Nationalist government

Republic of China 中華民國 Chunghwa Minkuo Jonghwa Min'gwo Zhōnghuá Mínguó
1925–1948
Flag (1928–1948) National Emblem (1928–1948)
Anthem:  《卿雲歌》 "Song to the Auspicious Cloud" (1925–1928) 《中華民國國歌》 "National Anthem of the Republic of China" (1930–1949) Menu 0:00 Flag anthem: 《中華民國國旗歌》 "National Flag Anthem of the Republic of China" (1937–1948) Menu 0:00
National seal 中華民國之璽 (1929–1949)
Location and maximum extent of the territory claimed by the Republic of China (1945).
Capital	Guangzhou (provisional capital, 1925–1927) Nanking (1927–1948) Chungking (wartime capital, 1937–1946)
Largest city	Shanghai
Official languages	Chinese Tibetan Chagatai/Uighur Manchu Mongolian and other languages
Demonym(s)	Chinese
Government	Provisional government (1925–1928) Unitary one-party republic under a military dictatorship (1928–1946) Unitary parliamentary republic (1946–1948)
Chairman
• 1928 (first)	Tan Yankai
• 1943–1948 (last)	Chiang Kai-shek
Premier
• 1928–1930 (first)	Tan Yankai
• 1947–1948 (last)	Zhang Qun
Legislature	Parliament
• Electoral college •Upper house	National Assembly Control Yuan[1]
• Lower house	Legislative Yuan
History
• Established in Guangzhou	1 July 1925
• Northern Expedition	1926–1928
• Reset in Nanking	18 April 1927
• Chinese Civil War	1927–1936, 1946–1950
• Second Sino-Japanese War	7 July 1937–2 September 1945
• Admitted to the United Nations	24 October 1945
• Retrocession of Taiwan and the Pescadores[a]	25 October 1945
• February 28 incident	28 February 1947
• Constitution adopted	25 December 1947
• Government of the Republic of China established	20 May 1948
Currency	Chinese yuan Old Taiwan dollar (1946–1949 in Taiwan)
ISO 3166 code	CN
Preceded by Succeeded by Army and Navy Marshal stronghold of the Republic of China Beiyang government 1945: Japanese Taiwan Government of the Republic of China Third Republic of China
Today part of	People's Republic of China  Republic of China (Taiwan)  Mongolia  Russia

The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China (Chinese: 中華民國國民政府; pinyin: Zhōnghuámínguó Guómínzhèngfǔ; lit. 'Chinese People's State Nationals' Government'), also known as Second Republic of China^[2] but most commonly known simply as the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China between 1 July 1925 and 20 May 1948, led by the Kuomintang (KMT, literally "Nationals' Party"). The name derives from the Kuomintang's translated name "Nationalist Party".

After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution on 10 October 1911, revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen was elected Provisional President and founded the Provisional Government of the Republic of China. To preserve national unity, Sun ceded the presidency to military strongman Yuan Shikai, who established the Beiyang government. After a failed attempt to install himself as Emperor of China, Yuan died in 1916, leaving a power vacuum which resulted in China being divided into several warlord fiefdoms and rival governments. They were nominally reunified in 1928 by the Nanjing-based government led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, which after the Northern Expedition governed the country as a one-party state under the Kuomintang, and was subsequently given international recognition as the legitimate representative of China. The Nationalist government would then experience many challenges such as the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War and World War II. The government was in place until it was replaced by the current Government of the Republic of China in the newly promulgated Constitution of the Republic of China of 1948.

History[]

Republic of China
"Republic of China" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	中華民國
Simplified Chinese	中华民国
Postal	Chunghwa Minkuo
showTranscriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnghuá mínguó Gwoyeu Romatzyh Jonghwa Min'gwo Wade–Giles Chung1-hua2 min2-kuo2 IPA [ʈʂʊ́ŋxwǎ mǐn.kwǒ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jūng'wàh Màhn'gwok Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok Tâi-lô Tiong-huâ bîn-kok

The oldest surviving republic in East Asia, the Republic of China was formally established on 1 January 1912 in mainland China following the Xinhai Revolution, which itself began with the Wuchang Uprising on 10 October 1911, replacing the Qing dynasty and ending nearly three 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 one-party state.^[3]

At the end of World War II in 1945, the Empire of Japan surrendered control of Taiwan and its island groups to the Allies, 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 World War II, the civil war between the ruling Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) resumed, despite attempts at mediation by the United States. The Nationalist Government began drafting the Constitution of the Republic of China under a National Assembly, but was boycotted by the CCP. With the promulgation of the constitution, the Nationalist Government abolished itself and was replaced by the Government of the Republic of China. Following their loss of the Civil War, the Nationalist Government retreated moved their capital to Taipei while claiming that they were the legitimate government of the mainland.

