Nearly 1,400 members of the National Assembly opened their historic fifth session at the Chung-shan Building high atop Yangmingshan (Grass Mountain) on February 20. In store for them were the crucial tasks of electing the nation's President and Vice President and amending the Constitution to make possible an infusion of new blood for the Republic of China's parliament, which includes the Legislative and Control Yuans as well as the Assembly.
President Chiang Kai-shek, the only chief executive the Republic of China has had under the Constitution, opened the meeting with an address broadcast throughout Taiwan by radio stations and three television networks. Assemblymen and distinguished guests cheered as President Chiang entered the hall, which honors the memory of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Founding Father of the Republic of China. The nation's leader wore the traditional Chinese gown and black jacket.
"The modern history of the Republic of China," he said, "is actually a record of unceasing struggle for freedom, justice, democracy and constitutional rule." He noted that the members of the National Assembly come from election districts and regions throughout China, as well as the overseas communities, and therefore embody and implement the opinion of the whole nation.
Despite abrupt changes in the world situation, the President said, "we have unwaveringly and undauntedly adhered to our faith in democracy and constitutional rule, and have steadfastly upheld the national reconstruction guidelines of ethics, democracy and science." Setbacks in the struggle against Communist evil have not led the Republic of China to retreat from insistence on freedom and justice, he said, and the nation is neither discouraged nor disquieted. "Because we have right and justice on our side," he added, "we have no reason for shame and our minds are calm and sober."
Militarily, the Republic of China has "the best armed forces we could hope for and a reserve which is three times as large as our standing army," said the five-star commander-in-chief. "We await the right opportunity to mobilize our forces for the decisive battle to recover the mainland." The final victory assuredly will be ours because "An armed force united with the people is invincible."
Differences between the Republic of China and the Chinese Communists are those of freedom versus tyranny, light versus darkness, benevolence versus cruelty and right versus wrong, the President said, and continued:
"Mao Tse-tung lore up his regime's constitution and still cannot patch together a new one. His 'dearest comrade in arms,' Lin Piao, who he appointed his successor in the draft constitution was suddenly condemned by Mao as a 'political swindler.' All he once loved have become his enemies; all who once were close to him have, one by one, turned against him.
"Having smashed his rubber-stamp 'National People's Congress,' Mao has for years been clamoring for the establishment of a new one. So far he is still unable to set up a new puppet congress.
"Liu Shao-chi, the 'chairman' of the Peiping regime, was denounced by Mao as a 'scab, capitalist roader and running dog of the Kuomintang' and purged. Although five years has elapsed, the 'chairmanship of the state' still remains vacant. The regime's administrative branch, or so-called 'state apparatus,' was repeatedly battered and then demolished and has not yet been re-established.
"The spiritual and moral culture of the people en the mainland was dealt a final destructive blow during the rebellion of the 'Red Guards.' The 700 million people of the mainland have been bled white by Mao's 'exports at the cost of hunger' and 'nuclear blackmail.' We would like to ask this: What kind of regime is this? How can people say that this regime is maintaining 'effective control' over the mainland? How can we expect such a regime to reform itself and desist from the crime of 'rebelling against the whole world?' Keeping this in mind, any appeasing actions by foreign countries in order to seek a balance of power with such an evil entity cannot possibly serve the cause of world peace. Instead, this would only prolong the suffering of the 700 million people on the mainland and enlarge the scope of world disasters. We shall remain vigilant against any move which would be detrimental to the sovereignty or interest of the Republic of China. We have every confidence in overcoming all difficulties and surmounting all dangers and obstacles."
President Chiang called upon the National Assemblymen to "prove equal to your responsibility of shaping the nation's new destiny." He urged that constitutional questions be handled "in such a way that minor matters will not be given up for the sake of larger issues and the whole will not be ruined by over-emphasis on anyone part." Principle must be upheld, he said, even as adaptation is made to changing circumstances.
