The 1912 Chinese National Assembly elections, held in December 1912 to January 1913, were the first elections for the newly founded
National Assembly of the
Republic of China, which was a
bicameral parliament with a Senate and a House of Representatives.
Overview
The election was indirect, as voters chose some 30,000 electors who chose about 2,000 members of the provincial assemblies and 596 members of the House of Representatives. This system caused instances of bribery.
The 274-member Senate were elected by the provincial assemblies who themselves had been
elected in 1909 during the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
.
Adult males over the age of 21 who were educated or owned property and paid taxes, and who could prove a two-year residency in a particular county, could vote.
[ Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1: 222-223] An estimated 40 million or 4-6% of China's population were registered for the election.
This was an increase from the size of the electorate in the
1909 Chinese provincial elections, when less than 1% of the population was enfranchised.
The president had to pick the 64 members representing
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
,
Outer Mongolia, and
Overseas Chinese due to the fact that the government in Beijing did not exercise enough control over these populations to organize elections. Despite the compromises, this election had the participation of over 300 civic groups and was the first and most competitive nationwide election in Chinese history.
The
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
(Chinese Nationalist Party) led by Song Jiaoren won a plurality in both houses of the assembly, and Song was expected to become the
Premier of China.
After losing the election, the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
,
Unity
Unity may refer to:
Buildings
* Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building
* Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper
* Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England
* Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; ...
, and
Democratic (formerly Constitutionalist) parties merged into the
Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to:
Active parties
* Progressive Party, Brazil
* Progressive Party (Chile)
* Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus
* Dominica Progressive Party
* Progressive Party (Iceland)
* Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...
with
Liang Qichao
Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超 ; Wade-Giles: ''Liang2 Chʻi3-chʻao1''; Yale: ''Lèuhng Kái-chīu'') (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political activist, journalist, and intellectual. His thou ...
as leader. The Progressive Party became the main rival to the Nationalists.
Song was assassinated on 20 March 1913 in Shanghai. When the assembly convened for the first time on April 8 amid heated debate over the assassination, the Nationalists were divided over solutions on how to deal with
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...
, the provisional president, who was suspected of ordering the assassination. On 12 July,
Sun Yat-sen led the Nationalists and a faction of provinces into armed rebellion against Yuan, coined the
Second Revolution. However, the Second Revolution was completely defeated within two months by Yuan's forces.
The National Assembly members were compromised by threats and bribes from Yuan. He confined the National Assembly and forced them to elect him as the formal president in the
October presidential election. Yuan quickly outlawed the Nationalists and expelled them from the assembly. Without a quorum, the National Assembly could not convene, so Yuan disbanded it on 10 January 1914.
Voter and seat distributions
Results
Presidential elections in National Assembly
An important function of the
National Assembly under the ''
Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China'' was to elect the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
and
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
of
China. The following elections were held by the 1st National Assembly of
Beiyang government
The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking ( Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally ...
.
* The 2nd Presidential election was held by the 2nd National Assembly
elected in 1918
See also
*
1909 Chinese provincial elections
*
History of the Republic of China
The history of the Republic of China begins after the Qing dynasty in 1912, when the Xinhai Revolution and the formation of the Republic of China put an end to 2,000 years of imperial rule. The Republic experienced many trials and tribulations a ...
*
National Assembly (Beiyang government)
The National Assembly () was the legislative branch of the Beiyang government during the Republican era of Chinese history. The National Assembly was first founded in 1913, following the overthrow of the previous Qing dynasty, as the first fr ...
*
History of the Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a Chinese political party that ruled mainland China from 1927 to 1949 prior to its relocation to Taiwan as a result of the Chinese Civil War. The name of the party translates as "China's National People's Party" and was ...
*
Progressive Party (China)
The Progressive Party () was a political party in the Republic of China (1912-1949), Republic of China from 1913 to 1916.
Origins
Chinese constitutionalism was a movement that originated after the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895). A young gr ...
*
History of Beijing
The city of Beijing has a long and rich history that dates back over 3,000 years. Prior to the unification of China by the First Emperor in 221 BC, Beijing had been for centuries the capital of the ancient states of Ji and Yan. It was a provin ...
References
Bibliography
*
{{Chinese elections (1912–49)
1912 in China
China
Legislative elections in the Republic of China (1912–1949)
December 1912 events
January 1913 events