My Science School

          Before communism took shape, China was ruled by empires after empires for at least 2000 years, the last of them being the Qing dynasty. China established itself as a great power in the 18th century.

          By the end of the 19th century, its glory began to wane; China lost the Opium Wars to Britain, and the Treaty of Nanking gave the island of Hong Kong to Britain while unrest prevailed in the country. After the Boxer Revolution in the 1900s, Sun Yat-sen led the Republican Revolution in which the Qing Dynasty was overthrown by the People’s Republic.

          This could not bring in peace. China was invaded by Japan and war followed. In addition to it, the communists and nationalists struggled for power. Mao Zedong came to power in this situation. Mao spread communist ideas and influenced thousands of Chinese. After a series of campaigns, he established the People’s Republic of China, overthrowing the Kuomintang government. Since then, China is a communist country.

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          Cambodia and Vietnam have one thing in common; both the countries were ruled by the French for almost a hundred years. Though Cambodia tried to remain neutral during the Vietnam War, the country was in trouble as the war spread across the borders. The country’s peace was affected by the bitter fighting between the US troops and the Vietnamese communists.

          After years of fighting, a new dictatorship took over the country in 1975. Khmer Rouge, a political party led by Pol Pot came into power causing considerable damage to the country. Both industry and agriculture collapsed as he forced town dwellers to farm the land; thousands died of hunger and diseases. Many were murdered as well. This is largely referred to as the Cambodian Genocide. Years of tyranny came to an end when Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1978; the Khmer Rouge was overthrown and a new Vietnamese-backed government was established. The monarchy was restored later.

Picture Credit : Google