President Chiang sought to remove himself as candidate for re-election. "I have devoted myself to the National Revolution for more than 60 years," he said. "I have worked with you, my fellow delegates, for 25 years during which we have done our best and given all our hearts and energies in the safeguarding of constitutional democracy. Viewing the deteriorating world situation, I can only regret that I have not been able to complete the task of our national recovery at an earlier time. Although I am more than willing to continue serving the country, I have been in office for a long time and in the light of my feelings of regret, am sincerely requesting that you, my fellow delegates, choose a new person of virtue and ability to succeed me as President of the country. From now on, I shall, as a member of our citizenry, continue to follow you and the whole nation in recovering our devastated territory, in delivering our compatriots who wait for help, and in jointly winning the final victory to culminate the success of the third phase of our National Revolution."
There was no slightest chance that the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), which will nominate him, or the National Assembly, which will elect him, would heed President Chiang's wish to retire. No one quarreled with the fact that he has earned retirement a thousand times over. The obstacle was the nation's continuing need for a leadership which has not faltered from the birth of the Republic to the trying times of the present. Chiang Kai-shek comes about as close to being indispensable as a man can be.
Demands for the President's renomination and re-election started coming from civic and political bodies and from overseas Chinese communities as early at last fall. These messages numbered in the thousands. The Kuomintang had already decided that President Chiang was the only possible nomination choice when the Tenth National Congress Central Committee meets in its third plenary session early in March. The opposition Democratic Socialist Party had asked President Chiang to accept a fifth term. National Assemblymen met in caucus before opening of their fifth session and agreed that there was no alternative to the drafting of President Chiang.
Kuomintang nomination is tantamount to election in the present situation. The ruling party nominates its presidential candidate by majority vote in secret balloting by the 99 members of the Central Committee. The vice presidential candidate is named by the presidential nominee and approved by majority vote of the Central Committee. The National Assembly will announce presidential candidates March 18 and vote March 21. Vice presidential candidates will be announced March 19 and put to a vote March 22. Certificates of election will be presented to the President elect and Vice President-elect at the National Assembly's closing ceremony March 25. Inauguration will take place in mid-May.
One of the Assembly's first orders of business concerned an emergency resolution introduced by 321 candidates to express regret at President Nixon's visit to Red China. Passage was unanimous.
Nixon's trip will "deeply and grievously hurt the interests of the Republic of China," the resolution said, "and aggravate the suffering of the Chinese people on the mainland instead of showing American friendship for them." There will be no benefits to world peace, the Assembly maintained, and the trust of free nations in the United States will be undermined. These were other points:
— People of the Chinese mainland aspire to freedom and the Peiping regime is at the root of the world's troubles.
— Unless President Nixon upholds justice and is vigilant in guarding against Chinese Communist trickery, he runs the risk of committing a major historical blunder.
— Peiping does not represent the Chinese people and cannot undertake any agreements or commitments in the name of the Chinese nation.
— Nixon is talking with an illegal entity, so government and people of the Republic of China will regard as null and void any accords he reaches with the Peiping regime.
— The Republic of China will never change its basic policy of mainland recovery and national reconstruction and "under no circumstances will negotiate or reach a compromise with the Chinese Communists."
Assemblymen then turned to election of the 85-member presidium, which serves as a steering committee during plenary sessions. A recess of three days was taken to allow presidium candidates to seek votes. The signatures of only 10 Assemblymen are required for nomination. Each member then votes for one candidate. The 85 with the largest number of votes constitute the presidium. A tie is decided by lot.
Discussions were under way long before the fifth plenary session on details of amending the Constitution to provide an infusion of new and younger blood for the Assembly, the Legislative Yuan and the Control Yuan. Partial elections to reflect vacancies and in creased population were held in December of 1969 but the three constituent bodies of parliament gained only 28 members. Suspension or amendment of Constitution articles 26, 64 and 91 would make possible election of any number of new Assemblymen, Legislators and Controllers considered desirable by President Chiang and the National Assembly.
The Assembly has' full power to amend the Constitution. Amendments approved thus far are considered "Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion." The original temporary provisions were adopted in April of 1948 and amended in March of 1960 and February and March of 1966. Presumably new amendments also would be regarded as temporary.
