October 10 of this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Wuchang Revolution which toppled the Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty and led to establishment of the Republic of China on January 1, 1912. According to Chinese tradition, 60 years makes up a chronological cycle and the anniversary is an occasion for jubilant celebration. The cycle is formed by a combination of 10 t'ien (heavenly stems) and 12 ti chih (earthly branches). Each t'ien and ti chih is represented by a Chinese character.
This cyclical system is said to have originated in the time of Huang Ti (the Yellow Emperor), who supposedly reigned over the Middle Kingdom for a century beginning in 2697 B.C. Among the Chinese and many other people of East Asia who read the ideographic language of , the Wuchang Revolution is also known as the Hsin-hai Revolution because the chronological name for 1911 is Hsin-hai.
The Hsin-hai Revolution not only put an end to a dynastic rule which had lasted for four millennia, but also broke with the traditional policy of diplomatic seclusion and brought acceptance of the new Republic as a member of international community. The Republic of has overcome numerous difficulties and won the admiration of the world during the last 60 years. Since the move to in 1949, the National Government has transformed the island into the most stable and prosperous province in Chinese history.
With a new cycle beginning in October of 1971, the free Chinese of Taiwan, Kinmen (Quemoy), and overseas Chinese communities are confident of carrying out another Hsin-hai Revolution to overthrow the Communists and restore freedom and democratic rule to their compatriots on the mainland.
The Hsin-hai Revolution of 1911 was initiated by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who was born in province November 12, 1866. At the age of 13, he went to . He learned English and the American way of democracy in his stay of five years. He subsequently studied Western medicine at Queen's College in Hongkong and practiced for a while at and .
and went to war in the summer of 1894. As continental China, huge but weak, was defeated by insular Japan in battle after battle, Dr. Sun and some 20 comrades organized the Hsing Chung Hui (Society for the Rejuvenation of China) at Honolulu in November of that year. Their objective was to "drive out the Manchus and return the country to Chinese rule."
In September of 1895, when the Hsing Chung Hui's first attempt to seize was foiled by the Manchus, Dr. Sun went to . After that he traveled through , recruiting comrades and soliciting' funds for the revolutionary cause.
In August of 1905 at , the Hsing Chung Hui was reorganized as the Tung Meng Hui (Society of the Common Cause). Sun Yat-sen was president. More than 1,300 members pledged to work for "the termination of foreign domination, the restoration of sovereign power to the Chinese people, the establishment of a democratic government and the equalization of land rights." They proposed that the new republic pass through stages of military rule and political tutelage in order to reach constitutional democracy.
Dr. Sun organized more than half a dozen sizable uprisings in Kwangtung, Kwangsi and between 1907 and 1910. The biggest rebellion before Wuchang took place at Huang Hua Kang (Yellow Flower Mound) near on March 29, 1911. Hundreds of young revolutionaries, many of whom had studied in , attacked the Manchu viceroy's office. Seventy-two revolutionaries lost their lives in 12 hours of bloody fighting. In 1924, the government built a tomb at Huang Hua Kang to honor the 72 martyrs and designated March 29 as Youth Day.
October 10 was not the chosen date of the 1911 uprising at Wuchang in Hupeh province. A bomb made by the revolutionaries went off accidentally in one of the underground factories and the Manchu police found a name list of T'ung Meng Hui members. With possession of the list, Manchu authorities had the means of breaking the back of the revolutionaries the next day. Led by members of the Manchu "New Army." which had been infiltrated, the revolutionaries struck that evening. The Manchu viceroy and Wuchang garrison commander fled before dawn and the revolutionary flag flew over the city. Tung Meng Hui troops took only three days to occupy the "triple cities" of - Wuchang, Hanyang and Hankow - at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han rivers.
Dr. Sun was in the when the uprising broke out. He hastened to and obtained from Sir Edward Grey. the British foreign secretary, an assurance that would not intervene. In , he won the sympathy of the French government.
