On 20 April 1949, advancing Chinese Communist forces damaged and grounded the sloop HMS Amethyst while she was traveling up the Yangtze River from Shanghai to Nanjing to act as guard ship for the British Embassy there. British relief efforts failed and, on 30 April, the People’s Liberation Army demanded that Britain, France, and the United States withdraw all armed forces from China. After negotiations failed, the Amethyst finally managed to free herself and escape on the night of 30 July, marking the end of foreign patrols on the Yangtze.
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On 20 April 1949, the Communist forces of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) began crossing the Yangtze River to attack Nanjing, capital of the Republic of China. In response, the Chinese Nationalist government evacuated Nanjing on the 23rd, fleeing to Canton, which was designated as the new capital. The PLA entered Nanjing through open gates the following day, encountering no resistance.
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Bảo Đại, former Emperor of Vietnam, was appointed Chief of State of the State of Vietnam—a new associated state within the French Union. The State of Vietnam was centered in Saigon and claimed authority over all of Vietnam, although much of its territory, particularly in the north, remained in the hands of the communist Viet Minh.
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Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing. Beijing, formally Beiping, was declared the capital of the new republic. The Soviet Union recognized the PRC the next day, with most of the other Communist countries following suit that month. However it was not until 1971 that the United Nations would recognize the PRC as the representative of China.
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