If China broke up after the fall of the Qing Dynasty
by u/Aofen
In our timeline, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, China descended into a period of civil war and political instability, with regional warlords controlling different sections of the country throughout the 1920s.
In this timeline, the same strong regionalism of the army and society that enabled the power of warlords instead causes the complete dissolution of China, with independent governments laying claim to various provinces. The history of the now independent countries of China varies. Guanwaiguo (a Japanese puppet state as Manchukuo until the end of WWII), Mongolia, Uyghuristan, an Huangguo come under the domination of the Soviet Union, with Mongolia and Uyghuristan even being incorporated into the USSR itself. Tibet maintains its independence under its theocratic government, eventually reforming to become more democratic in the 1990s. The states of southern China follow a path similar to our Taiwan or South Korea, being US allies that democratize in the later part of the 20th century.