124-1209: Lai Ching-te ( DPP ) Hsiao Bi-khim ( DPP ) Cho Jung-tai ( DPP ) 11th Legislative Yuan Han Kuo-yu ( KMT ) Shieh Ming-yan acting Vacant Vacant Vacant Control Yuan Chen Chu Lee Hung-chun Local government Central Election Commission Kuomintang Democratic Progressive Party Taiwan People's Party Others New Power Party Taiwan Statebuilding Party People First Party Taiwan Solidarity Union New Party Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Newspapers United Daily News Liberty Times China Times Taipei Times Propaganda Censorship Film censorship Lin Chia-lung Cross-Strait relations Special state-to-state relations One Country on Each Side 1992 Consensus Taiwan consensus Chinese Taipei Australia–Taiwan relations Canada–Taiwan relations France–Taiwan relations Russia–Taiwan relations Taiwan–United Kingdom relations Taiwan–United States relations Republic of China (1912–1949) Chinese Civil War One-China policy China and
248-655: A Bachelor of Science (BS) in physical medicine and rehabilitation. He then went to Tainan to enter National Cheng Kung University , where he completed its Post-Baccalaureate Medicine Program in 1991 and earned a Doctor of Medicine (MD). After graduating from medical school, Lai went to the United States to study at the Harvard School of Public Health for a Master of Public Health , followed by an internship at National Cheng Kung University Hospital . He became an expert on spinal cord damage and served as
372-518: A book in which he talked about the extermination of the Manchus for the 260 years of oppression, sorrow, cruelty, and tyranny, and creating new revolutionary Han figures. Before 1908, revolutionaries focused on coordinating these organizations in preparation for uprisings they would launch; hence, these groups would provide most of the manpower needed for the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. After
496-494: A candidate in the 1998 Legislative Yuan election , representing the Democratic Progressive Party in the second ward of Tainan City. He was successful in this election, and subsequently was reelected three times in 2001 , 2004 , and 2008 . In total he served 11 years as a legislator, and was selected as Taiwan's "Best Legislator" four times in a row by Taipei -based NGO Citizen Congress Watch. With
620-768: A conflict between the citizens and local police against the New Army. After revolutionary leader Ni Yingdian was killed by Qing forces, the remaining revolutionaries were quickly defeated, causing the uprising to fail. On 27 April 1911, an uprising occurred in Guangzhou, known as the Second Guangzhou Uprising ( 辛亥廣州起義 ) or Yellow Flower Mound Revolt ( 黃花岡之役 ). It ended in disaster, as 86 bodies were found (only 72 could be identified). The 72 revolutionaries were remembered as martyrs. Revolutionary Lin Juemin
744-558: A cult figure after his death. The control by one single party began the period of "political tutelage", whereby the party was to lead the government while instructing the people on how to participate in a democratic system. The topic of reorganizing the army, brought up at a military conference in 1929, sparked the Central Plains War . The cliques, some of them former warlords, demanded to retain their army and political power within their own territories. Although Chiang finally won
868-611: A leaderless and decentralized way and that Sun was only later elected provisional president of the new Chinese republic. However, Sun did not have military power and ceded the provisional presidency of the republic to Yuan Shikai , who arranged for the abdication of Puyi , the last Emperor, on 12 February. On 25 August 1912, the Nationalist Party was established at the Huguang Guild Hall in Beijing , where
992-461: A national consultant for such injuries. After serving as part of the support team for Chen Ding-nan 's unsuccessful electoral bid for Governor of Taiwan Province in 1994, Lai decided to enter politics himself. The next opportunity for election to a national body was the 1996 National Assembly , with Lai winning a seat representing Tainan City. Lai then joined the New Tide faction and stood as
1116-698: A poorly planned and ill-supported armed rising to overthrow Yuan, and failed. Yuan, claiming subversiveness and betrayal, expelled adherents of the KMT from the parliament . Yuan dissolved the Nationalists, whose members had largely fled into exile in Japan, in November and dismissed the parliament early in 1914. Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor in December 1915. While exiled in Japan in 1914, Sun established
1240-623: A program inspired in large part by the reforms in Japan . They proposed basic reform in education, military, and economy in the so-called Hundred Days' Reform . The reform was abruptly canceled by a conservative coup led by Empress Dowager Cixi . The Emperor was put under house arrest in June 1898, where he remained until his death in 1908. Reformers Kang and Liang exiled themselves to avoid being executed. The Empress Dowager controlled policy until her death in 1908, with support from officials such as Yuan. Attacks on foreigners and Chinese Christians in
