Republic of China legislative election, 1948
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1st Legislative Yuan: Republic of China legislative election, 1948:
In 1948, 760 members were elected to the First Legislative Yuan under the rule of the recently promulgated Constitution. The members convened of their own accord on May 8 in the National Assembly Hall of Nanking and held six preparatory meetings during which Dr. Ko Sun and Mr. Li-fu Chen were elected President and Vice President respectively. On May 18 the first meeting of the first session of the First Legislative Yuan officially inaugurated 21 standing committees in operation.
Owing to the civil war between the Nationalists, led by the KMT and the Communists, led by the Chinese Communist Party, the Legislative Yuan moved with the central government to Taiwan in 1950. On February 24 of the same year, over 380 members of the First Legislative Yuan gathered for its first meeting of the fifth session at the Sun Yat-sen Hall in Taipei. Before long the Legislative Yuan voted to revise its organization law and reduced the number of the standing committees to 12 at the same time it set up other ad hoc committees. In 1960 the Legislative Yuan moved to its current location on Chungshan South Road where it continued to grow and develop till today.
The term of the First Legislative Yuan members was supposed to have expired by May 1951, had it not been for a major national conflict that made impossible an election as required by law for the next Legislative Yuan. Accordingly, the Council of Grand Justices of the Judicial Yuan passed the No. 31 Interpretation of the Constitution to justify and legalize continuous performance of these members elected in 1948. During this extended tenure, however, 11 additional members were elected in 1969 to the Legislative Yuan according to the "Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of General National Mobilization for the Suppression of Communist Rebellion," to perform their functions together with those members elected in 1948. This situation resulted in a de facto dictatorship led by Chiang Kai-shek, which lasted until the recent democratization of the ROC, under the rule of Chiang Ching-kuo. During all that time, the Legislative Yuan was nothing more than a rubber-stamp legislature, a mere formality, like today's Chinese National People's Congress, or any other legislative body in any dictatorship. Despite the formalities written on the Constitution and laws, only members of the KMT were allowed to be candidates. Those outside the party (Tangwai) where not tolerated during this period of time.
In 1972, the Legislative Yuan was invigorated with 51 additional members of three-year term elected in accordance with the amended "Temporary Provisions..." Subsequently in 1975, another 52 members were elected and sworn in on February 1st in the following year. The election slated for December 1978 was suspended until November 20th, 1980 because of the severance of diplomatic relations between the Republic of China and the United States of America. Yet the number of members elected in that election was increased to 97 in accordance with the "Election and Recall Law During the Period of General National Mobilization for the Suppression of Communist Rebellion." From then onward, 98 members in 1983, 100 members in 1986 and 130 members in 1989 were elected respectively and sworn in on February 1st of 1984, 1987 and 1990.
On December 31, 1991, all veteran members elected in 1948 finally retired, and the legislative power was taken over by the 130 additional members elected in 1989.
External links
Judicial Yuan of the ROC interpretation number 150, 9/16/1977 (English)