Founding[]

After Sun's death on 12 March 1925, four months later on 1 July 1925, the National Government of the Republic of China was established in Guangzhou.

The following year, Chiang Kai-shek became the de facto leader of the Kuomintang (KMT), or Chinese Nationalist Party. 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 CCP; however, he soon dismissed his Soviet advisors. He was convinced, not without reason, that they wanted to get rid of the KMT and take over.^[4]

Chiang decided to strike first and purged the Communists, killing thousands of them. At the same time, other violent conflicts took place in the south of China where the CCP fielded superior numbers and were massacring Nationalist supporters. These events eventually led to the Chinese Civil War between the Nationalist Party and the CCP. Chiang Kai-shek pushed the CCP into the interior as he sought to destroy them, and moved the Nationalist Government to Nanjing in 1927.^[5] Leftists within the KMT still allied to the CCP, led by Wang Jingwei, had established a rival Nationalist Government in Wuhan two months earlier, but soon joined Chiang in Nanjing in August 1927. By the following year, Chiang's army had captured Beijing after overthrowing the Beiyang government and unified the entire nation, at least nominally, marking the beginning the Nanjing Decade.

Nanjing Decade and War with Japan[]

Organisational chart of the KMT regime (1934).

According to Sun Yat-sen's "Three Stages of Revolution" theory, the KMT was to rebuild China in three phases: the first stage was military unification, which was carried out with the Northern Expedition; the second was "political tutelage" which was a provisional government led by the KMT to educate people about their political and civil rights, and the third stage was the constitutional government.^[6] By 1928, 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".^[7] The KMT was criticized for instituting authoritarianism, but claimed it was attempting to establish a modern democratic society.

Among other institutions, 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 the CCP 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."^[8] The Nationalist government wrote a draft constitution on 5 May 1936.^[9] Mass killing under the nationalists were common with millions of people killed.^{[citation needed]} Notable mass killings include deaths from forced army conscription^{[citation needed]} and the White Terror.^[10]

War Declaration against Japan by the Chongqing Nationalist Government on 9 December 1941

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 Nanjing 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 Nanjing in 1946.

Post-World War II[]

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 a provincial government on the island. The military administration of the ROC extended over Taiwan, which led to widespread unrest and increasing tensions between local Taiwanese and mainlanders.^[11] The shooting of a civilian on 28 February 1947 triggered an island-wide unrest, which was brutally suppressed with military force in what is now known as the February 28 Incident. Mainstream estimates of casualties range from 18,000 to 30,000, mainly Taiwanese elites.^[12][13] The 28 February Incident has had far-reaching effects on subsequent Taiwanese 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 Tenth Agreement. This agreement was implemented by the Nationalist Government, who organized the first Political Consultative Assembly from 10 to 31 January 1946. Representatives of the Kuomintang, CCP, Chinese Youth Party, and China Democratic League, as well as independent delegates, attended the conference in Chongqing. However, shortly afterward, the two parties failed to reach an agreement and the civil war resumed.^[14] In the context of political and military animosity,^{[citation needed]} the National Assembly was summoned by the Nationalists without the participation of the CCP and promulgated the Constitution of the Republic of China. The constitution was criticized by the CCP,^[15] and led to the final break between the two sides.^[16] The full-scale civil war resumed from early 1947.^[17]

After the National Assembly election, the drafted Constitution was adopted by the National Assembly on 25 December 1946, promulgated by the National Government on 1 January 1947, and went into effect on 25 December 1947. The Constitution was seen as the third and final stage of Kuomintang reconstruction of China. Chiang Kai-shek was also elected as the 1st President of the Republic of China under the constitution by the National Assembly in 1948, with Li Zongren being elected as vice-president. The Nationalist Government was abolished on 20 May 1948, after the Government of the Republic of China was established with the presidential inauguration of Chiang. The CCP, 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 the KMT of hand-picking the members of the National Assembly 10 years earlier; claiming they thus could not legitimately represent the Chinese people.