Less than a month after the Wuchang revolt, most of the 18 provinces had been liberated by the Revolutionary forces or had declared themselves independent of the Manchu government. To elucidate the purposes of the Revolution to the world, Foreign Minister Wu ring-fang of the Provisional Government issued the following manifesto, entitled "To Our Foreign Friends," on November 17:
"Prompted by many inquiries by leading articles in the press and by the letters which have appeared in the North China Daily News and other papers, we feel it incumbent upon us to express the deep sense of our appreciation of the evident worldwide interest and sympathy taken in the Revolutionary movement and briefly to set forth the position of the Revolution party today.
"It is unnecessary to indulge in lengthy explanations of the reasons leading to the present Revolution. They are notorious. The Manchu Government has in the course of its dominance of demonstrated its incapacity to rule its people or conduct the affairs of the nation in a manner compatible with the forward movement signalizing the modern history and development of the civilized world. The Manchu dynasty has, by its benighted conceptions and barbaric leaning, brought to a position of degradation. The nation is scorned, and its institutions and general retrogressive policy are the objects of contempt.
"For decades the enlightened among the Chinese endeavored by peaceful means to promote and establish ambition among the people for an elevated line of progressive conduct. They have failed.
"The foreign powers individually and collectively have stood hammering at the door of China for centuries pleading for the diffusion of knowledge, a reformation of national services, the adoption of Western sciences and industrial processes, a jettisoning of the crude, out-of-date and ignoble concepts which have multiplied to keep the nation without the pale of the great family constituting the civilized world. They have failed.
"The Manchu dynasty has triumphantly carried on its reactionary policy despite the strongest pressure exerted from within and without until the oppressed people could endure the disgrace and the contumely of it no longer. They rose, and with what result the history of the past few weeks has shown.
"The Manchu dynasty has been tried by a patient and peaceful people for centuries, and has been found more than wanting. It has sacrificed the reverence, forfeited the regard and lost the confidence freely reposed in it by all Chinese.
"Its promises in the past have proved delusions and snares. Its promises for the future can carry no weight, deserve no consideration and permit no trust.
"The popular wish is that the dynasty must go.
"The leaders of thougl1t in the Revolutionary movement abhor bloodshed.
"We have, it is safe to say, evidenced a toleration unexpected by our foreign friends.
"We have controlled the forces for evil in a manner which should characterize this revolution as the least sanguinary in the history of the world, when the sins of the country and nature of the masses are taken into consideration.
"We have memorialized the Prince Regent to secure the abdication of the Manchus upon the guarantee of full protection for the life and property not only of the Imperial family, but of all Manchus.
"We have issued a manifesto to every province urging upon a common ground.
"We have exhorted the whole of the people to sink racial prejudices, to combine for the betterment and advancement of the nation, and to respect and protect, not only their own, but foreign interests to the utmost extent in our power.
"We have striven for order and have created no chaos in those provinces, cities and towns that have of their own volition come under our banners.
"We have retained officers of the old regime where such have desired to remain, and have subscribed to the new regulations for conduct of provincial affairs. The Viceroy of , the Governor of Soochow, the Governor of Anking are instances in point.
"We have, issued telegraphic appeals to the 14 provinces that have declared for independence from Manchu dominance to send delegates to to form a National Assembly.
"We have, in short, taken every possible step to protect vested interests, safeguard international obligations, secure continuance of commerce and shield education and religious institutions; and what is even more important, striven continually to maintain law and order, sustain peace and promote a constructive policy upon sound and enduring grounds.
"The mind of the people is made up for a change. The shameless destruction of life and property that has signalized the latter days of the Manchu's attempt to resist the termination of their reign is but their characteristic valedictory message to the world.
"To the Manchus is the blame for a continuance of hostilities and the perpetration of outrages. They have received from a majority of the provinces an unmistakable pronunciamento of the popular wish; they know that their race is run and that the of to morrow can never be as of yesterday.
"The Revolutionary leaders appealed to them to abdicate in order to put a period to the useless fighting in the field, to prevent wanton bloodshed, to restore the peace of mind of the whole of the populace and to tranquillize trade.
"The hand of the people is now at the plow, and they must of necessity push on to the uttermost end of the furrow.
