On January 5th, 2023, the "Kim Koo Forum" serial lecture hosted by the School of International Studies of Peking University was held online. The lecture themed "Analysis of the Premature Demise of the Unified European-Asian Front Before World War II", and was led by Prof. Hans van de Ven (Professor & Director of Studies in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at St Catharine’s College, @Cambridge_Uni; Visiting Professor of the History Department at PKU). The event was moderated by Prof. Wang Dong, (Professor of SIS and Executive Director of iGCU) and Prof. He Jiani (Assistant Professor of SIS) participated as a commentator.
Prof. Hans van de Ven explained why the "European-Asian united front" was chosen as the lecture theme. Firstly, before the Pearl Harbor Attack, there were close political and economic ties between Europe and Asia, a point often overlooked in WWII research. Secondly, traditional WWII research tends to emphasize the influence of long-term historical trends and neglect specific historical circumstances, especially the social and political context of specific decisions, which is equally important for grasping the direction of historical development in the European-Asian region. Prof. van de Ven believes that WWII in Asia was not only a war against Japan and fascist Germany, but also against Western imperialism and local feudalism. Therefore, post-1945 national independence movements that erupted in various Asian countries after 1945 were also a part of Asian WWII history. From this perspective, the end of Asian WWII history can be further extended to the Bandung Conference of 1955.
Prof. Hans van de Ven further analyzed the motivations behind avoiding united front studies in the Western academic community. He pointed out that before World War II, governments of Western countries faced numerous domestic issues, and the simultaneous rise of left- and right- leaning forces raised many concerns. They did not welcome fascist political parties and also opposed communist parties; thus, adopting a lax attitude towards united front organizations to avoid interaction. The UK and France took a hands-off approach to the Spanish Civil War and the Japanese invasion of China, allowing the further development of Nazi-fascist forces. With the end of the Spanish Civil War, the united front movements in Europe and Asia also declined, and the policy of the Communist International changed, leading to a reduction in support for united front organizations. The connection between the European and Asian united fronts was interrupted until the Pearl Harbor incident.
Prof. He Jiani noted in her comment that in China, the targets of the united front transformed as World War II progressed. Neighboring countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, which also suffered from Japanese aggression, became an integral part of the Chinese united front. The idea of uniting with small and weak nations to resist fascism, imperialism, and colonialism became the main principle of the Chinese united front and a crucial means of government mobilization and public participation in the anti-Japanese war. The concept of the "unified front" was inherently vague, making it difficult to achieve real success and giving it greater flexibility to accommodate and unite diverse elements. The "unified front" was widely applied in China's revolutionary practices during the anti-Japanese war, the liberation war, and the Cold War, becoming an important tool for shaping China's relationship with other countries.
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