Government[]

Headquarters of the National Government in Nanjing

The National Government governed under a dual-party state apparatus under the ideology of Dang Guo, effectively making it a one-party state; however, existing parties continued to operate and new ones formed. After the end of the Second World War, and particularly after the passage of the constitution in 1946, the National Government was reconstituted to include multiple parties, in preparation for a full democratic government to come.

In February 1928, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 2nd Kuomintang National Congress held in Nanjing passed the Reorganization of the National Government Act. This act stipulated the national government was to be directed and regulated under the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, with the Committee of the Nationalist Government being elected by KMT Central Committee. Under the national government was seven ministries – Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Transport, Justice, Agriculture and Mines, and Commerce. There were also additional institutions such as the Supreme Court, Control Yuan, and the General Academy.

With the promulgation of the Organic Law of the National Government in October 1928, the government was reorganized into five different branches or Yuan, namely the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Examination Yuan as well as the Control Yuan. The Chairman of the National Government was to be the head-of-state and commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army. Chiang Kai-shek was appointed as the first Chairman of the National Government, a position he would retain until 1931. The Organic Law also stipulated that the Kuomintang, through its National Congress and Central Executive Committee, would exercise sovereign power during the period of political tutelage, and the KMT's Political Council would guide and superintend the National Government in the execution of important national affairs and that the council has the power to interpret or amend the organic law.^[18]

Human Rights violations[]

KMT troops rounding up Communist prisoners for execution

The Nationalist government of China has been accused of mass killings, as Rudolph Rummel estimates the Nationalist government of China is responsible for between 6 and 18.5 million deaths. He attributes this death toll to a few major causes for example:^[10]

• 1 million Chinese civilians starved or killed in order to fend off communist advance
• Hundreds of thousands of peasants and communists killed in political repression.
• 1.75 to 2.5 million Chinese starving to death due to grain being confiscated and sold to other peasants for the profit of Nationalist Government officials.
• 4.2 million Chinese perishing before entering combat due to starving to death or dying from the disease during conscription campaigns.
• 440,000 to 893,000 Chinese civilians perishing in a man-made flood by the Nationalists to stop a Japanese advance.

Military[]

The NRA during World War II

The National Revolutionary Army (NRA) (traditional Chinese: 國民革命軍; simplified Chinese: 国民革命军; pinyin: Guómín Gémìng Jūn; Wade–Giles: Kuo-min Ke-ming Chün), pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928 and 1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule beginning in 1928.

Originally organized with Soviet aid as a means for the KMT to unify China against warlordism, the National Revolutionary Army fought major engagements in the Northern Expedition against the Chinese Beiyang Army warlords, in the Second Sino-Japanese War against the Imperial Japanese Army, and in the Chinese Civil War against the People's Liberation Army.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the armed forces of the CCP were nominally incorporated into the National Revolutionary Army (while retaining separate commands), but broke away to form the People's Liberation Army shortly after the end of the war. With the promulgation of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947 and the formal end of the KMT party-state, the National Revolutionary Army has renamed the Republic of China Armed Forces (中華民國國軍), with the bulk of its forces forming the Republic of China Army, which retreated to Taiwan in 1949.

The military was formed through bloody and inhumane forced conscription campaigns; these campaigns are described by Rudolph Rummel as thus:^[10]

"Then there was the process of conscription. This was a deadly affair in which men were kidnapped for the army, rounded up indiscriminately by press-gangs or army units among those on the roads or in the towns and villages, or otherwise gathered together. Many men, some the very young and old, were killed resisting or trying to escape. Once collected, they would be roped or chained together and marched, with little food or water, long distances to camp. They often died or were killed along the way, sometimes less than 50 percent reaching camp alive. Then recruit camp was no better, with hospitals resembling Nazi concentration camps like Buchenwald. Probably 3,081,000 died during the Sino-Japanese War; likely another 1,131,000 during the Civil War – 4,212,000 dead in total. Just during conscription."

Economy[]

A currency bill from 1930, early ROC

The Bund of Shanghai in the 1930s

After the Kuomintang reunified the country in 1928, China entered a period of relative prosperity despite civil war and Japanese aggression. In 1937, the Japanese invaded and laid China to waste in eight years of war. The era also saw additional boycott of Japanese products.