"We ask our foreign well-wishers to unite with us in our appeal to the Prince Regent to abdicate and so end the strife that is now shaking the land. For our part, our conduct is open to the full view of the world. We are fighting for what fought in the days of old; we are fighting for what fought; we are fighting for what every nation that is now worthy of the name has fought in its days.
"We are fighting to be men in the world; we are fighting to cast off an oppressive, vicious and tyrannous rule that has beggared and disgraced , obstructed and defied the foreign nations, and set back the hands of the clock of the world.
"We must not be judged by the past; we are trying to bring into her own; to elevate her to the standard that the people of the Occident have ever been urging her to attain, and the stumbling block of today as it has been during the past centuries, is the Manchu dynasty.
"Our foreign friends must from a sheer sense of fairness concede that we have the right to win the laurels of freedom by fair fight in the field, and to avoid the rest we again appeal to them to use their influence to secure in the Manchu mind recognition of the utter hopelessness of the continuance of the dynasty.
"That is all that requires. The Manchus may remain in full enjoyment of citizenship, will be entitled to the fullest equality and freedom, and are urged to rest in possession of their lands and property for the future good of the State."
Dr. Sun arrived in on Christmas Eve of 1911. In preparation for his coming, an assembly of provincial delegates of republican tendencies had been convened in . On December 29, these representatives from 17 provinces elected Sun Yat-sen president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China and adopted the solar calendar in place of the lunar year. Dr. Sun took the oath of office in the presence of the National Assembly of the Provisional Government at on January 1, 1912. This was his pledge:
"To overthrow the absolute oligarchic form of the Manchu government, to consolidate the Republic of China, and to plan and beget blessings for the people, I, Sun Wen. will faithfully obey the popular inclinations of the citizens, be royal to the nation, and perform my duty in the interest of the public, until the downfall of the absolute oligarchic government has been accomplished, until the disturbances within the nation have disappeared. and until our Republic has been established as a prominent nation on this earth, duly recognized by all the nations. Then I, Sun Wen, shall relinquish the office of Provisional President. I hereby swear this before the citizens.
"The First Day of the First Year of the Republic of ."
On the day after taking the oath, Dr. Sun issued a proclamation in which he reviewed some of the problems the neW Republic would face and discussed briefly his ideas on how they should be handled:
"In the beginning of the formation of the Chinese Republic, Wen (Sun Wen or Sun Yat-sen), though unworthy, has been elected the Provisional President and I am day and night taking great care, fearing I cannot meet the desires of our people. The abuses of the despotic government of have been going from bad to worse during the last 200 years. When, however, our people determined to overthrow it, a mere several dozen days have been required to bring several dozen province:; to our cause. This success is unprecedented in any history.
"Without any organ to control or any body to meet with foreign powers it is impossible to carryon our work and therefore we have to organize a Provisional Government. I am not going to do a thing to profess my own merit but I do not hesitate to attend to the organization of the Provisional Government to serve the people. By serving the people we can wipe out the bad habits of despotism and establish Republican government to benefit the people, to attain the aim of the Revolution and to satisfy the minds of the people commencing from today. Thus I proclaim my own idea frankly. I say the foundation of a state is the people. The different races such as Hans, Manchus, Mongols, Moslems and Tibetans are now to be united as a nation. This is what I call the unity of our races.
"Since the fighting at Wuchang commenced, over a dozen provinces have proclaimed independence, and by independence has been meant to be independent from the yoke of the Manchu Ch'ing dynasty. But to join hands with the provinces which are on the same side, and to amalgamate and for our cause, is part of the same plan and therefore it becomes necessary to form a government to unite them. This is what I call the unity of our territories.
"Once the righteous army commenced fighting for our cause, many men of arms arose in the provinces. But the armed forces are hot under one control and they are not in uniform organization, though their arms are the same. They should be combined under common command and in a common cause. This is what I call the unity of our military administration.
"The area of the state is wide and the various provinces have their own ways and the Manchu government has tried to effect centralization of power under the false name of constitutional government, but now it is to be arranged that each province be self-governed and all shall be federated under a common Central Government. This is what I call the unity of our internal administration.
