Abstract
Throughout the existence of the Communist International its influence in East Asia was mediated on the one hand by the context of colonialism and the anti-colonial nationalist movements which emerged during the period, and on the other by the predominance of the rural economy. As a consequence it was the peasantry, rather than the industrial proletariat, which constituted the overwhelming bulk of the regional population. Korea and Taiwan were subject to direct colonial control, while China’s semi-colonial status was determined by its relationship with both the metropolitan states of Europe and the United States, and with Japan. The exception to this pattern was Japan, an imperial power in its own right where both capitalism and nationalism were relatively well developed. Although initial Comintern interest focused on Japan, as the only state in the region possessing an industrial proletariat of substance, it was in China where the Comintern had its greatest impact.
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Notes
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© 1996 Michael Weiner
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Weiner, M. (1996). Comintern in East Asia, 1919–39. In: The Comintern. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-25024-0_5
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