Incumbent parliamentarians would not lose their seats as the result of even sizable elections to National Assembly and Legislative and Control Yuans. Under the Constitution, tenure of parliamentarians expires only when new bodies are convened. This means that the terms of those elected on the mainland will be indefinitely extended until after the recovery of the mainland and the holding of new nationwide elections. The terms of those elected under emergency provisions of the Constitution presumably will be designated in the amendments.
The National Assembly elected in 1947 could have had as many as 3,045 delegates under the Constitution. The number actually elected was 2,961. On the eve of this year's fifth session, the count was 1,405 with attendance calculated at 1,374. The Legislative Yuan started with 760 members in 1948 and was down to 428 as of February, 1972. Attrition in the Control Yuan was the sharpest of all, down from the 180 of 1948 to 66 in February of this year. These reductions indicate the urgency of interim election or appointment of additional members without waiting until all-mainland elections become possible.
Discussion of constitutional government for China began in the latter half of the 19th century and received sharp impetus when the Ch'ing dynasty met with defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and then with humiliation by foreign powers during and after the Boxer incident. The National Revolution of 1911 led to establishment of the Republic of China but did not immediately bring into being a unified, constitutional government. There were "assemblies" of one kind or another in both North and South China until the March Northward of 1926-28, the defeat of the warlords and the unification of the country. The Kuomintang Fourth Central Committee, meeting in December of 1932, resolved to convene a national assembly. A draft constitution was completed in 1933 and promulgated May 5, 1936. Delegates to a national assembly were elected in 1937 but the War of Resistance Against Japan resulted in indefinite postponement of its convening.
Steps toward constitutional government began again with the victory over Japan and in the face of the Communist insurrection. A Political Consultative Conference of political parties and other interested groups met early in 1946. Agreement was reached to revise the 1936 draft constitution and convene a constitutional assembly. Delay succeeded delay as a result of Communist obstructionism and rebellion. The Constitutional National Assembly finally was opened at Nanking November 15 of 1946 and adopted the Constitution on December 25, which now is observed as Constitution Day. The first National Assembly under the Constitution was elected in November, 1947.
The constitutional concept of the National Assembly is the outgrowth of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's distinction between political power, which belongs to the people, and the powers of administration, which are carried out by a government established through delegation of the people's power. The Constitution provides one Assemblyman for each county, municipality or other area of equivalent status. Additional delegates are specified for each population increment of 500,000. There are special provisions to provide representation for Mongolia, Tibet, overseas Chinese communities, occupational groups and women.
The National Assembly acts on behalf of the people in exercising the rights of election, recall, initiative and referendum. Implementation of the last two rights was deferred because of Communist occupation of the mainland. Emergency provisions which became law in 1966 have made it possible for the Assembly to proceed with initiative and referendum measures, but the need has not arisen and the President of the Republic has not summoned an extraordinary session for that purpose. The Assembly has carried out its functions of electing the President and Vice President and amending the Constitution. There has been one recall. The alternate means of routing amendments to the Assembly by way of the Legislative Yuan has not been used.
Although it has been likened to the Electoral College under the U.S. constitutional system, the National Assembly is much more powerful then the American electors. The Electoral College is a machine for counting votes. The National Assembly does the electing in the name of the people. In addition to exercising the power of constitutional amendment, the Assembly may change the borders of the country and is the only organ empowered to do so.
Plenary sessions of the Assembly are held 90 days prior to expiration of the presidential term of six years. Extraordinary sessions may be called to elect a President and Vice President, to try an impeachment brought by the Control Yuan, to consider constitutional amendments proposed by the Legislative Yuan or when requested by at least two-fifths of the membership. A quorum is a third of the total membership. However, the Council of Grand Justices has interpreted total membership to be those delegates elected and "able to attend the meeting." Members of the presidium steering committee preside over the Assembly by turn. There are various committees and a secretariat headed by a secretary-general and two assistants.