"Under the Manchu government, in the name of enforcing constitutional government, many taxes have been raised from poor people, but hereafter the national expenditure will be fixed in accordance with the principles of finance with a view to maintaining the happiness of the people. This is what I call the unity of finance.
"These are our principal policies and we are going to carry these principles out properly. The principle of revolution is the same all the world over and revolutionary movements have failed often, yet foreigners all took notice of our real aim.
"Since we first rose in October last, all friendly nations have maintained strict neutrality and the newspapers and public opinion of foreign countries have been quite sympathetic with our cause, for which I have to express deep thanks.
"With the establishment of Provisional Government, we shall try our best to carry out the duties of a civilized nation so as to obtain the rights of a civilized state. Under the Manchu government, China was humiliated and had anti-foreign feelings, but all these should be wiped out and we should aim at the principle of peace and tranquillity and seek to strengthen our relations with friendly nations so as to place China in a respectable place in international society and follow in the steps of other powers of the world. Our foreign policy is based on this point.
"In establishing a new government for a country there are many affairs to deal with, international and internal. How can I carryon these important and complicated affairs? This is only a Provisional Government. This is a government in a time of revolution. In past decades all those who have been engaged in Revolutionary movements have been doing their work with a spirit honest and pure, and we have overcome many difficult obstacles. The farther we proceed, the more difficulties there are to lie before us, but we shall continue with our Revolutionary spirit and carry out our aim to the last. If we can establish the foundations of the , the duties of the Provisional Government will be at an end. Then we may be found 'not guilty' in the eyes of the nation and the world. On this day when I meet our people, I frankly declare this is my view."
With the inauguration of President Sun, people throughout the country demanded abdication of the Manchu emperor. The Manchu court delegated full powers to Yuan Shih-k'ai, its prime minister, to negotiate with the Republican government. On February 12, 1912, the Empress Dowager Lung Yu issued an edict of abdication in the name of Emperor Hsuan Tung (Henry Pu Yi), then only seven years old. In keeping with the Confucian concept of jen (benevolence, humanity or love of man), members of the royal family were permitted to retain their titles, enjoy full citizenship and make fult use of private property. At the same time, peoples other than the Han ethnic group - Manchus, Mongols, Moslems and Tibetans - were assured of full equality with the Hans in all aspects of daily life.
Yuan Shih-k'ai was an ambitious man. In 1901, when he was made the viceroy of Chihli, , Yuan built a model army, developed education and fostered industries and road building. With the aid of foreign advisers, he became one of the progressive administrators of the time. He was promoted to the post of grand secretary and then president of the Board of Foreign Affairs, a position in which he dared to differ with the Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi over the choice of a successor to Emperor Kuang Hsu.
At the time of Yuan Shih-k'ai's rise, the Manchu court had more than its share of trouble. There was strife in the royal family and sporadic uprisings of Revolutionaries led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Seeking a way out, the throne reshuffled the cabinet, which had been made up entirely of Manchu princes, took steps toward constitutional monarchy, and gave power to Yuan, who had been associated with some of the Revolutionary leaders.
After founding of the Republic, Yuan's generals threatened to restore the monarchy. Dr. Sun then agreed to yield the presidency to Yuan as the price of peace and the generals endorsed the republican form of government.
