Mao planned to do so. He had assembled an army to so so. But, then North Korea invaded South Korea and then NK got pushed back to the Yalu River. Mao's paranoia feared a USA dominated country on the border of China. read more
1. Without a strong navy, it is almost impossible for Mao to take back Taiwan during that period of time; 2. The straits of Taiwan is too wide a hindrance for any weak navy like China's during that period of time; 3. Time was and remains is on China 's side, it has all its time to build a strong navy strong enough to take back Taiwan; 4. read more
In the summer of 1949, Chiang Kai-shek and his Republic of China (ROC) government appeared doomed. Shanghai and Nanjing, then China’s capital city, had fallen to Mao Zedong's communist forces, and Chiang's units all over China were collapsing under the weight of mass attack and defections. read more