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National Assembly 國會 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Senate House of Representative |
| History | |
| Founded | 8 April 1913; 112 years ago (1913-04-08) |
| Disbanded | 1 July 1925; 100 years ago (1925-07-01) |
| Preceded by | Provisional Senate(1913) |
| Succeeded by | Legislative Yuan(1928) National Assembly(1947) |
| Structure | |
| Seats | Senate: 274 House of Representative: 596 Senate: 168 House of Representative: 406 |
Length of term | Senate: 6 years House of Representative: 3 years |
| Elections | |
First general election | December 1912–January 1913 |
Last general election | May–June 1918 |
| Meeting place | |
| National Assembly Building,Peking | |
| Constitution | |
| Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China | |
| National Assembly | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 國會 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 国会 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
TheNational Assembly (Chinese:國會) was thelegislative branch of theBeiyang government during theRepublican era of Chinese history.[1] The National Assembly was first founded in 1913, following theoverthrow of the previousQing dynasty, as the first freedemocraticlegislature inChinese history. It was disbanded less than a year later asPresidentYuan Shikai assumeddictatorial power anddeclared himself theEmperor of China. During theWarlord Era, the National Assembly was resurrected and disbanded more than once as different warlords vied for power and legitimacy.
In 1925, the National Assembly, was dissolved byDuan Qirui as a result of the1924 Beijing Coup and replaced by the Provisional Government led by Duan,Feng Yuxiang, responsible for the coup and Manchurian warlordZhang Zuolin. TheBeiyang Government ceased to exist in 1928 as a result of the success ofChiang Kai-Shek'sNorthern Expedition, replacing it by theNationalist Government.
Calls for a National Assembly were part of the platform of therevolutionaries who ultimately overthrew theQing dynasty. In response, the Qing dynasty formed thefirst assembly in 1910, but it was virtually powerless and intended only as an advisory body.
After theXinhai Revolution, Provisional Senate was formed beforenational elections yielded thebicameral 1913 National Assembly, but significantly less than one percent voted due to gender, property, tax, residential, and literacy requirements. It was not a single nationwide election but a series of local elections that began in December 1912 with most concluding in January 1913. The poll was indirect, as voters choseelectors who picked the delegates, in some cases leading to instances of bribery. The Senate was elected by the provincial assemblies. The president had to pick the 64 members representingTibet,Outer Mongolia, andOverseas Chinese for practical reasons. However, these elections had the participation of over 300 civic groups and were the most competitive nationwide elections in Chinese history.
The election results gave a clear plurality for the Kuomintang, which won 392 of the 870 seats, but there was confusion as many candidates were members in several parties concurrently. Several switched parties after the election, giving the Kuomintang 438 seats. By order of seats, the Republican, Unity, and Democratic (formerly Constitutionalist) parties later merged into theProgressive Party underLiang Qichao.
Kuomintang leaderSong Jiaoren was expected to becomepremier, but he was assassinated on March 20. An investigation linked the crime to PremierZhao Bingjun and possibly the provisional president, Yuan Shikai. The assembly convened for the first time on April 8 amid heated debate over the assassination. The Kuomintang was divided over solutions on how to deal with Yuan.Sun Yat-sen led a faction to rebel against Yuan on July 12 but was completely defeated within two months. The National Assembly members were compromised by threats and bribes from Yuan. He confined them and forced them to elect him formal president. Next, he outlawed the Kuomintang and expelled them from the assembly. Without aquorum, it could not convene, so Yuan disbanded it on 10 January 1914.
After Yuan died, the National Assembly reconvened on 1 August 1916 under the pretext that its three-year term had been suspended and had not expired, but PresidentLi Yuanhong was forced to disband it due to theManchu Restoration on 1 June 1917.[2] 130 members (mostly Kuomintang) moved toGuangzhou where they held an "extraordinary session" on 25 August under arival government led by Sun Yat-sen, and another 120 quickly followed. After theOld Guangxi clique became disruptive, the assembly temporarily moved toKunming and laterChongqing underTang Jiyao's protection until Guangzhou was liberated. Lacking a quorum, they selected new members in 1919.
In theBeiyang government, PremierDuan Qirui initiated elections for a new assembly. Seventeen provinces responded, five southern provinces boycotted, and the delegates for Tibet,Xinjiang, andQinghai were chosen by Beijing. Votes were bought and sold in an open market with prices fluctuating constantly, and fraud and abuse was widespread. Duan dominated this assembly with hisAnhui clique's political wing, the Anfu Club, which won 342 of the 470 seats, with the rest going toLiang Shiyi'sCommunications Clique, Liang Qichao'sResearch Clique or to independents. It met on 12 August 1918 to electXu Shichang to the presidency. This assembly met until 30 August 1920 when the Anhui clique was defeated by theZhili clique in theZhili–Anhui War. Xu held national elections in 1921 but only eleven provinces responded so that assembly never convened.
In 1922, Li Yuanhong was brought back to the Beijing presidency, and he recalled the 1913 assembly without the 1919 "extraordinary" additions, under the same pretext that its three years are not finished. Because Sun's Guangzhou regime was in disarray due toChen Jiongming's rebellion, most members returned to Beijing for its August 1 session. The assembly was thoroughly discredited when it electedCao Kun president after being bribed in 1923. To cover its shame, the assembly hastily finished the constitution it was working on for a decade. It was finally dissolved afterFeng Yuxiang'scoup on 24 November 1924. This assembly's three-year term was spread out over eleven years and was marked by corruption, factionalism, absences, and endless debate.
| Term | Election | Senate seats | House seats | Total seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1912 Chinese National Assembly election | 274 | 596 | 870 |
| 2nd | 1918 Chinese National Assembly election | 168 | 406 | 574 |
Timeline of National Assembly terms
| Term | Session | Date | Meeting Place | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1st | Apr 8, 1913 － Jan 10, 1914 | Beijing | 1913 presidential election (Yuan Shikai,Li Yuanhong) PresidentYuan Shikai then dissolved the National Assembly to plan for hisEmpire of China |
| 2nd | Aug 1, 1916 － June 12, 1917 | Beijing | Resumed after the death ofYuan Shikai and dissolution of theEmpire of China 1916 vice-presidential election (Feng Guozhang) PresidentLi Yuanhong dissolved the National Assembly underZhang Xun's push forManchu Restoration | |
| interim | Aug 25, 1917 － Jun 1922 | Guangzhou | PremierDuan Qirui refused to restore the National Assembly and pushed for re-election Members who supportedSun Yat-sen'sConstitutional Protection Movement held session inGuangzhou | |
| 2nd | regular | Aug 12, 1918 － August 30, 1920 | Beijing | Re-election underPremierDuan Qirui's administration 1918 presidential election (Xu Shichang) PresidentXu Shichang dissolved the National Assembly afterFirst Zhili–Fengtian War |
| 1st (resumed) | 3rd | Aug 1, 1922 － Dec 13, 1924 | Beijing | Supporters of Constitutional Restoration took overBeijing afterFirst Zhili–Fengtian War 1923 presidential election (Cao Kun) Duan Qirui returned as thePremier afterSecond Zhili–Fengtian War |
| interim | Nov 22, 1924 － Apr 24, 1925 | Beijing | Dissolved byPremierDuan Qirui |
The meeting place of the House of Representative is located in today'sXicheng District ofBeijing. The building is protected by the People's Government of Beijing Municipality as a historical site.