1364-544: A result of his strong showing in the mayoral election coupled with his relative youth and his control of the DPP heartland city of Tainan, Lai was considered to be a potential candidate for a presidential run in 2016. In 2013 an opinion poll ranked Lai as the most popular of the 22 city and county heads in Taiwan, with an approval rating of 87%. Lai made on 5 June 2014 a visit to the city of Shanghai to assist an exhibition of art by
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#17327761257311488-463: A revolution in family, gender and social values, would remove the need for government and coercion. Zhang Ji and Wang Jingwei were among the anarchists who defended assassination and terrorism as means to awaken the people to revolution, but others insisted that education was the only justifiable strategy. Important anarchists included Cai Yuanpei . Zhang Renjie gave Sun major financial help. Many of these anarchists would later assume high positions in
1612-921: Is a centre-right to right-wing party and the largest in the Pan-Blue Coalition , one of the two main political groups in Taiwan. Its primary rival is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the largest party in the Pan-Green Coalition . As of 2024, the KMT is the largest single party in the Legislative Yuan . The current chairman is Eric Chu . The party originated as the Revive China Society founded by Sun Yat-sen in 1894 in Honolulu . The party underwent reorganization before and after
1736-491: Is currently serving as the 8th president of the Republic of China ( Taiwan ) since May 2024. He is the third member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to assume the office of president and the first whose predecessor was also a DPP member. He is also the third incumbent vice president to succeed to the presidency and the first to assume the office through election instead of immediate succession. He has also served as
1860-458: Is named Xinhai because it occurred in 1911, the year of the Xinhai ( 辛亥 ) stem-branch in the sexagenary cycle of the traditional Chinese calendar . The governments of Taiwan and China both consider themselves the legitimate successors to the 1911 Revolution and honor the ideals of the revolution including nationalism , republicanism , modernization of China and national unity . 10 October
1984-690: Is the National Day of the Republic of China on Taiwan, and the Anniversary of the 1911 Revolution in the PRC. Nationalism (Mínzú) Democracy (Mínquán) Socialism (Mínshēng) After suffering its first defeat by the West in the First Opium War in 1842, a conservative court culture constrained efforts to reform and did not want to cede authority to local officials. Following defeat in
2108-480: The South China Morning Post . Sun Yat-sen 's Revive China Society was established in Honolulu in 1894, with the main purpose of raising funds for revolutions. The two organizations merged in 1894. The Huaxinghui (China Revival Society) was founded in 1904 by notables like Huang Xing , Zhang Shizhao , Chen Tianhua , Sun Yat-sen, and Song Jiaoren , along with 100 others. Their motto
2232-659: The 1911 Xinhai Revolution , which resulted in the collapse of the Qing dynasty and establishment of the Republic of China (ROC), with Sun as the first president. In 1919, Sun re-established the party under the name "Kuomintang" in the Shanghai French Concession . From 1926 to 1928, the KMT under Chiang Kai-shek successfully led the Northern Expedition against regional warlords and unified
2356-669: The 2016 election , but regained a legislative plurality in the 2024 election . The KMT is a member of the International Democracy Union . The party's guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People , advocated by Sun Yat-sen and organized on a basis of democratic centralism . As the KMT strongly supports the ROC as the only representative of China, it strongly opposes both Chinese unification under
2480-719: The Boxer Rebellion , encouraged by the Empress Dowager, prompted another foreign invasion of Beijing in 1900. After the Allies imposed a punitive settlement , the Qing court carried out basic fiscal and administrative reforms , including local and provincial elections. These moves did not secure trust or wide support among political activists. Many, like Zou Rong , felt strong anti-Manchu prejudice and blamed them for China's troubles. Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao formed
2604-523: The Central Election Commission along with his running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim . Lai claimed victory on 13 January 2024, marking the first time that a political party had won three consecutive presidential terms since direct elections were first held in 1996 . On 13 January 2024, Lai was elected president of the Republic of China with approximately 40% of the vote, and was inaugurated on 20 May 2024. Under Lai, Taiwan continued