The first session of the National Assembly met at Nanking March 29, 1948, and elected Chiang Kai-shek the first constitutional President of the Republic of China. Li Tsung-jen was elected Vice President but was recalled March to, 1954, for violation of law and dereliction of duty. With the Communist insurrection spreading, the first session enacted special constitutional provisions giving the President emergency powers "to avert imminent danger to the security of the State or of the people" without legislative restriction.
Assemblymen met in Taipei for their second session in 1954. President Chiang was re-elected and Chen Cheng was elected Vice President. The Assembly decided that emergency constitutional provisions would remain in force until annulled. The third meeting was convened in Taipei in 1960. Although the Constitution does not explicitly forbid third terms, the National Assembly decided to include in the emergency provisions a stipulation specifically permitting re-election of President and Vice President without limit for the duration of the Communist insurrection. President Chiang and Vice President Chen then were re-elected. Vice President Chen died March 5, 1965, with his term uncompleted.
President Chiang called an extraordinary session (If the Assembly February 1-8, 1966, to consider recommendations of the Committee on Constitutional Research regarding the exercise of initiative and referendum powers. The fourth plenary session, which opened February 19, then added emergency constitutional pro visions empowering the President (1) "to establish an organ for making major policy decisions concerned with national mobilization for suppression of the Communist rebellion and for assuming administrative control in war zones;" (2) "to make adjustments in the administrative and personnel organs of the Centrai Government;" and (3) "to promulgate regulations providing elections to fill the elective offices at the Central Government level which have become vacant for legitimate reason, or for which additional representation is called for because of population increase, in areas that are free and/or newly recovered." These amendments led to establishment of the National Security Council in February of 1967 and to the election of 28 additional parliamentarians in December of 1969.
The fourth session re-elected President Chiang and elected Prime Minister Yen Chia-kan as Vice President.
The Committee on Constitutional Research was established in 1960 as a National Assembly committee of the whole and reinforced by the emergency constitutional amendment of 1966. Twelve subcommittees have been set up to undertake research. Three of them are concerned with constitutional government and a fourth with Constitution and constitutional rule. Others specialize in the constitutional aspects of the judiciary and home affairs, foreign affairs, national defense, finance and economics, culture and education, communications and transportation, frontier affairs and overseas Chinese affairs.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen brought a unique amalgam of Chinese and Western political science and thought to the making of what has become the constitutional system of the Republic of China. The ideas of democracy were to be found in Chinese history and tradition. Mencius was the great exponent of the people's supremacy. The people, he said, was the noblest element of a state and the prince the least important. To Mencius, the ruler was a steward and subject to recall if he violated trust and responsibility. Dr. Sun agreed but also stipulated that China would have to borrow from the United States and Europe in the implementation of a republican system with a sizable content of democracy.
The indirect election of President and Vice President through the National Assembly reflects Dr. Sun's advocacy of a democracy that was thoroughly under control and not likely to deteriorate into monocracy. He thought that liberty without responsibility was likely to become license. "Liberty has both good and bad features and is not a holy thing," he said.
The Founding Father saw the problem of democracy as one of how to combine efficient government with popular sovereignty. Democratic governments were often weak and disordered. The people were afraid to give governments sufficient power, lest they use it to exchange democracy for tyranny. He found his answer in the distinction of sovereignty from governmental functions. Thus the people are sovereign but delegate sufficient power to enable the National Assembly to authorize a government strong enough to maintain discipline and a rule of law rather than men.
Dr. Sun hit upon the idea of four political rights and a five-power system of government. The four powers of election, recall, referendum and initiative were not new. But Sun Yat-sen combined all four in a country just emerging from absolutism. To prepare the people for the exercise of so much power he proposed a period of political tutelage during which the government would send out qualified experts to assist in the establishment of self-government at the grass roots. The fruition of his confidence in the democratic perfect ability of the Chinese people has come on Taiwan during the last 20 years.