On February 12, 1912, after issuance of the Manchu Emperor's Edict of Abdication, Yuan sent this notification to President Sun and other members of the Provisional Government at :
"A republic is the best form of government. The whole world admits this. That in one leap we have passed from autocracy to republicanism is realty the outcome of the many years of strenuous effort exerted by you and all and is the greatest blessing to the people. The Great Ch'ing Emperor has proclaimed his abdication by Edict countersigned by myself. The day of the promulgation of this Edict shall be the end of the Imperial rule and the inauguration of the Republic. Henceforth we shall exert our utmost strength to move forward in progress until we reach perfection. Never shall we allow monarchical government in our . At present the work of consolidation is most difficult and complicated. I shall be most happy to go to the South and listen to your counsels in our conference as to the methods of procedure. Only on account of the difficulty of maintaining order in the North, the existing of a large army requiring control, and the popular mind in the North and East not being united, the slightest disturbance would affect the whole country. All of you, who thoroughly understand the situation, will realize my difficult position. You have studied the important question of establishing a republic and have formed definite plans in your mind. I beg you to inform me as to the way of cooperation in the work of consolidation. "
Upon receipt of this, Dr. Sun telegraphed Yuan, expressing pleasure at developments in the North and inviting Yuan to come to . However, Dr. Sun held that the Manchus had no power to authorize a republican government for . This, Dr. Sun said, had to stem from the will of the people and not from the command of an abdicated emperor. Dr. Sun's reply to Yuan was as follows:
"Tang Shao-yi has telegraphed me that the Ch'ing Emperor has abdicated and that you will support the Republic. The settlement of this great question is a matter of the utmost joy and congratulation. I will report to the National Assembly that I agree to resign the office of President in your favor. But the Republican Government cannot be organized by any authority conferred by the Ch'ing Emperor. The exercise of such pretentious power will surely lead to serious trouble. As you clearly understand the needs of the situation, certainly you will not accept such authority. I cordially invite you to come to and fulfill the expectations of all. Should you be anxious about the maintenance of order in the North, would you in from the Provisional Government by telegraph whom you could recommend to be appointed with full powers to act in your place as a representative of the Republic? Expecting your reply to this telegram, I hereby again extend you our cordial welcome to ."
Dr. Sun tendered his resignation to the National Assembly at February 13. Two days later, the National Assembly elected Yuan Shih-k'ai President and Li Yuan-hung Vice President. The capital of the Republic was to be . Yuan, however, was unwilling to leave his sphere of influence in the North. On the night of the 19th, Yuan ordered his troops in and adjacent areas to "mutiny" against him so he could stay in the old capital as the commander of "punitive forces." The National Assembly had to place its trust in Yuan. At his request, the Assembly agreed to move the capital back to , where Yuan took the oath of office March 10.
After resigning from the presidency, Dr. Sun traveled from city to city, lecturing on his political ideals of the San Min (Three Principles of the People-Nationalism, Democracy and the People's Welfare). At the invitation of Yuan Shih-k'ai, he visited in September of 1912. Dr. Sun talked to Yuan about his plans for the industrializaton of . The advice fell on deaf ears. In the same month, the Tung Meng Hui and three other political parties were reorganized into the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party).
Yuan Shih-k'ai dreamed of becoming emperor. To pave the way for enthronement, he forced the National Assembly to revise the Provisional Constitution and give him a 10-year grant of power.
His next step was the dismissal of three provincial governors holding membership in the Kuomintang: Li Lieh-chun of Kiangsi, Po Wen-wei of Anhwei and Hu Han-min of . There provinces then declared their independence and civil war broke out. Yuan was well prepared and the second revolution of the Kuomintang lasted only a few weeks.
In November of 1913, Yuan Shih-k'ai disbanded the Kuomintang, dissolved the National Assembly and persuaded upper classes and newspapers to come out in favor of a return to monarchical rule. He was at the same time secretly negotiating for a military loan of £ 25 million from a consortium made up of , , , and .
World War I broke out in July of 1914. Despite Chinese neutrality, occupied Tsingtao, a Chinese seaport leased to . Yuan closed his eyes to this in hope the Japanese would help him. In January of 1915 the Japanese minister in delivered a note m3.king "21 Demands" of Yuan as the price for recognizing his monarchical government. Yuan Shih-k'ai accepted the Japanese terms four months later. On December 12, 1915, he proclaimed himself Emperor Hung Hsien and renamed the state Chung Hua Ti Kuo (the Chinese Empire).
General Ts'ai Ao (also spelled Ts'ai Ngo or Ts'ai O), former governor of , rose in arms against Yuan. With the support of Yunnan Governor Tang Chi-yao and Li Lieh-chun, former governor of Kiangsi, Ts'ai Ao declared the independence of on December 25. The provinces of Kweichow and Kwangsi and parts of Szechwan joined with .
When Yuan heard of the successive declarations of independence in and other provinces, his anxiety turned into illness. The people were adam1ntly opposed to his dynastic ambitions. Yuan Shih-k'ai had to yield. His decree of March 22, 1916, voided the Empire and restored the Republic.
