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| Names | |
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See also: Names of China#Republic of China and Chinese Taipei
The official name of the state is "Republic of China"; it has also been known under various names throughout its existence. Shortly after the ROC's establishment in 1912, while it was still located on the Asian mainland, the government used the abbreviation "China" ("Zhongguó") to refer to itself, for instance during the Olympic Games[25] or at the United Nations. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was common to refer to it as "Nationalist China" to differentiate it from "Communist China" (or "Red China").[26] The ROC also called itself "Free China" in an attempt to portray the PRC as an illegitimate government. At the UN, it was present under the name "China" until it lost its seat to the People's Republic of China in 1971. Since then, the name "China" has been commonly used internationally to refer only to the People's Republic of China, except in countries that diplomatically recognize Republic of China and thus refer to the ROC as "China".[27] Over subsequent decades, the Republic of China has become commonly known as "Taiwan", due to the fact that Taiwan, the island, composes most of its territory. It is also often informally referred to as the "State of Taiwan", in particular in countries where the ROC is not officially recognized.[28][29][30][31] The Republic of China participates in most international forums and organizations under the name "Chinese Taipei" due to diplomatic pressure from the PRC. For instance, it is the name under which it has competed at the Olympic Games since 1979, and its name as an observer at the World Health Organization. Additionally, the PRC refers to Taiwan as "Taiwan, China" in pursuit of its claim that it is under the sovereignty of the PRC.
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| History | |
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Main articles: History of the Republic of China and Republic of China (1912–1949)
The Republic of China was formally established on 1 January 1912 on mainland China following the Xinhai Revolution which itself began with the Wuchang Uprising on 10 October 1911, and replaced the Qing Dynasty and ended over two thousand years of imperial rule in China. It is the oldest surviving republic in East Asia. The Republic of China on mainland China went through periods of warlordism, Japanese invasion, and civil war between the Kuomintang-led Central Government and the Communists. From its founding until 1949 it was based in mainland 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 Nanking Decade (1927–37) when most of China came under the control of the Kuomintang (KMT). 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 Republic of China's administrative control. The legitamacy of this transfer is disputed and is another aspect of the disputed political status of Taiwan.
The communist takeover of mainland China in the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and later Hainan, Tachen and other outlying islands in the early 1950s left the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) with control over only Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. With the 1949 loss of mainland China in the civil war, the ROC government fled to Taiwan and the KMT declared Taipei the provisional capital.[32] The Communist Party of China took over all of mainland China[33][34] and founded the People's Republic of China in Beijing, leading to two rival governments claiming to be the sole legitimate government of "China". However, until the 1970s the ROC was still recognized by many countries and the United Nations as the sole legitimate government of "China", which included both mainland China and Taiwan. The ROC had been a founding member of the United Nations[35] and one of the five permanent members of the Security Council until 1971, when China's representation was replaced by the PRC via UN General Assembly Resolution 2758. Since then, ROC has struggled with limited formal diplomatic relations and is unable to use its official name widely, and is forced to be identified as "Taiwan" or "Chinese Taipei" in most international contexts.
