- Bamboo Curtain
The Bamboo Curtain was the east
Asia n version of theIron Curtain . It marked the border around thecommunist states ofEast Asia , especially thePeople's Republic of China during theCold War , but excluding the easternSoviet Union . The term was less often applied to the border between North andSouth Korea or the flexible border betweenCommunism and the west inSoutheast Asia .During the Communist Cultural Revolution in China, the Curtain served as a lock-down of sorts, forbidding entry into or passage out of the country without explicit permission. Many would be capitalist refugees were blocked from escape in this manner.
The term "Bamboo Curtain" was used less often than the term "Iron Curtain" in part because while the latter remained relatively static for over 40 years, the former shifted constantly. It was also a less accurate description of the political situation in Asia because of the lack of cohesion within the East Asian Communist Bloc which ultimately resulting in the
Sino-Soviet split ; The Communist governments ofMongolia ,Vietnam and laterLaos were allies of the Soviet Union, whileCambodia 's regime ofPol Pot was loyal to China. Shortly after theKorean War , North Korea swore allegiance to neither the USSR or China.Improved relations between China and the United States during the later years of the Cold War rendered the term more or less obsolete, except with reference to the
Korean Peninsula and the divide between Allies of the US and theUSSR in Southeast Asia.
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