Networks, Parties, and the "Oppressed Nations": The Comintern and Chinese Communists Overseas, 1926–35

In the late 1920s, the overseas chapters of the Chinese Communist Party allied with the Third Communist International (Comintern)’s pursuit of world revolution and made efforts to take part in anti-colonial movements around the world. As Chinese migrant revolutionaries dealt with discrimination in their adopted countries, they promoted local, Chinese, and world revolutions, borrowing ideas from various actors while they built their organizations and contributed to the project of China’s revival. This paper offers a window into the formation of globally connected Chinese revolutionary networks and explores their engagement with Comintern internationalism in its enclaves in Berlin, San Francisco, Havana, Singapore, and Manila. The paper draws on sources deposited in the Comintern archive in Moscow (RGASPI), as well as on personal reminiscences published as literary and historical materials (wenshi ziliao).