Nationalist government

Republic of China 中華民國 Chunghwa Minkuo
1927–1947
Flag Emblem
Anthem: “National Anthem of the Republic of China” 《中華民國國歌》 “National Flag Anthem” 《中華民國國旗歌》
Claimed territory of the Republic of China, actual control was tenuous
Capital	Nanking (1927-1937, 1945-1947) Chungking (Provisional Capital: 1937-1946)
Common languages	Official language: Mandarin Chinese
Government	Nationalist Government
Chairman
• 1928	Tan Yankai
• 1928–1931, 1943-1948	Chiang Kai-shek
Premier
• 1928–1930	Tan Yankai
• 1947–1948	Chang Chun
Legislature	Legislative Yuan
Historical era	Interwar Period World War II
• Northern Expedition	29 July 1926
• Nanking Restored	18 April 1927
• Reunification	29 December 1928
• Second Sino-Japanese War	7 July 1937
• Establishment of the Constitutional Government	25 December 1947
Currency	Chinese yuan Old Taiwan dollar
ISO 3166 code	CN
Preceded by Succeeded by Beiyang Government Reorganized National Government of China Taiwan under Japanese rule Manchukuo Reorganized National Government of China Republic of China Mongolian People's Republic Tuvan People's Republic
Today part of	Afghanistan Bhutan People's Republic of China Republic of China India Mongolia Myanmar Pakistan Russia Tajikistan

The Nationalist Government of the Republic of China (ROC, 中華民國國民政府) was a state in East Asia that was located on mainland China from 1928 to 1948, established by the Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek in Nanking during the North Expedition on 18 April 1927.

After the 1911 Revolution, the Beiyang Government established in Peking by Yuan Shikai was the only recognized government of China. The revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen opposed the Beiyang leaders and established his own Government in Canton. After Yuan Shikai died in 1916, the Northern China was divided in the control of several warlords and rivaling governments. The rivalling governments were reunified in 1928 by the Canton-based government led by Chiang Kai Shek. According to the last will of Sun Yat-sen, Chiang established the Nationalist Government with the single-party rule so called the Political Tutelage period (訓政時期), until the Constitution of the Republic of China was in use on 25 December 1947 and the Nationalist Government transited into Constitutional period (憲政時期), which is today's the Government of the Republic of Chinaon Taiwan after the defeat of the Chinese Civil War.

History

Main article: History of the Republic of China

The oldest surviving republic in East Asia, the Republic of China was formally established on 1 January 1912 on mainland China following the Hsin-Hai Revolution, which itself began with the Wuchang Uprising on 10 October 1911, replacing the Qing Dynasty and ending over two thousand years of imperial rule in China. Central authority waxed and waned in response to warlordism (1915–28), Japanese invasion (1937–45), and the Chinese Civil War (1927–49), with central authority strongest during the Nanjing Decade (1927–37), when most of China came under the control of the Kuomintang (KMT) under an authoritarian single-party state. At the end of World War II in 1945, the Empire of Japan surrendered control of Taiwan and its island groups to the Allied Forces, and Taiwan was placed under the Republic of China's administrative control. The legitimacy of this transfer is disputed and is another aspect of the disputed political status of Taiwan.

After the World War II, the Chinese Civil War immediately resumed. In the negotiation between the Kuomintang and Communists under the mediation of the United States Government, the Nationalist Government began to draft the Constitution, but was refused by the Communists. Soon after the Nationalist Government was replaced by the Constitutional Government, the Kuomintang was defeated in the Civil War and retreated to Taiwan.

Founding

Main article: Northern Expedition

After Sun's death in March 1925, Chiang Kai-shek became the leader of the KMT. In 1926, Chiang led the Northern Expedition through China with the intention of defeating the warlords and unifying the country. Chiang received the help of the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communists; however, he soon dismissed his Soviet advisors. He was convinced, not without reason, that they wanted to get rid of the KMT (also known as the Nationalists) and take over control. Chiang decided to strike first and purged the Communists, killing thousands of them. At the same time, other violent conflicts were taking place in China; in the South, where the Communists were in superior numbers, Nationalist supporters were being massacred. These events eventually led to the Chinese Civil War between the Nationalists and Communists. Chiang Kai-shek pushed the Communists into the interior as he sought to destroy them, and established a government with Nanking as its capital in 1927. By 1928, Chiang's army overturned the Beiyang government and unified the entire nation, at least nominally, beginning the so-called Nanjing Decade.