Yuan died on June 6 of the same year. Vice President Li Yuan-hung succeeded him. In July of 1917, Governor Chang Hsun of Anhwei entered with his troops in an attempt to put the abdicated Emperor Hsuan Tung back on the throne. Chang Hsun was routed by Feng Kuo-chang and Tuan Ch'i-jui. Li Yuan-hung was compelled to hand over the presidency to Feng Kuo-chang.
With the Peking Government refusing to reconvene the Parliament and ignoring the Provisional Constitution of 1912, Dr. Sun and Kuomintang members of the Parliament met in emergency session at . They voted to organize a military government with Dr. Sun as the Generalissimo. But even in southern provinces nominally under control of the Military Government, the warlords held on to power and gave only lip service to Dr. Sun.
In January of 1918, the Office of the Generalissimo was abolished and replaced by a Directorate of Seven, most of them warlords. From then until 1920, Dr. Sun spent most of his time at , writing books on national reconstruction - the Doctrine of Sun Wen, First Step to Democracy, Plans for the Industrial Development of China and Rules and Regulations for Implementing Local Self-Government. He also completed the Three Principles of the People.
Dr. Sun returned to toward the end of 1920 and was elected Extraordinary President in May of the following year. In February of 1922, he ordered a military expedition against warlords in the north. As the expedition was about to get under way, Ch'en Chiung-ming, commander-in-chief of the Kwangtung Forces, covertly entered into agreement with the northern warlords to impede the movement of government troops. Ch'en's forces shelled the Presidential Office June 16 and Dr. Sun sought refuge aboard the gunboat Yung Feng on the . Chiang Kai-shek came to the rescue from . Ch'en Chiung-ming was defeated late in July.
The Communist Party of China had been inaugurated at July 1, 1921, by a handful of intellectuals. Seeking to expand their sphere of influence, the Communists decided in August of the following year to form a "united front" with the Kuomintang. Dr. Sun realized that they hoped to establish a "dictatorship of the proletariat" through a peasant revolution. On January 26, 1923, Dr. Sun and Adolf Joffe, representative of the Soviet Communist Party, issued at a joint statement in which they said that neither the Communist social order nor the Soviet political system was suitable for .
The First National Congress of the Kuomintang was convened at January 20, 1924. The meeting resolved to adopt the San Min as guiding principles for reconstruction of the nation and to establish a military academy at Whampoa, , to train the nucleus of a revolutionary army. Dr. Sun appointed Chiang Kai-shek superintendent of the academy on May 3.
In October of 1924, Provisional Chief Executive T'uan Ch'i-jui of the Northern Government invited Dr. Sun to for consultations on national affairs. Dr. Sun issued in November a manifesto accepting T'uan's invitation and urging convocation of a National People's Convention and abolition of the unequal treaties. He went to and then to Tientsin via . While in , Dr. Sun called upon to abandon its plans for aggression against .
Shortly after his arrival in , Dr. Sun fell ill. He went on to on New Year's live only to find that the Northern Government had no intention of accepting his counsel. His health continued to fail and he died of liver cancer on March 12, 1925. On the preceding day Dr. Sun had dictated this testament:
"For forty years I have devoted myself to the cause of the National Revolution with but one end in view, the elevation of to a position of freedom and equality among the nations. My experiences during these forty years have firmly convinced me that to attain this goal we must bring about a thorough awakening of our own people and ally ourselves in a common struggle with those peoples of the world who treat us on the basis of equality.
"The work of the Revolution has not yet been completed. Let all our comrades follow my Plans for National Reconstruction, Fundamentals of National Reconstruction, Three Principles of the People and the Manifesto issued by the First National Congress of our Party, and strive on earnestly for their consummation. Above all, our recent declarations in favor of the convocation of a National Convention and the abolition of unequal treaties should be carried into effect with the least possible delay. This is my heart-felt charge to you."