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#17327761257312728-599: The Emperor Protection Society in an attempt to restore the emperor, but others, such as Sun Yat-sen organized revolutionary groups to overthrow the dynasty rather than reform it. They could operate only in secret societies and underground organizations, in foreign concessions, or exile overseas, but created a following among Chinese in North America and Southeast Asia, and within China, even in
2852-609: The First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 was all the more humiliating and convinced many of the need for institutional change. The court established the New Army under Yuan Shikai and many concluded that Chinese society also needed to be modernized if technological and commercial advancements were to succeed. In 1898, the Guangxu Emperor turned to reformers like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao who offered
2976-546: The Kuomintang (KMT). Many revolutionaries promoted anti-Qing/anti-Manchu sentiments and revived memories of conflict between the ethnic minority Manchu and the ethnic majority Han Chinese from the late Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Leading intellectuals were influenced by books that had survived from the final years of the Ming dynasty, the last dynasty of Han Chinese. In 1904, Sun Yat-sen announced that his organization's goal
3100-587: The Meiji Restoration , Chiang knew relatively little about the West. He also studied in Japan, but he was firmly rooted in his ancient Han Chinese identity and was steeped in Chinese culture . As his life progressed, he became increasingly attached to ancient Chinese culture and traditions. His few trips to the West confirmed his pro-ancient Chinese outlook and he studied the ancient Chinese classics and ancient Chinese history assiduously. In 1923, after
3224-737: The Nanjing incident in March 1927, the NRA stormed the consulates of the United States, the United Kingdom and Imperial Japan , looted foreign properties and almost assassinated the Japanese consul. An American, two British, one French, an Italian and a Japanese were killed. These looters also stormed and seized millions of dollars' worth of British concessions in Hankou , refusing to hand them back to
3348-618: The Northern Expedition to suppress the warlords began. Chiang had to defeat three separate warlords and two independent armies. Chiang, with Soviet supplies, conquered the southern half of China in nine months. A split erupted between the Chinese Communist Party and the KMT, which threatened the Northern Expedition. Wang Jing Wei, who led the KMT leftist allies, took the city of Wuhan in January 1927. With
3472-535: The Qinzhou Uprising occurred (欽州防城起義), to protest against heavy taxation from the government. Sun Yat-sen sent Wang Heshun ( 王和順 ) there to assist the revolutionary army and captured the county in September. After that, they attempted to besiege and capture Qinzhou but were unsuccessful. They eventually retreated to the area of Shiwandashan, while Wang Heshun returned to Vietnam . On 1 December 1907,
3596-618: The Second Opium War in 1860, the Qing began efforts to modernize by adopting Western technologies through the Self-Strengthening Movement . In the wars against the Taiping (1851–1864), Nian (1851–1868), Yunnan (1856–1873) and Dungan (1862–1877), the court came to rely on armies raised by local officials. After a generation of relative success in importing Western naval and weapons technology, defeat in
3720-579: The Self-Strengthening movement . Many young people attended the new schools or went abroad to study in places like Japan. A new progressive class of intellectuals emerged from those students, who contributed immensely to the 1911 Revolution. Besides Sun Yat-sen, key figures in the revolution, such as Huang Xing, Song Jiaoren , Hu Hanmin , Liao Zhongkai , Zhu Zhixin and Wang Jingwei, were all Chinese students in Japan. Some were young students like Zou Rong , known for writing Revolutionary Army ,
3844-557: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom era. Ma Fuyi ( 馬福益 ) and Huaxinghui was involved in an uprising in the three areas of Pingxiang , Liuyang and Liling , called "Ping-liu-li Uprising", ( 萍瀏醴起義 ) in 1905. The uprising recruited miners as early as 1903 to rise against the Qing ruling class. After the uprising failed, Ma Fuyi was executed. Wu Yue ( 吳樾) of the Guangfuhui carried out an assassination attempt at
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3968-510: The Tongmenghui and five smaller pro-revolution parties merged to contest the first national elections. Sun was chosen as the party chairman with Huang Xing as his deputy. The most influential member of the party was the third ranking Song Jiaoren , who mobilized mass support from gentry and merchants for the Nationalists to advocate a constitutional parliamentary democracy. The party opposed constitutional monarchists and sought to check
