Republic of China legislative election, 1948
Encyclopedia
First Legislative Representative Election of the Republic of China, and the recent 1947 National Assembly Election are the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

's first public direct elections since its founding. At the time most of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

's territory was under the control of the Government of the Republic of China
Government of the Republic of China
The Republic of China was formally established by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1912 in Nanjing under the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China but this government was moved to Beijing in the same year and continued as the internationally recognized government of China until 1928. In the history...

, using a direct voting system elected 759 Legislative Representatives. Using the Republic's then 461 million population to calculate, on average 600000 people elected one representative in the Legislature
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China .The Legislative Yuan is one of the five branches of government stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of China, which follows Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People...

. The election along with the one held for the National Assembly also made China the largest democracy at the time.

Background

In 1928, the National Government
Government of the Republic of China
The Republic of China was formally established by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1912 in Nanjing under the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China but this government was moved to Beijing in the same year and continued as the internationally recognized government of China until 1928. In the history...

 completed the Northern Expedition and after achieving unification in the name of China, initiated the “Political Tutelage” period and created the Legislative Yuan
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China .The Legislative Yuan is one of the five branches of government stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of China, which follows Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People...

. But the Legislative Representatives at the time were not elected, but appointed by the National Government
Government of the Republic of China
The Republic of China was formally established by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1912 in Nanjing under the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China but this government was moved to Beijing in the same year and continued as the internationally recognized government of China until 1928. In the history...

 for a 2-year term. There were initially 49 seats, but it was increased to the 194 seats before the Sino-Japanese War
Sino-Japanese War
There were two wars known as the Sino-Japanese War :* The First Sino-Japanese War between China and Japan , primarily over control of Korea....

. But because of the Second World War, the 194 Legislative Representatives selected in 1934's terms were extended until after WWII in 1947.

On January 1, 1947, the “Constitution of the Republic of China
Constitution of the Republic of China
The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fundamental law of the Republic of China . Drafted by the Kuomintang as part of its third stage of national development , it established a centralized Republic with five branches of government...

” was published, and in the same year on December 25 promulgated. April 1947, according to the Political Consultative Conference, the National Government
Government of the Republic of China
The Republic of China was formally established by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1912 in Nanjing under the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China but this government was moved to Beijing in the same year and continued as the internationally recognized government of China until 1928. In the history...

 was reorganised to allow other political parties (eg. Youth Party, Democratic Socialist Party) to enter. In the beginning of 1948, according to the Constitution's Article 64, the first Constitutional Legislative Election was held. Because of the largeness of the provinces, not all of the elections in the various provinces were held on the same date. The starting and ending dates were from January 21 to January 23.

Because of the problems that took place during the 1947 National Assembly Election
Republic of China National Assembly election, 1947
National Assembly elections were held in the Republic of China between 21 and 23 November 1947. A total of 2,961 delegates were elected from across the country.-Results:Note that the results are for Taiwan only....

 (ie. Party candidates were not nominated by their political parties, but by self-gathering voter signatures), the Nationalist Party Central Government strengthened the requirements for party member candidates.

Election

In accordance to the Constitution of the Republic of China
Constitution of the Republic of China
The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fundamental law of the Republic of China . Drafted by the Kuomintang as part of its third stage of national development , it established a centralized Republic with five branches of government...

, members of the Legislative Yuan shall be elected in accordance with the following provisions:
  1. Those to be elected from the provinces and by the municipalities under the direct jurisdiction of the Executive Yuan shall be five for each province or municipality with a population of not more than 3,000,000, one additional member shall be elected for each additional 1,000,000 in a province or municipality whose population is over 3,000,000
  2. Those to be elected from Mongolian Leagues and Banners
  3. Those to be elected from Tibet
  4. Those to be elected by various racial groups in frontier regions
  5. Those to be elected by Chinese citizens residing abroad
  6. Those to be elected by occupational groups

The number of women to be elected under the provinces, municipalities, and other items shall be prescribed by law. Based on the census calculations, at the time the citizen population of China numbered at 461 million, in this election 773 representatives were elected. Their numbers are as follows
  1. Elected representatives from the provinces and municipalities: 622
  2. Elected representatives from the Mongolian Leagues: 22
  3. Elected representatives from Tibet: 15
  4. Elected representatives by various racial groups in frontier regions: 6
  5. Elected representatives by Chinese citizens residing abroad: 19
  6. Elected representatives by occupational groups: 89


Campaigning: Legislative Election and Recall Law Article XII, when generating the candidates for the election, once a Candidate has over 3000 voters' signatures or been nominated by the party as candidates, he may begin campaigning. Those who have failed will not be allowed to campaign. Overseas Chinese and Occupational Groups can only campaign if they have the required amount of voters. Because the constitution has just been promulgated, opposition was small, and most of the nominated candidates were from the Nationalist Party.

