The opening of the National Assembly's first extraordinary session February 1 touches off a series of important political happenings that will have a lasting significance for the future of the Republic of China.
The 10-day session will be followed, on February 19, by the assembly's fourth plenary session to discuss affairs of state and elect a president March 21 and a vice president soon afterward. Following the swearing in of the chief executive and his second in command May 20, the Executive Yuan (Cabinet) will be reorganized. The administration can be expected to assume a new look, to adopt new policies and expedite the tasks of mainland recovery and national reconstruction.
These procedures follow the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of China, adopted at Nanking December 25, 1946, by the Constituent National Assembly and promulgated by the National Government January 1, 1947. It has been in effect since December 25, 1947. The Constituent National Assembly lasted 40 days, from November 15 of 1946, and was attended by 1,381 popularly elected delegates.
China's constitutional movement began shortly after the first Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95. Early fundamental laws included the "Outline" of 1905, the "Nineteen Articles" of 1911, the "Provisional Compact" of 1912, the "Tien Tan (Temple of Heaven) Draft" of 1913, and the "Tsao Kun (a personal name) Constitution" of 1923.
The Republic of China came into being on January 1, 1912, following the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty on the previous October 10, but the National Government was not established until 1927. The basic program of government is to carry out Dr. Sun Yat-sen's "Fundamentals of National Reconstruction", which prescribed three stages for the realization of constitutional government. The first stage was unification of the country by military force. This was completed in 1927 with overthrow of the warlords. The Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), China's ruling party, then introduced a period of political tutelage in which the party exercised power on behalf of the people. The third stage, that of constitutional government, began in 1947 when the present Constitution came into effect.
Immediately after national unification, the government and the KMT (Kuomintang) began to draft a constitution. At the third plenary session of the KMT Fourth Central Executive Committee in December of 1932, it was resolved that a national assembly be convened and that a draft constitution be drawn up by the Legislative Yuan. Accordingly, the first draft constitution was completed in 1933 and promulgated on May 5, 1936. The draft is known now as the "May 5 Draft Constitution".
Certification of 1960 election given President Chiang was signed by 86 assembly presidium members. (File photo)
In December of 1934, the KMT Fifth Central Executive Committee decided at its first plenary session that the first national assembly should be convened on December 12, 1936, and that the election of 1,200 assembly delegates should be completed before October 10, 1936. The vastness of the country and other difficulties delayed the election. Convocation of the assembly then was set for November 12, 1937. Although the election of delegates was completed in mid-1937, the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War on July 7 of that year indefinitely postponed the assembly meeting.
Division of Power
The People's Political Council, which served successfully as an advisory body and as a bridge to constitutional government, was set up in March of 1938 and went out of existence when the National Assembly was finally convened in March, 1948.
One unique feature of the Chinese governmental system is the division of power between political and administrative organs. According to Dr. Sun, Founding Father of the Republic, there are two forces in politics: the political power of the people and administrative power of the government. The former is the popular power that controls the government, and the latter is the power of the government itself. There are four political powers: suffrage, recall, initiative, and referendum. The five government powers are executive, legislative, judicial, examination, and control.
Dr. Sun said that only when the political powers are in the hands of the people, who have the sovereignty, and when administrative powers are placed in government organs with the power to manage the nation's business, can a truly democratic government be established.
The existing Chinese government derives its powers from the National Assembly which, the Constitution says, exercises "political powers on behalf of the whole body of citizens".
The National Assembly functions much as does the American electoral college and also has some of the powers of a parliament, including those of amending the constitution and altering the national boundaries. The Council of Grand Justices has ruled that the National Assembly, the Legislative Yuan, and the Control Yuan together constitute the parliament or congress in the Western sense.
The Constitution provides that delegates to the National Assembly be elected every six years. Representation is regional, racial, and vocational. In general, one delegate represents one hsien (basic unit of local government equivalent to a "prefecture"), municipality or area of equivalent status. Where the population exceeds 500,000, an additional de legate is elected for each additional 500,000 persons. Special laws fix the numbers of delegates representing Mongolia, Tibet, other racial groups in frontier regions, Chinese communities abroad, occupational groups, and women's organizations.
When the Constitution went into effect late in 1947, the National Assembly membership was set at 3,045, but that figure has never been reached. Of the 2,962 delegates elected in November of 1947, only 2,841 reported their presence at the first assembly session of March 29, 1948, and since.
The fall of the Chinese mainland in 1949 considerably diminished the number of delegates. Some may still be alive on the mainland, but their whereabouts are not known. Others have died or are missing. There were 1,643 delegates in 1954. This number had dropped to 1,574 in 1960. The present figure is 1,487, including 124 residing abroad.
No new election has been held since 1948 because of the Communist usurpation on the mainland. The term of office has been extended, according to Article 28 of the Constitution, until "the day on which the next National Assembly convenes".
Presidium of 85
In the meantime, the assembly's total membership, as interpreted by the Council of Grand Justices in early 1960, is construed as "consisting of the delegates duly elected according to law and able to go at summons to the meeting at the seat of Central Government, including those who are free to but do not actually attend".