4092-522: The Tongmenghui days, was sent to Moscow for several months' military and political study. At the first party congress in 1924 in Guangzhou , Guangdong, which included non-KMT delegates such as members of the CCP, they adopted Sun's political theory, which included the Three Principles of the People : nationalism, democracy and people's livelihood. When Sun Yat-sen died in 1925, the political leadership of
4216-667: The Tongmenghui , a group committed to the overthrow of the Qing dynasty and to establish a republic in China. The group supported the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 and the founding of the Republic of China on 1 January 1912. Although Sun and the Tongmenghui are often depicted as the principal organizers of the Xinhai Revolution, this view is disputed by scholars who argue that the Revolution broke out in
4340-599: The chair of the DPP since 2023. Born to a working-class family in Taipei County , Lai studied medicine at National Taiwan University and National Cheng Kung University before earning a master's degree from Harvard University in 2003. After serving as the president of the National Physician Support Association, Lai ran in the 1996 Legislative Yuan election , winning a seat representing Tainan City . After being re-elected to
4464-553: The national government relocated to Taiwan . Following the death of Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek emerged as the KMT leader and launched the Northern Expedition to defeat the northern warlords and unite China under the party. With its power confirmed in the southeast, the Nationalist Government appointed Chiang Kai-shek commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA), and
4588-430: The 1911 Revolution, Sun Yat-sen recalled the days of recruiting support for the revolution and said, "The literati were deeply into the search for honors and profits, so they were regarded as having only secondary importance. By contrast, organizations like Sanhehui were able to sow widely the ideas of resisting the Qing and restoring the Ming." The gentry's strength in local politics became apparent. From December 1908,
4712-512: The 1911 Revolution, including students and intellectuals returning from abroad, as well as participants of revolutionary organizations, overseas Chinese, soldiers of the new army, local gentry, farmers, and others. Assistance from overseas Chinese was important in the 1911 Revolution. In 1894, the first year of the Revive China Society, the first meeting ever held by the group was held in the home of Ho Fon, an overseas Chinese who
4836-577: The 1990s. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was under Comintern instructions to cooperate with the KMT, and its members were encouraged to join while maintaining their separate party identities, forming the First United Front between the two parties. Mao Zedong and early members of the CCP also joined the KMT in 1923. Soviet advisers also helped the KMT to set up a political institute to train propagandists in mass mobilization techniques, and in 1923 Chiang Kai-shek, one of Sun's lieutenants from
4960-441: The 2010 reorganization of the municipalities in Taiwan, Tainan City and Tainan County were amalgamated into a single municipality, called Tainan . After successfully being selected in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) primaries in January 2010, Lai stood as the DPP candidate for the mayoral election on 27 November 2010, gaining 60.41% to defeat Kuomintang candidate Kuo Tien-tsai. He took office on 25 December 2010. As
5084-530: The 2020 presidential election. On 28 September, the New Party called on the KMT to join it in filing a formal complaint against the Premier for sedition . In October 2017, it was reported that Lai had garnered the approval of 68.8 percent of respondents in a survey, while 23 percent expressed dissatisfaction. However, critics say that his popularity may not last, due to his rapid reversal of his position on
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5208-624: The Beijing Zhengyangmen East Railway station ( 正陽門車站 ) in an attack on five Qing officials on 24 September 1905. The Huanggang Uprising ( 黃岡起義 ) was launched on 22 May 1907, in Chaozhou . The revolutionary party, along with Xu Xueqiu ( 許雪秋 ), Chen Yongpo ( 陳湧波 ) and Yu Tongshi ( 余通實 ), launched the uprising and captured Huanggang city. After the uprising began, the Qing government quickly and forcefully suppressed it. Around 200 revolutionaries were killed. In
5332-560: The Chinese Revolutionary Party on 8 July 1914, but many of his old revolutionary comrades, including Huang Xing, Wang Jingwei , Hu Hanmin and Chen Jiongming , refused to join him or support his efforts in inciting armed uprising against Yuan. To join the Revolutionary Party, members had to take an oath of personal loyalty to Sun, which many old revolutionaries regarded as undemocratic and contrary to
5456-468: The Democratic Progressive Party presidential primary, saying that he could shoulder the responsibility of leading Taiwan in defending itself from being annexed by China. This is the first time in Taiwanese history where a serious primary challenge has been mounted against a sitting president. The results of the DPP's primary poll released on 13 June shown that Tsai defeated Lai by winning 35.67 percent of