Election process

As a process of constitutional succession, before the establishment of the elected government, in accordance with the "End of Political Tutelage Procedure Law," the first Legislative and National Assembly election is to be organized by the National Government. In accordance with the “National Assembly and Legislative Yuan Election Ordinance," June 25, 1947, the National Government are to establish general elections at the central government office and around the various provinces, municipalities, and counties. In the year of 1948 from January 21 to January 23, the country's 47 provinces, municipalities, 18 Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

n Leagues, Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

an area, domestic occupational groups, women's organisations, and overseas Chinese regions, making up nearly 200 million voters voted for their legislators. Because of the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

, the elections could not be held in Communist controlled areas, the National Government, through the supplementary regulations, had the people living nearest to the areas elect for the representation of the areas.

Because the Chinese Communist Party refused to participate in the election, only the Chinese Nationalist Party, China Democratic Socialist Party
China Democratic Socialist Party
The China Democratic Socialist Party was founded in Shanghai on 15 August 1946. It was formed through the merger of the former Chinese National Socialist Party and the Democratic Constitutionalist Party , both of which had survived the years of Japanese aggression by generally supporting the...

, Chinese Youth Party
Chinese Youth Party
The Young China Party , also known as the Chinese Youth Party, is a minor political party in the Republic of China...

, and other small party and independents participated. In the election, all Citizens who had gone through citizen registration at least 20 years old can vote using the “Radio, anonymous, secret” voting system. Not counting the small groups like the occupational groups and the ethnic minority groups, only those who were close to the ballot offices could participate. If using an average 30% between all of the provinces of citizens who have registered, it is estimated that 150 million people participated. Although the turn-out rate was low, this session of the Legislative Yuan and National Assembly remains to date the only session of the Greater China region that has been directly elected.

Also, Sinkiang Province had 6 seats, but 1 seat of the Yitaasan district was reserved to elected, so only 5 were elected from the Province; Tibet Area originally were given 5 seats, but because the Kashag
Kashag
The Kashag was the governing council of Tibet during Qing Dynasty and Republic of China. It was set by Qianlong Emperor in 1751. In that year the Tibetan government was reorganized after the riots in Lhasa of the previous year...

 did not report the list on time, 3 of the Tibetan representatives in the Capital filled in the seats, and Tibet had 2 vacant seats; Overseas Chinese Citizens
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....

 had 19 seats, but only districts 6 to 13's votes were counted, electing 8 representatives with 11 vacancies. In total there were 14 vacancies.

Aftermath

In 1948, 759 members were elected to the First Legislative Yuan
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China .The Legislative Yuan is one of the five branches of government stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of China, which follows Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People...

under the rule of the recently promulgated Constitution of the Republic of China
Constitution of the Republic of China
The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fundamental law of the Republic of China . Drafted by the Kuomintang as part of its third stage of national development , it established a centralized Republic with five branches of government...

. The members convened of their own accord on May 8 in the National Assembly Hall of Nanking and held six preparatory meetings during which Dr. Ko Sun (son of Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...

) and Mr. Li-fu Chen were elected President and Vice President respectively. On May 18 the first meeting of the first session of the First Legislative Yuan officially inaugurated 21 standing committees in operation.

1950

Owing to the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

 between the Nationalists, led by the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

, and the Communists, led by the Chinese Communist Party, the central government
Central government
A central government also known as a national government, union government and in federal states, the federal government, is the government at the level of the nation-state. The structure of central governments varies from institution to institution...

 was moved to Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

 in 1950. Of the 759 legislators, 380 followed the government to Taiwan. On February 24 of the same year, the remaining legislators gathered for its first meeting of the fifth session at the Sun Yat-sen Hall in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

. Before long the Legislative Yuan voted to revise its organization law and reduced the number of the standing committees to 12; at the same time, it set up other ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....

committees. In 1960 the Legislative Yuan moved to its current location on Chungshan South Road.

