949. Mao liquidated millions of opponents, fought the United States in the bloody [[Korean War]] (1950–53), and broke with the Soviet Union over the issue of who best represented the Marxist orthodoxy.
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In the face of economic collapse the Communists won the civil war in 1949 under Mao Zedong (1893-1976). Mao established a totalitarian Stalinist regime, driving the KMT to [[Taiwan]]. Taiwan is recognized as an integral part of China in theory, but in practice has been independent since 1949. Mao liquidated millions of opponents saying,
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{{quotebox|“What can Emperor [[Qin Shi Huang]] brag about? He only killed 460 [[Confucian]] scholars, but we killed 46,000 intellectuals. There are people who accuse us of practicing dictatorship like Emperor Qin Shi Huang, and we admit to it all. It fits the reality. It is a pity that they did not give us enough credit, so we need to add to it.”<ref>http://www.ninecommentaries.com/english-3</ref>}}
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Maoist China fought the United States in the bloody [[Korean War]] (1950–53), and broke with the Soviet Union over the issue of who best represented the Marxist orthodoxy.