Bren Guns for China: The Origin and Impact of Sino-Canadian Relations, 1941-9

摘要

Prior to the Second World War official Sino-Canadian relations were virtually non-existent. Global military events of the early 1940s brought an abrupt change to this situation. In response to early Axis victories, Canada began to provide military support to China as a means of strengthening cohesion within the burgeoning anti-Axis alliance. It was in support of this policy that the Canadian government expanded its diplomatic relations with China. At a time of great crisis this Canadian effort served as a geostrategic manoeuvre of benefit to larger powers. It was begun largely as a result of US pressure emanating from inside the White House with the most dangerous manifestation being the reinforcement of Hong Kong. Although the global impact of this move was significant in late 1941, most notably in the Soviet Union, the resulting military disaster involved heavy loss of life. Despite defeat at Hong Kong, Canada continued to assist China with military aid. Once the United States was involved fully in the war, however, the long-term impact of Sino-Canadian association was of much less consequence than it was during the fall and winter of 1941-2.View full textDownload full textKeywordsHong Kong, Soong, Mackenzie King, Sino-Canadian relations, China-Canada relations; IndiaRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2012.675226