Dr. Sun's remains at first reposed at the Piyun Monastery in 's Western Hills. On June 1, 1929, entombment was carried out at the foot of the in . On April 1, 1940, the National Government decreed that Dr. Sun Yat-sen should be known as "the Founding Father of the Republic. "
After the death of Dr. Sun, his revolutionary tasks devolved upon Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. On July 9, 1926, the Generalissimo was sworn in as commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Forces for the Northward Expedition in a ceremony at . Moving in three columns, the expeditionary forces occupied one province after another and captured on March 24, 1927. That city subsequently was proclaimed the new capital and the National Government was established there on April 18. The Revolutionary Forces marched on north. was unified on December 29, 1928, when the three Northeast Provinces () led by Chang Hsueh-liang pledge allegiance to the National Government. This marked the end of military rule and the beginning of political tutelage.
Plans for Japanese aggression against were well advanced as early as 1927. In a memorial to the throne, Prime Minister Giichi Tanaka insisted that 10 conquer the world, would have to conquer first, and in order to take , would have to absorb Manchuria and .
On September 18, 1931, Japanese troops at () attacked the Chinese garrison at Peitaying (Northern Big Barracks). The Northeastern Provinces were occupied in less than four months. Despite the opposition of the League of Nations and the , the Japanese created the puppet state of on March 9, 1932. Henry Pu Yi, the last monarch of the Manchu dynasty, was crowned emperor at , which was renamed (the new capital).
On July 7, 1937, the Japanese initiated another dispute at Lukouchiao ( ) near (Peking had been renamed Peiping on June 29, 1928). The Sino-Japanese conflict became a part of the Pacific War December 7, 1941, when attacked the naval base at . From the Marco Polo Bridge Incident until Japan's surrender to the Allied Powers on August 14, 1945, China suffered armed forces casualties of 1,324,000 killed. 1,761,000 wounded and 130,000 missing.
It was during the Pacific War that the Chinese government led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek reached one of the important goals set by Dr. Sun Yat-sen - abolition of the unequal treaties. In October of 1942, the and simultaneously announced relinquishment of their extraterritorial rights. signed new treaties with the two allies in January of 1943 and subsequently with such other countries as , , , , , , , and the .
played a prominent role in international politics after removal of the century-old bonds. On November 22, 1943, Generalissimo Chiang met President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the and Prime Minister Winston C. Churchill of at to discuss the military situation in the . In a joint communique issued four days later, the three leaders affirmed that:
"It is their (the , and ) purpose that be stripped of all the is lands in the Pacific which she has seized or occupied
since the beginning of the First World War in 1914, and all the territories has stolen from the Chinese, such as , and the , shall be restored to the Republic of China."
The Republic of China became one of the sponsors of the United Nations. It attended the first U.N. conference at April 25, 1945, and was given one of the five permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council.
On August 15, 1945, the day after 's announcement of surrender, Generalissimo Chiang called on the Chinese people to "return good for evil." Japanese soldiers and civilians on the Chinese main land and in were repatriated peacefully after capitulation ceremonies at Nanking on September 9 and at on October 25. The Sino-Japanese peace treaty was signed April 28, 1952. The Republic of China asked no indemnification for heavy losses suffered in eight years of war.
Constitutional democracy began with implementation of the Constitution December 25, 1947. Chiang Kai-shek was elected President of the Republic by the National Assembly on April 19 of the following year. While the government was preoccupied with rehabilitation of the warworn country, the Chinese Communists were expanding their sphere of influence and instigating farmers, workers and students to rebel. With the help of Soviet Russia, Mao Tse-tung established a Communist regime at on October 1, 1949. The Central Government moved to two months later.
was restored as a province of the Republic of in 1945. The Chinese government undertook projects to modernize the island. The "land-to-the-tileer" program, was carried out in three stages beginning in t 949. At the start, farm rents were reduced from the prevailing level of 50 per cent or more to 37.5 per cent of the annual yield of the principal crop. In 1951 lands owned by the government were sold to tenant farmers. The third stage began in 1953 with passage of the Land-to-the-Tiller Act and was completed in less than two years.
