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| Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Original title | 動員戡亂時期臨時條款 |
| Jurisdiction | China
|
| Ratified | 18 April 1948; 77 years ago (1948-04-18) |
| Date effective | 10 May 1948; 77 years ago (1948-05-10) |
| System | Unitaryparliamentary constitutional republic(de jure) UnitaryTridemistone-partypresidential constitutional republic under amilitary dictatorship(de facto) |
| Government structure | |
| Branches | Five (Executive,Legislative,Judicial,Examination,Control) |
| Head of state | President |
| Chambers | Tricameral (National Assembly,Legislative Yuan,Control Yuan)[3] |
| Executive | Premier ledExecutive Yuan |
| Judiciary | Judicial Yuan |
| Federalism | Unitary |
| Electoral college | Yes (National Assembly) |
| History | |
| First legislature | 1 May 1950 (LY) |
| First executive | 1 March 1950 (President) |
| Repealed | 1 May 1991; 34 years ago (1991-05-01) |
| Amendments | 4 |
| Last amended | 1972 |
| Supersedes | Suspension of theConstitution of the Republic of China |
| Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 動員戡亂時期臨時條款 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 动员戡乱时期临时条款 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
TheTemporary Provisions Effective During the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion[4] provisions of theConstitution of the Republic of China were effective from 1948 to 1991 and amended four times by theCentral Government ofChina. They effectively nullified the constitution and establishedmartial law in Taiwan, wherecivil andpolitical freedoms were curtailed. The official rationale for the provisions was the ongoingChinese Civil War. However, with the demise of theKuomintangsingle-party system, the provisions were repealed.
The currentConstitution of the Republic of China was adopted by theNational Assembly in 1947, when theNationalist Government was based inNanjing. Since 1945, China has been engulfedin a civil war that pitted the Nationalist Government against theChinese Communist Party (CCP). In March 1948, the first National Assembly met in Nanjing, and after some deliberation, decided to invoke Article 174 of the Constitution to amend the Constitution".[5] On 10 May 1948, the Assembly adopted the first set of Temporary Provisions that were set to expire after three years. In 1949, the Communistsexpelled the Nationalist Government from mainland China, andproclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China while Chiang's governmentretreated toTaipei,Taiwan, anisland formerly aJapanese colony that was placed under ROC control after thesurrender of Japan in 1945. In 1954, the National Assembly indefinitely renewed the Temporary Provisions in view of theKuomintang's plans torecapture the mainland. The Temporary Provisions from then on were amended in accordance with the needs of thePresident of the Republic of China,Chiang Kai-shek, or his sonChiang Ching Kuo. In 1966, the Temporary Provisions were revised to allow for supplementary elections to the National Assembly from theTaiwan Area. In 1971, the ROC wasexpelled from the United Nations and replaced with representatives from thePeople's Republic of China; the Temporary Provisions were amended again in 1972. However, in 1979, the United Statessevered diplomatic relations with the ROC and recognized the PRC.
It became clear that liberating the mainland was not a real possibility. On 22 April 1991, the National Assembly resolved to abolish the Temporary Provisions, and later on 30 April, PresidentLee Teng-hui declared the end of the Mobilization for Suppression of Communist Rebellion as of the following day.[6] The Provisions were replaced by theAdditional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, which took effect on 1 May and have served as the state'sde-facto constitution ever since. The repeal of the Provisions caused some ambiguity incross-strait relations and thepolitical status of Taiwan, raising questions such as whether the "Communist rebellion" has "succeeded" and so the PRC government is recognized as legitimate by the ROC, or whether it would be legal now for the CCP to operate in Taiwan.[5]
The Temporary Provisions allowed for the creation of theTaiwan Garrison Command and theNational Security Council, both for the purpose of enforcing martial law.[5] The provisions also allowed the President andVice President of the Republic of China to be exempted from the two-term office limit.[6] Extensive powers given to the president by the Temporary Provisions turned the ROC into ade factopresidential system, where the Presidentalso held the post of chairman of the Kuomintang, although the Constitution originally laid out aparliamentary system.[5] Specifically, the provision relating to the president said:[5]
In this Period of Communist Rebellion, for the sake of avoiding the emergent political crisis, and addressing the mammoth economic change, the president is empowered to adopt emergency measures through a resolution of a cabinet meeting of the Executive Yuan. The president's power will not be limited by the regular procedures of Articles 39 and 43 of the constitution.
