A strange group suddenly circulated on the Internet, who claimed to be "descendants of the Chinese Expeditionary Force", speaking Chinese, singing Chinese songs, and even the propaganda leaflets of ** were also in Chinese, which looked no different from Chinese.
They are from a part of Myanmar, the Wa State, which is located in the Awa Hill Tracts and is an autonomous region of the Union of Myanmar. This place is known as "Little China" because it is said that the people here have fought on the border between China and Myanmar and could not return home, so it is here that the Chinese culture is continued.
However, this is not the case. The fact that the Wa State is the descendant of the Chinese Expeditionary Force is really just a rumor. What is behind this phenomenon?
Exploring the Origin of the Wa State and the Chinese Expeditionary ForceIf you are interested in the history of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, then you have to understand the relationship between the Wa State and the Chinese Expeditionary Force.
In 1938, after the Battle of Wuhan, the Japanese army increased its investment in the Chinese battlefield, trying to cut off the Yunnan-Burma road by occupying Burma, India and other places, so as to weaken the rear support of Chongqing.
Against this background, China and Britain signed the Agreement on the Mutual Defense of the Yunnan-Burma Road, and decided that China would contain the main force of the Japanese army on the domestic battlefield. In 1942, at the request of the British and Burmese Army, the Chinese Expeditionary Force urgently formed a force of about 100,000 people to fight in Burma.
This war is another expeditionary operation of the first squadron since the First Sino-Japanese War, and it is also the "past and present life" of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.
After fierce battles such as the Battle of Tonggu and the Battle of Ringanqiang, although the expeditionary force achieved partial victories, it set out in a hurry, and the heroic and fearless battle did not reverse the disadvantage of the entire Burma battlefield.
The British army was timid, abandoned the expeditionary force at the critical moment, and fled to India, which affected the deployment of the Chinese expeditionary force. In May 1942, the situation in Burma deteriorated, and the expeditionary force was forced to retreat to avoid further losses.
During the retreat, they passed through the sparsely populated primeval forests of the lofty mountains and mountains, coinciding with the rainy season, mosquitoes and epidemics, and the original army of 100,000 was eventually only 40,000.
Division Commander Dai Anlan and Deputy Division Commander Hu Yibin of the 93rd Division died bravely on the way to retreat. The army that returned to China was later the Western Yunnan Expeditionary Force. However, in addition to these expeditionary forces that were withdrawn to the country, there was also a part of the army that was forced to stay in Burma, and that was the Chinese army in India.
After the Chinese Expeditionary Force Liberation War, Chiang Kai-shek tried to make a comeback and ordered the expeditionary force stationed in Yunnan to enter Burma to confront the PLA. Among them, the Kuomintang 8th Army and the 26th Army had entered the Wa area, and despite the defeat, they were always reluctant to admit it.
Later, these teams wandered to places such as Thailand and Burma. Although after the founding of the People's Republic of China, ** gave up the old accounts and said that they would not pursue them, there are still some people who are unwilling to return to China, rooted in the border of China, and look at the direction of their hometown every day until the end of their lives.
Some people therefore claim that the Wa State is a descendant of the Chinese Expeditionary Force. However, this view is completely wrong, lacking both factual basis and malicious slander against China. In fact, the Wa State continued to use Chinese characters because in ancient times, the Wa State was the territory of China and belonged to Yunnan Province.
Historically, the Wa State once belonged to the Nanzhao Kingdom and Dali Temple, and it was also the hometown of Duan Yu in the "Tianlong Babu". In the Yuan Dynasty, it successively belonged to Zhenkang Road, Mengding Road and Mulian Road, and in the Ming Dynasty, it belonged to Mengding Mansion and so on.
This land was originally a hereditary fief of the Dai people, and it was not until the middle of the Qing Dynasty that it gradually got rid of the control of the Dai Tusi. This land has deep historical ties with China.
But why did this piece of Chinese territory fall into Burmese hands? It all dates back to the British colonization of Burma. In the 17th century, Britain carried out colonial expansion through monopolistic companies such as the East India Company, and continued to plunder overseas wealth with its strong national power.
With the advancement of industrialization, in the mid-to-late 18th century, Britain began to set its sights on the resource-rich Asian continent.
Armed with the most sophisticated artillery of the time, they pried open the door to Asia, seized Burmese land, and turned it into their colony. At that time, because of the long-term isolation of the country, the Qing ** was weak, and could only watch the British act recklessly around themselves.
However, the repeated patience of the Qing ** was exchanged for the increasing arrogance of the invaders. At that time, in order to investigate the situation on the Sino-Burmese border, the British sent people to the Sino-Burmese border many times to investigate, and they tried to "demarcate" the Sino-Burmese border in order to plunder resources for themselves.