The National Assembly has a quorum of more than one-third of the delegates. Resolutions are adopted by a simple majority except when otherwise stipulated in the Constitution. The assembly has a secretariat under which are committees on credentials, screening of draft resolutions, discipline, and other matters. A presidium of 85 is elected from among the delegates and serves as a steering committee.
The powers of the assembly, according to Article 27 of the Constitution, are:
1. To elect the president and the vice president,
2. To recall the president or the vice president,
3. To amend the Constitution, and
4. To vote on proposed constitutional amendments submitted by the Legislative Yuan by way of referendum.
Special Sessions
Extraordinary sessions of the National Assembly may be held when:
— A supplementary presidential election is needed,
— An impeachment of the president or the vice president is instituted by resolution of the Control Yuan,
— An amendment of the Constitution is proposed by resolution of the Legislative Yuan, or
— A meeting is requested by not less than two-fifths of the delegates.
In the first two instances, the notice of convocation is issued by the president of the Legislative Yuan, and in the last two by the President of the Republic.
In theory, the National Assembly should exercise on behalf of the people the political rights of election, recall, initiative, and referendum. Article 27 of the Constitution, however, says the assembly can exercise the last two powers, except in the case of constitutional amendments, only when these two rights "have been exercised in one half of the hsien and municipalities of the whole country".
So long as this clause exists and the mainland remains under Communist rule, the exercise of these two rights by the National Assembly will be indefinitely delayed. The Legislative Yuan has been exercising the powers in lieu of the assembly. To enable the assembly to exorcise the powers, the 1960 plenary session resolved to set up a constitutional study committee to draft proposals and constitutional amendments.
The result is a 17-point proposal advanced at the annual National Assembly meeting in Taipei last December 25—Constitution Day—that included a call for immediate vesting of the rights of initiative and referendum in the assembly.
Crowd of 50,000 awaited fin al results of the 1960 election that re-elected President Chiang for a third term of six years. (File photo)
Acting in accordance with the 1960 resolution, President Chiang Kai-shek on December 22 issued a call for the National Assembly to convene in Taipei February 1 for an extraordinary session to discuss matters concerning the initiative and referendum. Ad dressing the Constitution Day gathering, the President counseled strongly against any amendment of the Constitution when the nation is at war and in a time of crisis. The President said that the most urgent task of the nation is to recover the mainland and take an unchanged Constitution back to the mainland as the basis for national reconstruction.
President Chiang gave three guiding principles for the extraordinary session. He said any constitutional amendment should be:
1. Legal and in conformity with the spirit of the Constitution,
2. Reasonable in the light of political requirements and the national situation, and
3. Rational—in compliance with public opinion and the wishes of all the Chinese people, including the compatriots on the mainland.
Fourth Term Urged
Aside from the issue of the two rights, the 17-point motion of December 25 urged President Chiang to accept a fourth term. The delegates passed the following resolution urging the President to run for re-election:
"Under your brilliant leadership, the nation has not only accomplished the National Revolution but also has abolished all the un equal treaties and made China one of the five powers of the world.
"Taiwan has become a beacon of freedom in the Far East and a model province for national reconstruction under your continued leadership since the mainland fell to the Chinese Communists.
"Millions of compatriots, suffering from Communist tyranny on the mainland, are now longing for their deliverance by government troops.
"As the entire nation is eagerly wishing for your continued leadership, we, the representatives of the people, do declare our determination on behalf of the whole population to urge you to continue to lead the nation by seeking re-election."
Emergency Powers
Dozens of other national organizations, with members from all walks of life, also have urged the President to seek re-election because he is 'the very man to lead the people to reconstruct the nation as a new China of the Three Principles of the People'.
The only qualification specified for presidential and vice presidential candidates is that they be citizens of the Republic of China at least 40 years old (Article 45 of the Constitution). In addition to such powers and functions as are usually granted to the chief executive of a republic, the President of the Republic of China has been given emergency powers according to the "Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion", adopted by the National Assembly on April 18, 1948, promulgated on May 10, 1948, and amended on March 11, 1960.
The president and the vice president are elected by the National Assembly on separate secret ballots for terms of six years, and may be re-elected to a second term. During the period of Communist rebellion, however, they may be re-elected without regard to the two-term restriction prescribed in Article 74 of the Constitution.
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was elected China's first constitutional president on April 19, 1948, near the end of the first National Assembly plenary session in Nan king. The session opened on March 29 and lasted 34 days.
That was the only time when party nomination of presidential and vice presidential candidates was not required. Generalissimo Chiang was nominated jointly by 2,489 National Assembly delegates. Another KMT candidate—Judicial Yuan President Chu Cheng (who died in Taiwan in November of 1951)—was nominated by 109 members. The 2,765 delegates present at the election cast 2,699 valid votes: 2,430 for Chiang and 269 for Chu.