Nanjing Decade and War with Japan

Further information: Nanjing decade and Second Sino-Japanese War

According to Sun Yat-sen's theory, the KMT was to rebuild China in three phases: a phase of military rule through which the KMT would take over power and reunite China by force; a phase of political tutelage; and finally a constitutional democratic phase. In 1930, the Nationalists, having taken over power militarily and reunified China, started the second phase, promulgating a provisional constitution and beginning the period of so-called "tutelage". The KMT was criticized as instituting totalitarianism, but claimed it was attempting to establish a modern democratic society. Among others, they created at that time the Academia Sinica, the Central Bank of China, and other agencies. In 1932, China sent a team for the first time to the Olympic Games. Historians, such as Edmund Fung, argue that establishing a democracy in China at that time was not possible. The nation was at war and divided between Communists and Nationalists. Corruption within the government and lack of direction also prevented any significant reform from taking place. Chiang realized the lack of real work being done within his administration and told the State Council: "Our organization becomes worse and worse... many staff members just sit at their desks and gaze into space, others read newspapers and still others sleep." The Nationalist government wrote a draft of the constitution in 5 May 1936.

The Nationalists faced a new challenge with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, with hostilities continuing through the Second Sino-Japanese War, part of World War II, from 1937 to 1945. The government of the Republic of China retreated from Nanking to Chongqing. In 1945, after the war of eight years, Japan surrendered and the Republic of China, under the name "China", became one of the founding members of the United Nations. The government returned to Nanking in 1946.

Post-World War II and Takeover of Taiwan

Main article: Chinese Civil war

After the defeat of Japan during World War II, Taiwan was surrendered to the Allies, with ROC troops accepting the surrender of the Japanese garrison. The government of the ROC proclaimed the "retrocession" of Taiwan to the Republic of China and established the provincial government at Taiwan. The military administration of the ROC extended over Taiwan, which led to widespread unrest and increasing tensions between Taiwanese and mainlanders. The shooting of a civilian on 28 February 1947 triggered island-wide unrest, which was suppressed with military force in what is now called the 228 Incident. Mainstream estimates of casualties range from 18,000 to 30,000, mainly Taiwanese elites. The 228 incident has had far-reaching effects on subsequent Taiwan history.

From 1945 to 1947, under United States mediation, especially through the Marshall Mission, the Nationalists and Communists agreed to start a series of peace talks aiming at establishing a coalition government. The two parties agreed to open multiparty talks on post-World War II political reforms via a Political Consultative Conference. This was included in the Double Ten Accord. This agreement was implemented by the Republic of China national government, who organized the first Political Consultative Assembly from January 10–31, 1946. Representatives of the Kuomintang, Communist Party of China, Chinese Youth Party, and China Democratic League, as well as independent delegates, attended the conference in Chungking. However, shortly afterward, the two parties failed to reach an agreement and the civil war resumed. In the context of political and military animosity, the National Assembly was summoned by the Nationalists without the participation of the Communists and promulgated the Constitution of the Republic of China. The constitution was criticized by the Communists, and led to the final break between the two sides. The full scale civil war resumed from early 1947.

After the National Assembly election, the drafted Constitution was adopted by the National Assembly on December 25, 1946, promulgated by the National Government on January 1, 1947, and went into effect on December 25, 1947. The Constitution was seen as the third and final stage of Kuomintang reconstruction of China. The Communists, though invited to the convention that drafted it, boycotted and declared after the ratification that not only would it not recognize the ROC constitution, but all bills passed by the Nationalist administration would be disregarded as well. Zhou Enlai challenged the legitimacy of the National Assembly in 1947 by accusing KMT hand-picked the members of the National Assembly 10 years earlier and thus could not have legal representativity of the Chinese people.

Government

Main article: Government of the Republic of China

The government of the Republic of China was founded on the Constitution of the ROC and its Three Principles of the People, which states that "[the ROC] shall be a democratic republic of the people, to be governed by the people and for the people." Sun Yat-sen divided the government into five Yuan: the Control Yuan, the Examination Yuan, the Executive Yuan, the Judicial Yuan, and the Legislative Yuan.

Military

Main article: National Revolutionary Army

See also: Republic of China Military Academy and Whampoa Military Academy

The Republic of China Army takes its roots in the National Revolutionary Army, which was established by Sun Yat-sen in 1925 in Guangdong with a goal of reunifying China under the Kuomintang. It fought Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War and became a major Allied military force when the Second Sino-Japanese War merged into World War II. When the People's Liberation Army won the Chinese Civil War, much of the National Revolutionary Army retreated to Taiwan along with the government. It was later reformed into the Republic of China Army. Units which surrendered and remained in mainland China were either disbanded or incorporated into the People's Liberation Army.

Economy

Further information: Economic history of modern China

By 1945, hyperinflation was in progress in mainland China and Taiwan as a result of the war with Japan. To isolate Taiwan from it, the Nationalist government created a new currency area for the island, and started a price stabilization program. These efforts helped significantly slow the inflation.

See also

• Beiyang Government
• Kuomintang
• Nanjing Decade
• Sino-German cooperation