What happens
Wang Ching-wei, a former revolutionary turned politician, is introduced as head of the Chinese puppet government in Japanese-occupied China. The episode traces his career from his youth as a revolutionary, through his imprisonment for plotting against the Manchu regent, to his rise in the Nationalist Party under Dr. Sun Yat-sen. It follows his rivalry with Chiang Kai-shek, his shifting positions toward Japan, and his eventual defection to the Japanese after China's war with Japan began in 1937. The account moves to Nanking in 1940, where his government is installed under Japanese military supervision and met with contempt by many Chinese.
China and Japan, 1900s to 1940, including Nanking, Canton, Hankow, Chungking, and Japanese-occupied Nanking
Characters: Wang Ching-wei, Chiang Kai-shek, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Prince Tsai Chun
Listen for: The account of Wang Ching-wei's career from revolutionary to collaborator, and his rivalry with Chiang Kai-shek
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.