The five powers include, of course, the standard three of executive, legislative and judicial. To these he added examination and control (or impeachment), drawn from Chinese history and tradition. The civil service of ancient China had not worked perfectly, yet it was centuries ahead of the times and its aspirations were among the highest ever found in government. Political thinkers had tried to reconcile liberty and government through the doctrine of impeachment, but before Dr. Sun the power had been exercised by the legislature or by the legislature and the judiciary. His idea was to make impeachment separate in a modernized version of the Censorate of the Chinese emperors. Although the Control Yuan has not yet come into its own as a fully co-equal third of the parliamentary system, that still remains the good of the Chinese constitutional system.
The Chinese constitutional system has worked amazingly well for a quarter of a century despite the Communist insurrection and usurpation of most of the national territory. The National Assembly, which is both the symbol and representative of the people, has carried out its duties smoothly and responsibly with election of chief executives and amendment of the Constitution. The differences over initiative and referendum were resolved.
With Chiang Kai-shek at the helm, the executive branch has been particularly fortunate. If the exercise of power has tended to find the executive in the ascendancy, that is to be expected, what with the Communist rebellion, the strong personality of the nation's leader, his long service and the desire of the people to follow his counsel and decisions. This does not mean, however, that legislature, judiciary, examination and control have been downgraded or bypassed. Each branch has functioned as it was meant to. A solid foundation has been laid for the time of mainland return and national recovery.
In fact, the smooth coalescence of the five powers must be attributed to the leadership of the chief executive, who is the chief disciple of the Founding Father and constitutional mentor. His is the prestige and the sagacity which have overcome differences between the National Assembly and the Legislative Yuan and guided the Control Yuan's attempts to find its place as the third leg of the parliamentary system. President Chiang's protection of the four political rights and painstaking sorting out of the five powers assures a China of San Min Chu I (Dr. Sun's Three Principles of the People) when the mainland is returned to freedom, peace and prosperity.
So it was clear that the fifth National Assembly could not grant President Chiang's request to nominate a substitute. The Republic of China has an ample supply of able men of "virtue and ability," but it has only one Chiang Kai-shek.
The National Assembly reacted strongly to the "joint communique" issued by President Nixon and Chou En-lai at the conclusion of the American chief executive's visit to the Chinese mainland. On February, 29, the Assembly adopted the following statement by unanimous vote: "The National Assembly of the Republic of China issued a statement on February 21 to express its solemn stand on the visit by U.S. President Nixon to the Chinese Communist regime, which has slaughtered and enslaved the Chinese people. Now the talks between the United States and the Chinese Communists have been concluded and the two sides have issued a so-called Joint Communique to confuse the world. On behalf of all the people of China at home and abroad, the National Assembly of the Republic of China hereby makes the following statement:
"1. The Chinese Communist regime is a rebel group of the Republic of China, which has no right whatsoever to represent the Chinese people on the mainland. The fact that the U.S. President negotiated with this regime on a basis of equality is intolerable to all the people of the Republic of China!
"2. The so-called 'Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence' is widely recognized as an international united front tactic of the Chinese Communists which has jeopardized the peace of Asia and the world. President Nixon's acceptance of the principles is therefore contrary to the wish of the people of the free world that righteousness be upheld and world peace safeguarded for mankind!
"3. To eradicate the Chinese Communist regime that has usurped the Chinese mainland and to deliver our compatriots who are suffering there is the sacred task of the government and people of the Republic of China and may not be obstructed by any external force. We wish seriously to tell the people of the world that the government and people of the Republic of China deem any compromise or understanding reached between the United States and the Chinese Communists to be null and void!
"We hope all our compatriots are aware of our endeavors and will be alert to further them with a single heart and will under the sagacious leadership of our President in order to achieve our sacred task of national recovery."
Some of the delegates, including a number who are personally acquainted with President Nixon, rose to express their indignation at the communique. President Nixon came to Taiwan several times between 1960, when he lost the presidency to John F. Kennedy, and 1968, when he defeated Hubert Humphrey and succeeded Lyndon Johnson in the White House.
Competition was keen for the 85 seats on the presidium, which serves as a steering committee for the National Assembly. Ku Cheng-kang, the honorary chairman of the World Anti-Communist League, led vote getters with 50. Each Assemblyman cast his ballot for only one fellow delegate.