5580-528: The Hongxian Emperor, but the move was met with strong opposition from the population and the Army, leading to his abdication in March 1916 and the reinstatement of the Republic. Yuan's failure to consolidate a legitimate central government before his death in June 1916 led to decades of political division and warlordism , including an attempt at imperial restoration of the Qing dynasty . The revolution
5704-655: The Japanese factories and their supplies. Full-scale civil war between the Communists and the Nationalists erupted in 1946. The Communist Chinese armies, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), previously a minor faction, grew rapidly in influence and power due to several errors on the KMT's part. First, the KMT reduced troop levels precipitously after the Japanese surrender, leaving large numbers of able-bodied, trained fighting men who became unemployed and disgruntled with
5828-423: The KMT and its Canton government accepted aid from the Soviet Union after being denied recognition by the western powers. Soviet advisers—the most prominent of whom was Mikhail Borodin , an agent of the Comintern —arrived in China in 1923 to aid in the reorganization and consolidation of the KMT along the lines of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) , establishing a Leninist party structure that lasted into
5952-468: The KMT as prime recruits for the PLA. Second, the KMT government proved thoroughly unable to manage the economy, allowing hyperinflation to result. Among the most despised and ineffective efforts it undertook to contain inflation was the conversion to the gold standard for the national treasury and the Chinese gold yuan in August 1948, outlawing private ownership of gold, silver and foreign exchange, collecting all such precious metals and foreign exchange from
6076-404: The KMT fell to Wang Jingwei (" Reorganization Group ") and Hu Hanmin (" Western Hills Group "), respectively the left-wing and right-wing leaders of the party. However, the real power was in the hands of Chiang Kai-shek, who was in near complete control of the military as the superintendent of the Whampoa Military Academy . With their military superiority, the KMT confirmed their rule on Canton,
6200-410: The KMT government and military. Chiang was alarmed by the expansion of communist influence; he wanted to suppress internal conflicts before confronting foreign aggression. The KMT were aided by German military advisors. The CSR was destroyed in 1934 after a series of KMT offensives. The communists abandoned bases in southeast China for Shaanxi in a military retreat called the Long March ; less than 10% of
6324-473: The Legislative Yuan four consecutive times, Lai ran for Mayor of Tainan in 2010 . Lai won and served as mayor for seven years, winning reelection in 2014 . In September 2017, President Tsai Ing-wen announced Lai would replace outgoing premier Lin Chuan . On 24 November 2018, Lai announced his intention to resign from the premiership after the Democratic Progressive Party suffered a major defeat in local elections , and left office on 14 January 2019 after
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#17327761257316448-492: The Legislative Yuan on 26 September, where he stated "I am a political worker who advocates Taiwan independence" but that "We are already an independent sovereign nation called the Republic of China. We don't need a separate declaration of independence". Lai has appeared to have moderated his position on Taiwanese independence particularly when he proposed the idea of "being close to China while loving Taiwan" in June 2017. He also expressed no desire to run against Tsai Ing-wen in
6572-454: The New Army. The central foci of the uprisings were mostly connected with the Tongmenghui and Sun Yat-sen, including subgroups. Some uprisings involved groups that never merged with the Tongmenghui. Sun Yat-sen may have participated in 8–10 uprisings; all uprisings failed before the Wuchang Uprising. In the spring of 1895, the Revive China Society , based in Hong Kong, planned the First Guangzhou Uprising [ zh ] . Lu Haodong
6696-424: The North and the South ended in compromise. Sun would resign in favor of Yuan, who would become President of the new national government , if Yuan could secure the abdication of the Qing emperor. The edict of abdication of the six-year-old Xuantong Emperor , was promulgated on 12 February 1912. Yuan was sworn in as president on 10 March 1912. In December 1915, Yuan restored the monarchy and proclaimed himself as
6820-441: The PRC and formal Taiwan independence . As the KMT opposes non-peaceful means to resolve the cross-strait disputes while still strongly adhering to the ROC constitution , the party favors a closer relationship with the PRC and accepts the 1992 Consensus , which defines both sides of the Taiwan Strait as " one China " but maintains its ambiguity to different interpretations. It seeks to maintain Taiwan's status quo rather than
