Vice President of the Republic of China
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The Vice President of the Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: 中華民國副總統; Simplified Chinese: 中华民国副总统; Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōnghuámínguó Fùzǒngtǒng; Tongyong Pinyin: JhōngHuáMínGuó FùJǒngTǒng; Wade-Giles: Chung-Hua Min-Kuo Fu Tsung-T'ung) is the second-highest executive official of the Republic of China, a political entity that since 1949 has consisted mainly of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. The existing office was created in 1948 under the 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China, but soon afterwards, the Kuomintang lost mainland China to the Communists in the Chinese Civil War, forcing the ROC government, along with its presidency, to retreat to Taiwan.
Outside of Taiwan the Vice President of the ROC is commonly referred to as the "Vice President of Taiwan" (台灣副總統). This usage is less common in Taiwan itself. The official title is 'Vice President of the Republic of China' under the Constitution and is thus the one that appears in formal government usage. Local media refer unofficially to 'Taiwan's vice president' or 'the vice president of Taiwan,' though 'the vice president' usually suffices. For its part the People's Republic of China refuses to recognize Taiwan's government at all. In official statements the PRC places all titles in quotes and generally refers to the president as assistant leader of the Taiwan authorities.
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[edit] Powers
Under Article 49 of the Constitution of the Republic of China, in case the office of the President should become vacant, the Vice President shall succeed until the expiration of the original presidential term. In case the office of both the President and the Vice President should become vacant, the President of the Executive Yuan shall act for the President. In case the President should be unable to attend to office due to any cause, the Vice President shall act for the President. In case both the President and the Vice President should be unable to attend to office, the President of the Executive Yuan shall act for the President. After the Vice President succeeds as president, the office of Vice President remains vacant for the remainder of the term.
Aside from succeeding the president in the case of death, resignation, or impeachment of the president, and acting as president in the event the president becomes incapacitated, the vice president holds little formal power in the government.
Until 1996, the vice president was elected by the National Assembly of the Republic of China. Beginning in the 1996 election, the vice president has been elected through a direct popular vote of citizens with household registration in the "Free Area of the Republic of China" on the same ticket as the president.
[edit] Precedents
Two vice presidents have succeeded to the president upon the death of the president. Yen Chia-kan became president in 1975 upon the death of President Chiang Kai-shek and Lee Teng-hui became president in 1988 upon the death of President Chiang Ching-kuo. Yen stepped down as president three years later in favor of Chiang Ching-kuo
Another, Li Tsung-jen, formally acted as president from January 21, 1949 to March 1, 1950. President Chiang Kai-shek had resigned amid heavy losses during the Chinese Civil War, but was unclear on whether he was resigning permanently, or simply wished to step down temporarily. Chiang remained as Director-General of the Kuomintang and continued to give orders to the army as if he were in control. Amid this power struggle, Li left for medical treatment in the United States in November 1949 following the fall of the temorary capital of Chongqing to capital forces where he was accepted as a foreign head of state. Chiang retreated to Chengdu and finally moved the government to Taiwan in December 1949, acting as the de facto leader until formally "resuming" his duties in the next March. Li would nominally remain as vice president in absentia until 1954 until being impeached by the Control Yuan for "failure to carry out duties due to illegal conduct."
Due to the relative lack of formal power of the position, it has been coupled in the past with the office of the premier of the Republic of China. Vice presidents Chen Cheng, Yen Chia-kan, and Lien Chan all served as premier concurrently as vice president during part of their terms, and current vice president Annette Lu has at times been mentioned as a possible candidate for premiership.
[edit] List of Vice Presidents, 1948-present
| Vice President | Begin | End | Party | President | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Li Tsung-jen | May 20, 1948 | March 12, 1954 | Kuomintang | Chiang Kai-shek | Elected 1 |
| Chen Cheng | March 12, 1954 | March 5, 1965 | Kuomintang | Chiang Kai-shek | Elected 2-3 |
| Yen Chia-kan | May 20, 1966 | April 5, 1975 | Kuomintang | Chiang Kai-shek | Elected 4-5 |
| Hsieh Tung-ming | May 20, 1978 | May 20, 1984 | Kuomintang | Chiang Ching-kuo | Elected 6 |
| Lee Teng-hui | May 20, 1984 | January 13, 1988 | Kuomintang | Chiang Ching-kuo | Elected 7 |
| Li Yuan-zu | May 20, 1990 | May 20, 1996 | Kuomintang | Lee Teng-hui | Elected 8 |
| Lien Chan | May 20, 1996 | May 20, 2000 | Kuomintang | Lee Teng-hui | Elected 9 |
| Annette Lu | May 20, 2000 | Incumbent | Democratic Progressive Party | Chen Shui-bian | Elected 10-11 |