A long-time civic leader and former minister, Ku introduced Richard Nixon to the Asian People's Anti Communist League Conference in Taipei in 1964. At that time, Mr. Nixon was urging the Asian peoples to step up their anti-Communist unity.
This is the presidium which will serve until the sixth session of the National Assembly, including the number of votes received by each member (* denotes new member):
50 votes—Ku Cheng-kang, anti-Communist civic leader.
37 votes—Hsuen Yueh, chairman of the Planning Commission for Recovery of the Mainland.
32 votes—Chang Chun, secretary-general of the presidential office.
26 votes—Kuo Cheng, secretary-general of the National Assembly.
25 votes—Kuo Chi, secretary-general of the Planning Commission for Recovery of the Mainland. Paul Yu-Pin, Cardinal of the Catholic Church.
23 votes—Lee Shou-yung, former minister of examination.
22 votes—Chang Chi-yun, commandant, National War College and board chairman of the College of Chinese Culture.
20 votes—Chen Chieng-chung, chief of the 1st section of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang. Ho Ying-chin, chairman of the Strategy Advisory Committee of the presidential office. *Chou Yeh-ping, professor of criminal law, National Taiwan University. Ho Chung-han.
19 votes—*Teng Chieh, board chairman of the Central Trust of China.
19 votes—Chao Tso-tung. *Wang Chun.
17 votes—Wang Fu-chou, director of the board of the China Data Processing Center. Tai Chung-yu, governor of Fukien province. Yu Chia-chu, Young China Party leader and adviser to the President. Wang Yun-wu, senior adviser to the President and board chairman of the Commercial Press Ltd. Tseng Pao-swen, vice chairman of the Planning Commission for Recovery of the Mainland. *Teng Ting-yuan, member of the Committee for the Study of Constitutional Problems of the National Assembly. *Wung I-ching. Fang Tien. Chen Chi-tien.
16 votes—Sun Ya-fu, president of the China Democratic Socialist Party. Han Lih-wu, ambassador to Greece. Su Yu-jen. Yeh Hsiu-feng. *Huang Nung.
15 votes—Chi Yuan-pu, vice minister of interior. Chu Wen-po, executive member of the Committee for the Study of Constitutional Problems of the National Assembly. Chang Hsi-wen. Chang Po-chin. Wei Te-mou. Chang Tan-ping. *Li Chung-shih.
14 votes—Kao Hsin, chairman of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission. *Chen Pao-chuan, board chairman of the Kuo Hua Insurance Corp. Lu Shih-ming,:Wang Hsing-chou. *Wu Nai-hsien. Yu Jung-tsen. *Min Hsiang-fan. *Liu I-ting.
13 votes—Kung Teh-ching, 77th generation lineal descendant of Confucius. *To Te-jung. *Wu Hung-sen. Pei Ming-yu. *Feng Chih-an. Wu Yung. Yu Ching-tang. *Chao Hsiao-mei. Chang Chih-pen. *Chang Wei-jen.
12 votes—Yueh Cheng-an. *Chen Cho. Han Teh-chin. *Li Tsung-huang. Wang Pei-chi. Huang Chuan-yun. Huang Jen-chun. Lu Kuo-hua. Chin Chung-wei. Liu Jui-fu.
11 votes—*Cheng Tung-ho, adviser, Executive Yuan. Wang Lan, executive director, Chinese Writers' and Artists' Association. *Chao Chi-hsiang. Li Pei-kuo. Liang Hsing-i. *Tang Jen-min. Li Shih-chen. Tsi Tien-chia.
10 votes—Fang Chih, secretary-general and managing director, Free China Relief Association, and adviser to the President. Chen Shao-ping.
9 votes—Chao Ping-kun. Chang Ching-en. *Li Hsien-chang. Wang Kuo-cheng. *Chang Meng-yueh. *Ting Teh-hsien. *Yeh Ying-chi. *Chao Hsueh-feng.
8 votes—*Chao Po. Yang Hsing-chin. Yung Mo-shan.