Chinese industries continued to develop in the 1930s with the advent of the Nanjing decade in the 1930s when Chiang Kai-shek unified most of the country and brought political stability. China's industries developed and grew from 1927 to 1931. Though badly hit by the Great Depression from 1931 to 1935 and Japan's occupation of Manchuria in 1931, industrial output recovered by 1936. By 1936, industrial output had recovered and surpassed its previous peak in 1931 prior to the Great Depression's effects on China. This is best shown by the trends in Chinese GDP. In 1932, China's GDP peaked at US$28.8 billion, before falling to $21.3 billion by 1934 and recovering to $23.7 billion by 1935.^[19] By 1930, foreign investment in China totaled $3.5 billion, with Japan leading ($1.4 billion) and the United Kingdom at 1 billion. By 1948, however, the capital stock had halted with investment dropping to only $3 billion, with the US and Britain leading.^[20]

However, the rural economy was hit hard by the Great Depression of the 1930s, in which an overproduction of agricultural goods lead to massive falling prices for China as well as an increase in foreign imports (as agricultural goods produced in western countries were "dumped" in China). In 1931, imports of rice in China amounted to 21 million bushels compared with 12 million in 1928. Other goods saw even more staggering increases. In 1932, 15 million bushels of grain were imported compared with 900,000 in 1928. This increased competition leads to a massive decline in Chinese agricultural prices (which were cheaper) and thus the income of rural farmers. In 1932, agricultural prices were 41 percent of 1921 levels.^[21] Rural incomes had fallen to 57 percent of 1931 levels by 1934 in some areas.^[21]

In 1937, Japan invaded China and the resulting warfare laid waste to China. Most of the prosperous east China coast was occupied by the Japanese, who carried out various atrocities such as the Rape of Nanjing in 1937 and random massacres of whole villages. In one anti-guerrilla sweep in 1942, the Japanese killed up to 200,000 civilians in a month. The war was estimated to have killed between 20 and 25 million Chinese and destroyed all that Chiang had built up in the preceding decade.^[22] Development of industries was severely hampered after the war by devastating conflict as well as the inflow of cheap American goods. By 1946, Chinese industries operated at 20 percent capacity and had 25 percent of the output of pre-war China.^[23]

One effect of the war was a massive increase in government control of industries. In 1936, government-owned industries were only 15% of GDP. However, the ROC government took control of many industries in order to fight the war. In 1938, the ROC established a commission for industries and mines to control and supervise firms, as well as instilling price controls. By 1942, 70 percent of the capital of Chinese industry was owned by the government.^[24]

Following the war with Japan, Chiang acquired Taiwan from Japan and renewed his struggle with the Communists. However, the corruption of the KMT, as well as hyperinflation as a result of trying to fight the civil war, resulted in mass unrest throughout the Republic and sympathy for the communists.^[25] In addition, the Communists' promise to redistribute land gained them support among the massive rural population. In 1949, the People's Liberation captured Beijing and later Nanjing as well. The People's Republic of China was proclaimed in Beijing on 1 October 1949. The Republic of China central government relocated to Taipei in 7 December 1949, to Taiwan where Japan had laid an educational groundwork.^[26]

Former sites[]

Almost all of the former sites of the nationalist government are headquartered in the city of Nanking, the capital at the time, with only one exception.