This law limited the holdings of landlords to 7 acres of rice land. The government bought up land in excess of this limit and resold it to tenants at a price equal to 2.5 times the annual yield of the main crop. Farmers paid for their fields in 20 installments over a period of 10 years. There was no expropriation. Former landlords received full compensation in the form of crop bonds (70 per cent) and stock in four government corporations (30 per cent) which then passed into private ownership. Eighty-eight per cent of farmland is now in the hands of owner-tillers. This is in contrast to 61 per cent in 1949.
The land reform program has received widespread international recognition. To share its experiences with developing countries, the Chinese government established the Land Reform Institute at Taoyuan in northern in September of cooperation with the John C. Lincoln Foundation of the . Trainees have come from many countries and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
The Chinese government promulgated the Statute for the Enforcement of the Equalization of Urban Land Rights in 1954. The law provides for: (1) assessment and declaration of land value, (2) taxation of land according to the owner's declared value, (3) compulsory purchase of land if the value declared by the owner is lower than the assessed value and (4) accrual of the unearned increment of land value to the public through taxation.
In 1956, the Taiwan Provincial Government enforced the statute in 59 selected urban regions where city planning had been carried out. After several revisions, the statute was applied to other areas designated as industrial zones or where there had been large increases in population.
Another project of significance dating from 1969is the extension of basic education from six to nine years. The percentage of primary school graduates enrolling in junior high schools increased from the 1967 academic year to the 1970 academic year.
Before 1968, competition for a place in junior high schools was so keen that students in the fifth and sixth grades damaged their health with cramming. Now there are no junior high entrance examinations. Pupils are heavier, taller and healthier and have time for such extracurricular activities as sports and music. This has led to such a phenomenon as Little League baseball teams throughout the island. The ROC champions won world titles in 1969 and 1971.
Five four-year economic development plans have been carried out since 1953. With 1952 as 100, the index of agricultural production in 1970 was 233.6 and that of industrial production was 1,092.7. Imports increased by 638.1 per cent and exports by 1,206.5 per cent. Capita income more than doubled.
There has been a drastic change in the economic structure of . In the net domestic product of 1952, agriculture accounted for 35.7 per cent and industry 17.9 per cent. The ratio was reversed in 1963, when agriculture dropped to 26.6 per cent and industry rose to 28 per cent. Figures for 1970 were industry 32 per cent and agriculture 19.2 per cent.
The same reversal has occurred in the composition of exports. In 1952, agricultural products ac counted for 26.9 per cent, processed agricultural products for 68.3 per cent and industrial products for 4.8 per cent. Ten years later, industrial products had moved up to 50.8 per cent and processed agricultural products had dropped to 36.5 per cent and agricultural products to 12.7 per cent. Figures for last year were industrial products, 78.2 per cent; processed agricultural products, 12.7 per cent; and agricultural products, 9.1 per cent.
has been the wartime capital of the Republic of China since 1949. The city formerly was under the jurisdiction of the Taiwan Provincial Government. In view of 's growth and increasing importance in international politics, the Central Government on July 1, 1967, gave the city the same status as a province. The special municipality has a population of 1.8 minion and is a center of the anti-Communist movement.
The 60 years of the Republic of China has been marked by dramatic changes. In the end, all difficulties and dangers have been overcome. President Chiang Kai-shek summed this up in a message to the National Security Council on June 15 of this year:
"The present moment is but the darkness before the dawn. We do not mind being the only people who still have faith in anti-Communism and who still have the courage to persist in the struggle against Communism and for the cause of freedom and justice. This means that in our hands hangs not only the destiny of the nation, but the security or the destruction of all mankind.
"Faith and confidence do not emerge only from my own experience but are shared in common with all our people. In a brief period before us, difficulties, bitter times and dangers inevitably will appear before us. Some may consider these as obstructions or catastrophes, lose their faith and become skeptics and cowards. Yet this situation will not frustrate the true and sincere revolutionary, who will only consider that this is another opportunity to reach the final goal. As true and sincere revolutionaries, all of us shall strive more fervently in the spirit of 'laboring and suffering with the nation' and 'calling the people to awaken and serve the nation.' In this time of crisis, we shall achieve final success and victory despite treachery, danger and difficulty."