The Kuomintang is at once the oldest and youngest political party of China-oldest, because it was founded in 1894 when a group of young revolutionaries gathered under the banner of Dr. Sun Yat-sen to rid China of the corrupt Manchu rulers and of the encroachments of the imperialists; youngest, because it instilled new spirit into its party members in 1950 through a complete reform so that the anti-Communist war could be better carried on.
The history of the Republic of China can never be separated from that of the Kuomintang, because it organized the revolution of 1911 which ushered in the Republic of China. It is the Kuomintang which, through trials and setbacks, unified the country and defeated the warlords who divided the country among themselves. It is the Kuomintang which led the country to fight the Japanese invasion and came out the winner after eight long years of relentless war. It is again the Kuomintang which is leading the country to defend the last free territory of China against Communist imperialists.
The Kuomintang has an unshakable and ever true political belief-the San Min Chu I, or, Three People's Principles. The San Min Chu I is the crystallization of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's mature political thinking which abhors both imperialism and totalitarianism in all their various manifestations. Experience accumulated in the last six decades has proved the effectiveness and practicability of Dr. Sun's political teachings which call for a free and independent country, a democratic and effective government and a happy and prosperous people.
The Kuomintang is also fortunate to have two great leaders. They are not only the leaders of the party but also national and world leaders. First it was Dr. Sun Yat-sen who led his party to fight for the establishment of the Republic. He is known as the Father of the Republic. Then it is Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek who led the country through two major wars and is now keeping aglow the flames of freedom in China.
The course of a nation never runs smoothly. China today is again in a crisis. The loyal and freedom-loving Chinese are now fighting with their backs against the wall. But there is the hope and determination that president Chiang and his party will lead the Free Chinese to final victory.
Party History
In 1894, Dr. Sun and his followers formed I the Hsin Chung Hui (Chinese Resurrection Society) in Honolulu. Revolution and a democratic form of government were their purpose. Party members staged two armed rebellions against the Manchu government but each time the revolution was suppressed.
Eleven years passed when the need for an expanded revolutionary party made itself keenly felt. Dr. Sun in 1905 reorganized the Hsin Chung Hui into the Chung Kuo Keh Ming Tung Meng Hui (Chinese revolutionary League), known to Chinese as Tung Meng Hui. The reorganization took immediate effect with eight successive rebellions in China. These were only the major ones. Party members themselves carried out innumerable revolutionary acts of their own. The Manchus, sensing the end of their days, considered the party as their bitter enemy.
Then the big moment came on October 10,1911 when a handful of revolutionaries took the city of Wuhan. This started a nation-wide revolution. A republican government was formed in Nanking and Dr. Sun became the provisional President. The Republic of China was born.
The last emperor, Hsuan Tung, abdicated. A reactionary in the person of Yuan Shih-kai managed to get himself elected president and a parliament was formed. It was then that the Tung Meng Hui was reorganized to be the Kuomintang (National Party) to fight for the maintenance of constitutional government.
Yuan Shih-kai countered by outlawing the Kuomintang and declared himself emperor. The Kuomintang staged another revolution but lost. It was the darkest period in the party's history.
But Dr. Sun was undaunted. With the help of loyal patriots, including Generalissimo Chiang, he reformed the party into the Chung Hua Keh Ming Tang (Chinese Revolutionary Party). The first convention was held in 1914 in Tokyo and called for the punishment of Yuan as well as the re-establishment of the Republic. Yuan Shih-kai died broken-hearted; and the Republic was restored. But the country was occupied by warlords. The revolutionaries still had to unify the country and restore democratic government.
Another reorganization of the party was in order. Dr. Sun called a convention in 1919 and renamed the party Chung Kuo Kuo Ming Tang (National Party of China) and' the second Kuomintang was born.
With the death of Dr. Sun, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek took over the leadership of the Kuomintang. He built up the revolutionary force in Kwangtung and started the famous Northern Expedition in 1926 until the whole of the nation was reunified in 1923.
The Kuomintang with its San Min Chu I governed the country for only a few years but it made China stronger and stronger. Japan then started a war against China which lasted eight years. Victory was just dawning, when the Communists began their rebellion which continues until today.
When the government withdrew to Taiwan in 1949, the Kuomintang effected one of the most thorough reforms in August, 1950. The Kuomintang, though unchanged in name and principle, became an entirely reborn political party with the defeat of the Communists and the reconstruction of the whole of China along the lines laid down in the San Min Chu I as its battle cry.
In the last sixty years, the Kuomintang has withstood many challenges, carried out five major reorganizations and is today the majority party in Free China.
Party Platform and Organization
The present charter of the Kuomintang was rewritten in 1950; but it did not change the main spirit of earlier charters, all based on the San Min Chu I and a five-way division in the government powers. The San Min Chu I calls for realization of national integrity, democracy and betterment of the people's livelihood. The five governing powers are executive, legislative, control; judicial and examination.
