The CIA and Third Force Movements in China During the Early Cold War: The Great American Dream

342 Pages·2017·1.837 MB·English

by  Roger B. Jeans

i
The CIA and Third
Force Movements
in China during the Early
Cold War

The CIA and Third
Force Movements
in China during the Early
Cold War
The Great American Dream
Roger B. Jeans
LEXINGTON BOOKS
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ISBN 978-1-4985-7005-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4985-7006-0 (electronic)
∞ ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
In Memory of Professor Franz Henry Michael (1907–1992):
Lecturer Extraordinaire, Compassionate Mentor, Brilliant Scholar

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
List of Abbreviations xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Note on Romanization xvii
Introduction: The CIA and the Chinese Third Force during
the Early 1950s xix
1 The Collapse of the Anticommunist Resistance in China
and the CIA’s Launch of a Third Force, 1949–1950 1
2 Quest for a Third Force during the Korean War, 1950–1953 29
3 The Creation of a Third Force Committee in Hong Kong,
1950–1952 55
4 The Political Wing of the Third Force: The Fighting League for
Chinese Freedom and Democracy 79
5 The Creation of a Third Force “Army” in Japan, Okinawa,
and Saipan 109
6 CIA Debacle: The Downey-Fecteau Third Force Mission to
Manchuria 145
7 Chinese Nationalist and Communist Reactions to the Third Force 165
8 The Demise of the Third Forces, 1953–1954 191
vii
viii Contents
Conclusion: Why Did the CIA’s Chinese Third Force Project Fail? 221
Epilogue: “The Great American Dream”: The CIA and the
Vietnamese Third Force in the Early 1950s 243
Glossary 269
Bibliography 273
Index 293
About the Author 307
List of Illustrations
Figure 1 Third force paratroopers being dropped over Okinawa. 137
Figure 2 Third force commander, General Cai Wenzhi (front left),
some of his troopers, and an American adviser. 137
Figure 3 A Chinese third force paratrooper. 138
Figure 4 Third force troops parading a portrait of General
Cai Wenzhi in Okinawa. 139
Figure 5 Cai addressing the first congress of the third force
organization, the Chinese Revolutionary Resistance
Movement League, in Okinawa. 139
Figure 6 Cai (center) and unidentified members of the league. 140
Figure 7 Cai (left) and a fellow league member. 140
Figure 8 Cai in front of a pavilion on Okinawa. 141
Figure 9 Cai addressing a meeting of the league. 141
Figure 10 Cai on the stand (second from right) at an athletic meet
at the CIA base in Okinawa. 142
Figure 11 Cai (center with his back to the camera and hand on
his hip) at an athletic meet at the CIA base on Okinawa. 142
Figure 12 League members attending the congress. 143
Figure 13 Cai (center) posing in front of his third force members. 143
Figure 14 Cai (center, first row) with members of his third force. 144
Figure 15 Chinese third force paratroopers landing in Okinawa. 144
ix