ABSTRACT
The end of the Second World War stimulated strong hopes in Chinese society for the nation's movement towards parliamentary democracy. Although during the war the United Front (UF) of the Guomindang (GMD) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had already experienced a considerable rift, which after August 1945 kept growing, a number of circumstances permitted the anticipation of a peaceful outcome of events. The inevitability of the final battle between the two big political parties did not seem that obvious just after the war, though many mainland and some Taiwan publications try their best to prove it so.