Name	Image	Location	Construction Date	Description
Headquarters of the Nationalist Government		No.292 Changjiang Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing	1870-1930s	The complex served as Viceroy of Liangjiang's Office in Qing dynasty, and as the Presidential Palace in 1948.
Executive Yuan (1928)		No.19 Dongjian Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing	1920s	The building, serving as the Executive Yuan from 1928 to 1937, is now a part of the Presidential Palace complex.
Executive Yuan (1946)		No.252-254 Zhongshan North Road, Gulou District, Nanjing	1930	The building was the headquarter of the Ministry of Railways at first, then the site of Executive Yuan from 1946 to 1949. After the communists took over Nanjing, it became a building of PLA Nanjing Political College.
Executive Yuan (1949)		Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing	1929	It was the site of Lizhi She in the 1930s. In 1949, the Nationalist Government decided to move the Executive Yuan into this building. The building now served as a part of Zhongshan Hotel.
Legislative Yuan (1928)		No.273 Baixia Road, Qinhuai District, Nanjing		It was the site of the "Mistress House". The Nationalist Government chose the house to become the seat of Legislative Yuan in 1928.
Legislative Yuan (1946) & Control Yuan		No.105 Zhongshan North Road, Gulou District, Nanjing	1935	The building was Nanjing City Hall during the Japanese occupation. After the Second World War, it became the offices of Legislative Yuan and Control Yuan. Now it is Nanjing Soldiers' Club.
Judicial Yuan's Entrance		No.251 Zhongshan Road, Gulou District, Nanjing	1935	The building was destroyed by fire in April 1949. Only the gate remains.
Examination Yuan		No.41-43 Beijing East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing	1930s	The building is now served as Nanjing City Government Offices and the Committee of Nanjing, CPPCC.
Supreme Court		No.101 Zhongshan North Road, Gulou District, Nanjing	1933	The building was also served as the Supreme Prosecutor Office
Military Affairs Commission		No.292 Changjiang Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing	1870s	This house was built in 1870s, after Taiping Rebellion. In the 1930s, Chiang Kai-shek chose it to be one of the headquarters of the Military Affairs Commission. The house is located in the Presidential Palace complex and becoming a popular tourist attraction now.
National Resource Commission		No.200 Zhongshan North Road, Gulou District, Nanjing	1947	The building is now an office building of Nanjing Tech University
Ministry of Economic Affairs		No.145 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing		The building is now served as the office of Nanjing Sports Bureau.
Central Bank		No.15 East-1 Zhongshan Rd, Huangpu District, Shanghai	1899–1902	This was the only institution not headquartered in the city of Nanjing. Once being the Shanghai branch of Russo-Chinese Bank, this building now becomes Shanghai Foreign Exchange Trading Center.
Ministry of Health		No.305 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing	1931	The building was in the site of the National Central Hospital complex. It is Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command now.
Ministry of Education		Chengxian Street, Xuanwu District, Nanjing		The building is now occupied by some governmental officials.
Ministry of Transportation & Communications		No.303-305 Zhongshan North Road, Gulou District, Nanjing	1932–1934	Opposite was the site of the Executive Yuan. After the communists took over Nanjing, it became a building of PLA Nanjing Political College.
National Assembly Hall (1936)		No.2 Sipailou, Xuanwu District, Nanjing	1930s	Before the National Theatre of Drama and Music was completed, the National Assembly was held in the Auditorium of National Central University.
National Assembly Hall (1946)		No.264 Changjiang Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing	1935	The building was served as the National Theatre of Drama and Music. After the World War II, it became the meeting place of the National Assembly. It was the site of 1948 presidential election and the birthplace of the Constitution. So this building played an important role in the modern history of China.
Residence of the Chairman (1946)		Purple Mountain, Xuanwu District, Nanjing	1931–1934	Also known as "the Red Hill Mansion" and "Mei-ling Villa", the building was one of the main residences of Chiang & Soong in Nanking after WWII. And it became one of the official residences of the President of the ROC from 1948 to 1949.

When the city of Nanking was not captured by the Nationalist Government, they chose the following buildings as their headquarters.

Name	Image	Location	Construction Date	Description
Nationalist Government in Canton (1925)		No.118 Yuehua rd, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou		In 1925, the Nationalist Government was established here. Today, all the buildings inside were demolished except the gate.
Nationalist Government in Wuhan (1926)		No.708, Zhongshan Avenue, Wuhan	1917–1921	It was also called Nanyang Tobacco Building. In 1926, the National Revolutionary Army took control of Wuhan. Then, the officials of KMT chose Nanyang Tobacco Building to become the seat of the Nationalist Government.
Nationalist Government in Chungking (1939)		Yuzhong District, Chongqing		In the period of the Second Sino-Japanese War, this building was served as the headquarters of the Nationalist Government until they moved back to Nanking. The building was demolished in the 1980s.

See also[]

Government of the Republic of China

• Kuomintang
• Republic of China (1912–1949)
  • Beiyang government (1912–1928)
  • Communist-controlled China (1927–1949)
• Sino-German cooperation (1926–1941)
• Diplomatic history of World War II
• Nanjing Decade

Notes[]

References[]

Citations[]

Sources[]

External links[]

• Media related to Nationalist Government (China) at Wikimedia Commons