The charter states clearly that the Kuomintang is a revolutionary democratic political party opposed to the idea that one political party should represent only one class of people. The Kuomintang, it declares, is struggling for the welfare of the whole country. It Galls (or national reconstruction and is dedicated to the establishment of a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
It declares that the Kuomintang is absolutely opposed to imperialistic aggression. Two common fallacies should be dismissed here. One is that the Kuomintang, although advocating democracy, is not democratic in party structure. This is not true, for every party member has his rights, and every party official is elected, mostly by secret ballot.
The other fallacy is that the Kuomintang is the government and the National Government is the Kuomintang. The fact is that the Kuomintang has no governmental powers. It has funds of its own, personnel of its own and enterprises of its own. Being the ruling party, the Kuomintang sees to it, that its policies are carried out by the government through the party members who are government officials.
The situation is just like that in Britain or the United States. When the Conservatives or Republicans are in power, they decide on policies but the government structure and personnel remain unchanged. The National Government has a civil service system of its own, but its policies are identical with those of the Kuomintang.
Like most democratic political parties, the Kuomintang's supreme ruling body is, the national convention which decides on policies, revises party charters, screens reports by the Central Committee and elects members to the committee. The convention is held once every three years with the Central Committee carrying out its policies when the convention is in recess.
Convention delegates are elected by provincial conventions. The hsien conventions decide on the composition of the provincial conventions. The hsien convention members are elected by district assemblies and the fundamental unit is the patty cell.
Actually, it is the party cell which has the widest connection with the people at large. Through individual party members, party work is carried out. The cells are also charged with work of promoting social welfare.
Any man or woman who adheres' to the Kuomintang principles is eligible for membership. The Kuomintang members include farmers, workers, fishermen, salt workers, industrial and commercial professionals, students, educational or government functionaries and free professionals with the farmers and workers composing the leading group. They form 37% of the entire membership.
Some say, that the Kuomintang is not a party for Taiwan-born Chinese. Statistics, on the contrary, show that Taiwanese Chinese make up 31% of the total membership while the remaining 69% are Chinese from the other 34 provinces.
Yet some others hold that the Kuomintang is a party of the old. As stated in the beginning of this article, the Kuomintang actually is the youngest party in China. The membership list shows that 69% of the party members are between 21 and 35 years old.
The Kuomintang and the Masses
The Kuomintang has never in its long history been divorced from the masses. Its charter says, "This Party's social foundation rests on the youths, intellectuals, farmers, workers and the general producers." President Chiang Kai-shek who is the Tsungtsai (Director-General) of the party said; "This anti-Communist war is a war by the masses. We must win over the masses from under the enemy control and with them form a fighting system militarily and politically. Only then can we win the final victory."
In youth work, the Kuomintang now has the Chinese Youth Anti-Communist and National Salvation Corps. Educational, recreational and military programs sponsored by the Corps are very popular with the young people. At the call of the Corps, 53,000 young men volunteered for military services. They also raised in two drives over ten million New Taiwan dollars for defense of Free China. They go into the military camps during vacations-many coming from as far as Indonesia and Malaya-to render their services to the armed forces.
For the farmers, the Kuomintang has spearheaded the Land Reform to realize Dr. Sun's teaching of "land to the tiller." The program is so ambitious and yet its implementation has been so smoothly carried out that Free China has set a good example for many countries to follow.
The Kuomintang also awakens the political consciousness of the farmers by helping them to participate in local self-government. The party is also instrumental in eradicating high interest rates, raising production and improving distribution of riches among the farmers.
Regarding the labor program, the Kuomintang has started labor insurance, programs to improve working conditions, an eight-hour work day, fixation of minimum wages, restriction of child and woman labor and improvement of workers' conditions. There are party branches for industrial sectors which endeavor to raise labor's legal position.
In the Legislative Yuan, 18 members are elected from the workers, while other workers have been elected to the National Assembly, Provincial Assembly and other people's representative organs.
For the women, there is a Women's Work Guidance Commission and Women's Work Committee in the Central Committee to promote the welfare of the fair sex. They establish technical training classes for women and form a vast network of social services. Their programs include the protection of adopted daughters, promotion of child welfare and social education for women.
Above all, the Kuomintang pays great attention to the welfare of the fourteen million Chinese living overseas. Efforts have been made to line up all the anti-Communist overseas Chinese into a solid front.
Conclusion
The Kuomintang is one of the three political parties in Free China. It is the largest of the three.
For over half a century, the Kuomintang has done much for the country and the people. It started the revolution against the Manchu Dynasty. It unified the country. It led the country to victory during the Sino-Japanese War. And it is today pursuing a relentless fight against the Communists.
The basic principles of the Kuomintang is to uphold the San Min Chu I and advocate a five-power government. It calls for national independence and territorial integrity. It calls for a government of the people, by the people and for the people. It calls for a bloodless revolutionary change in economy to help promote the welfare of the people. It is unalterably opposed to Communism. In domestic affairs, it preaches self-government and the dignity of man.
It is a party representing all classes of people and is young in its membership.
As the largest political party, the Kuomintang's future will be closely linked with the future of the Republic of China.
It will go on holding fast to its principles. Much has been done and much is to be done in the days to come.
The Kuomintang is popular with the people because of the two great leaders it has—Dr. Sun Yat-sen and President Chiang Kai- shek.