Republic of China

The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: ????; Simplified Chinese: ????; Wade-Giles: Chung¹-hua² Min²-kuo², Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuá MínGuó, Hanyu Pinyin: Zh?nghuá Mínguó, Taiwanese POJ: Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok) is a multiparty democratic state that today is composed of the island groups of Taiwan, the Pescadores, Quemoy, and Matsu. In English, as in Chinese, the name "Taiwan" is often used synonymously with the modern Republic of China, while the term "China" usually refers to the People's Republic of China (PRC), or mainland China with or without Hong Kong and Macau.

History

Main article: History of the Republic of China

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Republican China, 1911-1949

The Republican Era of China developed out of the Wuchang Uprising against the Qing Dynasty which began on October 10, 1911. The Republic of China was declared on January 1, 1912, with Sun Yat-sen elected the first interim president. As part of the agreement to have the last emperor Puyi abdicate, Yuan Shikai was officially elected president in 1913. However, Yuan dissolved the ruling KMT and declared himself emperor in 1915.

Related Topics:
China - Wuchang Uprising - Qing Dynasty - October 10 - 1911 - January 1 - 1912 - Sun Yat-sen - Interim president - Puyi - Yuan Shikai - 1913 - 1915

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In response, Yuan's supporters deserted him, and many provinces declared independence and became warlord states. Yuan Shikai died of natural causes in 1916. This thrust China into a decade of warlordism. Sun Yat-sen, forced into exile, returned to Guangdong province with the help of southern warlords in 1917, and set up a rival government. Sun reestablished the KMT in October 1919.

Related Topics:
1916 - Guangdong - 1917 - 1919

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After Sun's death in 1925, General Chiang Kai-shek gained control of the KMT and, with the help of the Soviet Union, led the successful Northern Expedition which effectively defeated the warlords and united China. However, Chiang soon dismissed his Soviet advisors, and purged communists and leftists from the KMT, catalyzing the Chinese Civil War. The 1930s were a decade of growth for the areas under KMT control, while the Communists were being pushed into the interior as Chiang Kai-shek sought to destroy them.

Related Topics:
1925 - Chiang Kai-shek - Soviet Union - Northern Expedition - Leftists - Chinese Civil War

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Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and made massive territorial gains during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). With Japan's surrender in 1945, the Republic of China emerged victorious and became one of the founding members of the United Nations. The civil war resumed and intensified after the Japanese surrender, and it ended in the Communist Party of China's favor in 1949.

Related Topics:
Japan - Manchuria - 1931 - Second Sino-Japanese War - 1945 - United Nations - Communist Party of China - 1949

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See also:

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• May Fourth Movement (New Cultural Movement)
• History of China

The Republic of China on Taiwan, 1945/1949-Present

Taiwan had previously been a Japanese colony from 1895-1945, a concession by the Qing dynasty after losing the First Sino-Japanese War. After the defeat of Japan during World War II, Taiwan was surrendered to the Allies and occupied by the Republic of China on behalf of the Allied Powers. It was governed under a corrupt military administration leading to widespread island unrest, culminating in the bloody 228 Incident. Martial law was declared in 1948.

Related Topics:
First Sino-Japanese War - 228 Incident

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In this tumultuous climate, after the defeat of the KMT in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek evacuated the Republic of China government to Taiwan and declared Taipei the provisional capital of China. Accompanying his retreat were some 2 million people from Mainland China, adding to the already present population of approximately 6 million.

Related Topics:
Chiang Kai-shek - Taiwan - Taipei - Mainland China

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During the Cold War, the Republic of China was seen by the West as "Free China" and a bastion against Communism, while in contrast the People's Republic of China was seen as "Red China" or "Communist China". The Republic of China was recognized as the sole legitimate government of both Mainland China and Taiwan by the UN and many Western nations until the 1970s.

Related Topics:
Cold War - Communism - 1970s

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Taiwan remained under martial law, under the name of the "Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion" (??????????) and one-party rule for four decades from 1948 until 1987, when Presidents Chiang Ching-kuo and Lee Teng-hui, the ROC's first native Taiwanese president, gradually liberalized and democratized the system.

Related Topics:
Martial law - Chiang Ching-kuo - Lee Teng-hui

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In 2000, Chen Shui-bian of the more pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected president, becoming the first non-KMT constitutional president of the Republic of China after 1925. In the March 2004 presidential elections, after being shot while campaigning just one day before, Chen was reelected by a narrow margin of just 0.2%. In both Chen's terms the DPP and the Taiwanese independence leaning Pan-Green Coalition failed to secure a majority of seats in the legislature, losing to the KMT and the pro-eventual unification leaning Pan-Blue Coalition, but secured a majority in the National Assembly elections in 2005.

Related Topics:
2000 - Chen Shui-bian - Democratic Progressive Party - Elected president - March 2004 presidential elections - Being shot while campaigning - Taiwanese independence - Pan-Green Coalition - Pan-Blue Coalition - National Assembly

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See also:

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• History of Taiwan
• Timeline of Taiwanese history
• Timeline of Chinese history
• China and the United Nations