The election of the first constitutional vice president was marked by a tight race. Six candidates—four KMT members, a Democratic Socialist, and an independent— were nominated by assembly groups. None won a majority on April 23, so the three leaders (all KMT members) entered a run-off the following day. The second ballot also failed to yield a majority. One by one, the three candidates announced their withdrawal. Then they were persuaded to try for a third time on April 28 - but again with no majority. The fourth ballot offered a choice between the leading candidates of the third vote. The result was 1,438 votes for General Li Tsung-jen and 1,295 for Dr. Sun Fo, son of Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
Reds Attack Again
Inauguration of President Chiang and Vice President Li was held on May 20, 1948. Half a year later, in January of 1949, with some segments of the Chinese public clamoring for peace in the face of rapid Communist advances toward the Yangtze River from the north, President Chiang announced his retirement and handed over his duties to Li Tsung-jen. The thought was that the government might have a chance to negotiate a settlement with the Chinese Communist Party.
But the Communists used the negotiations to camouflage preparations for new at tacks. Acting President Li was incompetent and faltering. The Communists resumed their offensive late in April and had overrun nearly all of the mainland by the end of that year. Mao Tse-tung's regime was established in Peiping on October 1 and the National Government moved to Taipei. Li Tsung-jen fled to the United States on the pretext of seeking medical treatment.
In response to popular free Chinese demand, President Chiang resumed his office in Taipei on March 1, 1950. It was a turning point in Chinese history. Under President Chiang's leadership, miraculous changes have taken place in making Taiwan into a strong anti-Communist bastion.
The second plenary session of the National Assembly opened in Taipei February 19, 1954, and lasted 35 days. Of the 1,643 delegates accounted for in the free world, 1,578 attended. On March 10 these delegates adopted by 1,403 votes a resolution to recall Li Tsung-jen for violation of law and dereliction of duty. The resolution was based on impeachment proceedings introduced by the Control Yuan earlier in the same year. (Li was lured back to the Chinese mainland late last summer. Except for one showpiece press conference, almost nothing has been heard of him since.)
The same session of the National Assembly elected President Chiang for a second term March 22 by an overwhelming majority of 1,507 votes. Hsu Fu-lin of the Democratic Socialist Party was the only other candidate. He received 48 votes.
Two days later, the assembly elected General Chen Cheng, then premier, as vice president by 1,417 votes to 109 for Shih Chih-chuan of the Democratic Socialist Party.
President Chiang had been nominated by the KMT Central Committee on February 15. With the approval of the Central Committee, the President chose Chen Cheng as his running mate.
Following the Chiang-Chen election, the National Assembly was widely hailed for having carried out its function in a manner befitting the dignity and importance of the occasion.
But the assembly next was to be confronted with the problem of amending the Constitution to follow the nation's will in electing President Chiang to a third term. "What would become of the whole anti-Communist structure, if President Chiang should leave his post at this juncture?" the people asked.
No Amendment
President Chiang made his feelings clear. On two occasions in late 1959, he expressed his views on constitutional amendments. In a December 23 speech, he said:
"There is no more powerful action in protecting the Constitution than the recovery of the mainland, and no more powerful weapon for the recovery of the mainland than the upholding of the Constitution. Of course, whether the Constitution should be amended is a question solely within the authority of the full delegation to the National Assembly. I have no power to interfere. But I earnestly hope that this my wish is going to be understood and accepted."
In a December 25 speech, President Chiang again cautioned: "The intention, with which the question of amending the Constitution is brought up at this very moment, may be a lofty and far-reaching one by itself. While views of people may often differ, to do this in the face of a strong, menacing enemy, however, may only create controversy and confusion and divide our minds and strength. It may come round to aggravate the difficulties now confronting us ... "
However, the fact remained that only President Chiang had the necessary prestige to win the unanimous support and allegiance of Chinese at home and abroad, and the necessary experience in military and political leadership to marshal all forces for mainland recovery and national reconstruction. It was also argued—reasonably—that a constitution should serve the interests of the state and not the other way around.
The National Assembly subsequently proposed amendment of the Constitution's temporary provision to waive the two-term limit while the emergency provision remained in force.
Archbishop Paul Yupin voting at 1960 election. (File photo)
President Chiang was re-elected to a third term by a virtually unanimous vote on March 21, 1960. His running-mate, General Chen Cheng, was elected to a second term the next day. Both were unopposed. Other political parties admitted they had no candidates so well qualified.
The 1960 election of the Chiang-Chen team was enthusiastically acclaimed by free Chinese newspapers as an act of wisdom and a reflection of the will of the Chinese people. The people saw in the re-election of President Chiang a guarantee of success in the struggle against Communism and deliverance of the mainland from the yoke of Red tyranny.
This public feeling is unchanged six years later as the National Assembly prepares for another presidential election. The choice of President Chiang for a fourth term is a fore-gone conclusion. A new vice president must be found. Vice President Chen Cheng died of liver cancer last March 5. However, the nation was not worried about the choice. People were confident President Chiang and the National Assembly would choose wisely for the good of China and the anti-Communist cause.