1951

The term of the First Legislative Yuan members was supposed to have expired by May 1951, had it not been for a major national conflict that made impossible an election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...

 as required by law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 for the next Legislative Yuan. Accordingly, the Council of Grand Justices of the Judicial Yuan passed the No. 31 Interpretation of the Constitution to justify and legalize continuous performance of these members elected in 1948. During this extended tenure, however, 11 additional members were elected in 1969 to the Legislative Yuan according to the "Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion
Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion
The Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion was a series of temporary constitutional provisions passed by the National Assembly of the Republic of China on May 10, 1948, that provided to the then President Chiang Kai-shek extended powers amid the height of the...

" to perform their functions together with those remaining members elected in 1948. This situation resulted in a de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

 dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...

 led by Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

, which lasted until the recent democratization
Democratization
Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...

 of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

, under the rule of Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo , Kuomintang politician and leader, was the son of President Chiang Kai-shek and held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China...

. During all that time, the Legislative Yuan
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China .The Legislative Yuan is one of the five branches of government stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of China, which follows Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People...

 was nothing more than a rubber-stamp legislature, a mere formality. Despite the formalities written on the Constitution and laws, only members of the Kuomintang, members of the other two allowed political parties (Chinese Youth Party
Chinese Youth Party
The Young China Party , also known as the Chinese Youth Party, is a minor political party in the Republic of China...

 and China Democratic Socialist Party
China Democratic Socialist Party
The China Democratic Socialist Party was founded in Shanghai on 15 August 1946. It was formed through the merger of the former Chinese National Socialist Party and the Democratic Constitutionalist Party , both of which had survived the years of Japanese aggression by generally supporting the...

) or independents were allowed to be candidates. Organized independents (Tangwai
Tangwai
The Tangwai movement was a political movement in the Republic of China in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Although the Kuomintang had allowed contested elections for a small number of seats in Legislative Yuan, opposition parties were still forbidden...

, "who are outside the party") where not tolerated during this period of time.

1972

In December 1972, the Legislative Yuan
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China .The Legislative Yuan is one of the five branches of government stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of China, which follows Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People...

 was invigorated with 51 additional members of three-year term elected in accordance with the amended "Temporary Provisions...". Subsequently in December 1975, 52 members were elected and sworn in on February 1st in the following year. The election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...

 slated for December 1978 was suspended until November 20th, 1980 because of the severance of diplomatic relations between the Republic of China and the United States of America. Yet the number of members elected in that election was increased to 97 in accordance with the "Election and Recall Law During the Period of General National Mobilization for the Suppression of Communist Rebellion". From then onward, 98 members in 1983, 100 members in 1986 and 130 members in 1989 were elected respectively and sworn in on February 1st of 1984, 1987 and 1990.

1991

On December 31, 1991, all veteran members elected in 1948 finally retired, and the legislative power was taken over by the 130 additional members elected in 1989.

1947 National Assembly
Republic of China National Assembly election, 1947
National Assembly elections were held in the Republic of China between 21 and 23 November 1947. A total of 2,961 delegates were elected from across the country.-Results:Note that the results are for Taiwan only....

 and Legislature Election Gallery

Because the election dates of the two elections are almost the same, it is difficult to determine which election is depicted in the pictures, as a result the pictures are placed together into the same gallery.

See also

  • Republic of China National Assembly election, 1947
    Republic of China National Assembly election, 1947
    National Assembly elections were held in the Republic of China between 21 and 23 November 1947. A total of 2,961 delegates were elected from across the country.-Results:Note that the results are for Taiwan only....

  • Constitution of the Republic of China
    Constitution of the Republic of China
    The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fundamental law of the Republic of China . Drafted by the Kuomintang as part of its third stage of national development , it established a centralized Republic with five branches of government...

  • Constituent National Assembly of the Republic of China
  • National Assembly of the Republic of China
    National Assembly of the Republic of China
    The National Assembly of the Republic of China refers to several parliamentary bodies that existed in the Republic of China. The National Assembly was originally founded in 1913 as the first legislature in Chinese history, but was disbanded less than a year later as President Yuan Shikai assumed...

  • Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China
  • Chinese Civil War
    Chinese Civil War
    The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...


Further reading

  • 劉寧顏編,《重修台灣省通志》,台北市,台灣省文獻委員會,1994年。
  • 中華民國國史館編,《中華民國褒揚令全集》,14冊,NO.2313-NO.2708,台北市,國史館,1985年
  • 李憲榮,《從選舉制度論立法院效能之改善》,2001年
  • 《中華民國憲法》,立法篇
  • 許主峰,公民組織與政府組織的改造。

External links

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