But for a variety of reasons, this plan ultimately failed to materialize. But this did not stop the British desire for aggression, and they have always been deeply impressed with the nature of the aggressor.
They waited patiently and finally got their chance in 1941. At that time, the Japanese army invaded China on a large scale, and China's War of Resistance was in a difficult period, and the Japanese army occupied the main lines of communication on the frontal battlefield and could only transport supplies from the rear of Yunnan.
Therefore, it is planned to build a Yunnan-Burma highway on the border of China and Myanmar to break the encirclement and monopoly of the Japanese army.
Britain took advantage of this opportunity to threaten the authorities to redraw the border between China and Myanmar. Despite the opposition of many at the time, they were forced to give Wang Leng, Panlao and other places to British-occupied Burma because they had to resist the Japanese army with all their might.
As a result, most of the territory along the border with Myanmar was assigned to Myanmar, and the Wa State later became an autonomous region of Myanmar. Some of the people who remained in the Wa area at that time were Chinese, and since Myanmar** did not have much right to intervene in the region, they had been using Chinese, and it was natural that they spoke Chinese.
As for the claim that they are descendants of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, it is even more groundless. As for the "evidence" of the Chinese expeditionary force's stay in Burma and Thailand, which was previously stated, it is pure nonsense.
If you insist on saying that the Wa State has anything to do with the expeditionary force, it is only an enemy and an exclusionist.
When the Chinese expeditionary force wandered to Burma, they decided to wait for the arrival of the Kuomintang near Mount Wa. However, over time, they have caused discontent and concern locally.
The long-term presence led to disputes over the resources of the indigenous people, and the marriages of many expeditionary soldiers to Wa girls made the local people feel repulsed. No country wants another country's army to enter its territory without permission, especially if this force is strong.
In order to avoid Chinese involvement, Myanmar** began to expel the contingent spontaneously and began to support the residents of Wa State in self-defense against the Kuomintang troops stationed.
Although the Kuomintang was able to resist at first, the shortage of supplies and aimless waiting wore down their will and courage.
After a series of setbacks, the once heroic Chinese expeditionary force was finally besieged by the Wa State Armed Forces, the People's Liberation Army and other organizations, and could only flee to Thailand with the remnants of its forces.
In Thailand, they became "Kuomintang squadron refugees" and lived in misery. Later, the Kuomintang sent a special plane to pick up soldiers who were willing to go to Taiwan, but those who were unwilling to leave stayed in Thailand.
For these people, Thailand** was once a headache, but after the turmoil of the Thai royal family, these expeditionary forces relied on their previous experience to quell the rebellion, thus gaining the legal status to stay in Thailand.
With the affection of compatriots, China has repeatedly called on the expeditionary forces displaced by the Sino-Thai border to return to China and participate in the construction of the motherland, and is willing to blame their past.
Despite this, there were still some expeditionary forces who chose to stay in Thailand, looking in the direction of their hometown every day, while scolding Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang until their deaths.
Most of the descendants of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Thailand have integrated into Thai life, and they have no sense of affinity with China. Although the Wa State claims to be a descendant of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, it has nothing to do with China in terms of geographical location and history, and it is only the territory of China that it once had.
This statement is a lie made up by fraudsters in order to make a profit.
Although consuming Chinese emotions has become a new way to make money, the recent appearance of "cow ghosts and snake gods" on major ** platforms has made many people angry. These people are crazy to make money under the banner of tasting Chinese food and appreciating China's **.
What is even more shocking is that even some fraudsters in northern Myanmar have taken the opportunity to get involved, claiming to be the descendants of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, taking advantage of the local feelings of the Chinese people to make crazy profits.
However, the general admiration of the Chinese people for the revolutionary ancestors who threw their heads and shed their blood for the revolution has been transferred to their "juniors".
However, since there is no description of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in history textbooks, the public knows little about the history of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, and it is easy to believe the lies of these people.
The real purpose of these people is only one, that is, to win the favor of our people, lower our vigilance, and then attract the Chinese people to the Wa State to commit fraud.
Although the places these people talk about may seem very attractive, in reality, almost all of them are shady places such as casinos. Once you are deceived, you will be bankrupt at least or your life will be lost.
Therefore, we must be vigilant and not be deceived by the rhetoric of these people.
The online world is complex, and it is difficult to distinguish between true and false information. The fraud of million-dollar Internet celebrity Li Saigao is a warning that we cannot easily trust information from backward countries.
Although travel is good, safety is the most important thing. For those bloggers who make profits in China, we must have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and a sentence of "I love China" does not represent the whole of a person.
Enhancing national identity and cultural self-confidence is something we should pay attention to. At the same time, we should respect and revere the martyrs, whose efforts cannot be insulted.