Starting in 1928, the Republic of China was ruled by the Kuomintang as an authoritarian single-party state.[36] In the 1950s and 1960s, the KMT went through wide restructuring and decreased corruption and implemented land reform. There followed a period of great economic growth, the Republic of China became one of the Four Asian Tigers, despite the constant threat of war and civil unrest. In the 1980s and 1990s the government peacefully transitioned to a democratic system, with the first direct presidential election in 1996 and the 2000 election of Chen Shui-bian, the first non-KMT to become President of the Republic of China. The KMT regained presidency and increased its majority in the legislature in the 2008 presidential and legislative elections.[37]
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| Founding | |
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Territory of the Republic of China in 1914
Yuan Shikai (left) and Sun Yat-sen (right) with flags representing the early republic
In 1911, after over two thousand years of imperial rule, a republic was established in China and the monarchy overthrown by a group of revolutionaries. The Qing Dynasty, having just experienced a century of instability, suffered from both internal rebellion and foreign imperialism.[38] The Neo-Confucian principles that had, to that time, sustained the dynastic system were now called into question.[39] Its support of the Boxers in a failed uprising against the world's major powers was its final mistake. The Qing forces were defeated and China was forced to give a huge indemnity to the foreign powers; an equivalent to £67 million to be paid over 39 years. Disconnected from the population and unable to face the challenges of modern China, the Qing government was in its final throes. Only the lack of an alternative regime in sight was prolonging its existence until 1912.[40][41]
The establishment of Republican China developed out of the Wuchang Uprising against the Qing on 10 October 1911. That date is now celebrated annually as the ROC's national day, also known as the "Double Ten Day". On 29 December 1911, Sun Yat-Sen was elected president by the Nanking assembly representing seventeen provinces. On 1 January 1912, he was officially inaugurated and pledged "to overthrow the despotic Manchu government, consolidate the Republic of China and plan for the welfare of the people".
Sun however lacked the military support to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. Realizing this, he handed over the presidency to Yuan Shikai, the imperial general, who then forced the last emperor Puyi to abdicate. Yuan Shikai was officially elected president in 1913.[38][42] Yuan ruled by military power and ignored the republican institutions established by his predecessor, threatening to execute Senate members that would disagree with his decisions. He soon dissolved the ruling Kuomintang party and banned "secret organizations" (which implicitly included the KMT), and ignored the provisional constitution. An attempt at a democratic election in 1911 ended up with the assassination of the elected candidate by a man recruited by Yuan. Ultimately, Yuan Shikai declared himself Emperor of China in 1915.[43] The new ruler of China tried to increase centralization by abolishing the provincial system; however this move angered the gentry along with the province governors, usually military men. Many provinces declared independence and became warlord states. Increasingly unpopular and deserted by his supporters, Yuan Shikai gave up on becoming Emperor in 1916 and died of natural causes shortly after.[44][45]
Thus devoid of a strong, unified government, China thrust into another period of warlordism. Sun Yat-sen, forced into exile, returned to Guangdong province in the south with the help of warlords in 1917 and 1922, and set up successive rival governments; he re-established the KMT in October 1919. Sun's dream was to unify China by launching an expedition to the north. He however lacked military support and funding to make it a reality.[46]
The Peiyang government in Peiping (previously known as Peking, now Beijing) struggled to hold on to power. An open and wide-ranging debate evolved regarding how China should confront the West. In 1919, a student protest against the weak response of China to the Treaty of Versailles, considered unfair by Chinese intellectuals, led to the May Fourth movement. These demonstrations were aimed at spreading Western influence to replace Chinese culture. It is also in this intellectual climate that the influence of Marxism spread and became more popular. It eventually led to the founding of the Communist Party of China in 1920.[47]
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| Chinese Civil War and World War II | |
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Further information: Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese civil war
Chiang Kai-shek, who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925
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 China. Chiang received the help of the Soviet Union; however he soon dismissed his Soviet advisors. He was convinced, not without reason, that they wanted to get rid of the Nationalists and take over control.[48] Chiang decided to strike first and purged the Communists, killing thousands of them[citation needed]. 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[citation needed]. These events eventually led to the Chinese Civil War. 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.[49] By 1928, Chiang's army overturned the Peiyang government and unified the entire nation, at least nominally.
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.[50] In 1930, the Nationalists, having taken over the power, started the second phase, and promulgated a provisional constitution for the political tutelage period and began the period of so-called "tutelage".[51] They were criticized as instituting totalitarianism but claimed they were 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."[52] The Nationalist Government wrote a draft of the constitution in 5 May 1936.[53]
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 Chungking (now 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.
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| After World War II | |
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Further information: Taiwan after World War II and Taiwan Strait Crisis
Chiang Kai-shek (center) and Mao Zedong (right) with US diplomat Patrick J. Hurley (left) in 1945
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.[54] 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.[55][56] 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 Tags:Taiwanese, | |
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