On March 18th 1950, military forces of the Nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan made a surprise invasion of the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC), and captured the mainland town of Sungmen. Because the United States supported the attack, it resulted in even deeper tensions and ill feeling between the U.S. and the PRC.
In October 1949, the leader of the communist revolution in China, Mao Zedong, declared victory against the Nationalist government of China and officially established the People’s Republic of China. Nationalist troops, politicians, and supporters fled the country to Taiwan, an island off the Chinese coast. Once there, they affirmed themselves the real Chinese government and were immediately recognised as such by the United States. Officials from the United States refused to have anything to do with the PRC government and adamantly refused to grant it diplomatic recognition.