6944-433: The Qing court appointed Yuan Shikai (leader of the Beiyang Army ) as prime minister, and he began negotiations with the revolutionaries. In Nanjing, revolutionary forces created a provisional coalition government . On 1 January 1912, the National Assembly declared the establishment of the Republic of China, with Sun Yat-sen , leader of the Tongmenghui , as President of the Republic of China . A brief civil war between
7068-402: The Qing government created some apparatus to allow the gentry and businessmen to participate in politics. These middle-class people were originally supporters of constitutionalism. However, they became disenchanted when the Qing government created a cabinet with Prince Qing as prime minister . By early 1911, an experimental cabinet had thirteen members, nine of whom were Manchus selected from
7192-403: The Qing government to re-establish the Han-led government. The earliest revolutionary organizations were founded outside of China, such as Yeung Ku-wan 's Furen Literary Society , created in Hong Kong in 1890. There were 15 members, including Tse Tsan-tai , who did political satire such as "The Situation in the Far East", one of the first manhua , and who later became one of the core founders of
7316-427: The ROC losing its United Nations seat and most countries, including its ally the US, switching diplomatic recognition to the CCP-led People's Republic of China (PRC) in the 1970s. In the late 1980s, Chiang Ching-kuo , Chiang Kai-shek's son, lifted martial law and the ban on opposition parties. His successor Lee Teng-hui continued democratic reforms and was re-elected in 1996 through a direct presidential election ,
7440-487: The Republic of China ." Lai advocates strengthening Taiwan's relations with the United States and other liberal democracies . Lai considers both titles of "Taiwan" or "Republic of China" that can be used equitably and interchangeably in respect of the country name. Lai married Wu Mei-ju in 1986. Wu worked for Taipower , and was based in Tainan until Lai was elected mayor of the city, and she transferred to Kaohsiung. The couple raised two sons. Lai′s first grandson
7564-411: The Soviet Model. Chiang was also particularly committed to Sun's idea of "political tutelage". Sun believed that the only hope for a unified and better China lay in a military conquest, followed by a period of political tutelage that would culminate in the transition to democracy. Using this ideology, Chiang built himself into the dictator of the Republic of China, both in the Chinese mainland and after
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#17327761257317688-411: The Tongmenghui's establishment in Hubei. In July 1907, several members of Tongmenghui in Tokyo advocated a revolution in the area of the Yangtze . Liu Quiyi ( 劉揆一 ), Jiao Dafeng ( 焦達峰 ), Zhang Boxiang ( 張伯祥 ) and Sun Wu ( 孫武 ) established the Gongjinhui ( 共進會 ). In January 1911, the revolutionary group Zhengwu Xueshe (振武學社) was renamed as Wenxueshe (Literary Society) ( 文學社 ). Jiang Yiwu ( 蔣翊武 )
7812-418: The UK government. Both Nationalists and Communist soldiers within the army participated in the rioting and looting of foreign residents in Nanjing. NRA took Beijing in 1928. The city was the internationally recognized capital, even when it was previously controlled by warlords. This event allowed the KMT to receive widespread diplomatic recognition in the same year. The capital was moved from Beijing to Nanjing,
7936-416: The US. This became an issue which proved to be a hindrance of its relationship with US government . US President Harry S. Truman wrote that " the Chiangs , the Kungs and the Soongs (were) all thieves", having taken $ 750 million in US aid. Lai Ching-te Lai Ching-te ( Chinese : 賴清德 ; born 6 October 1959), also known as William Lai , is a Taiwanese politician and former physician who
8060-418: The United Nations Chinese unification Taiwan independence movement Taiwanese nationalism Tangwai movement The Kuomintang ( KMT ), also referred to as the Guomindang ( GMD ), the Nationalist Party of China ( NPC ) or the Chinese Nationalist Party ( CNP ), is a political party in the Republic of China , initially based on the Chinese mainland and then in Taiwan since 1949. The KMT
8184-501: The Zhennanguan Uprising (鎮南關起事) took place at Zhennanguan along the Chinese-Vietnamese border. Sun Yat-sen sent Huang Mintang ( 黃明堂 ) to monitor the pass, which was guarded by a fort. With the assistance of supporters among the fort's defenders, the revolutionaries captured the cannon tower in Zhennanguan. Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing and Hu Hanmin personally went to the tower to command the battle. The Qing government sent troops led by Long Jiguang and Lu Rongting to counterattack, and
8308-463: The anti-Manchu Tongmenghui revolutionary alliance. The Black Dragon Society hosted the Tongmenghui in its first meeting. The Black Dragon Society had very intimate, long term and influential relations with Sun Yat-sen who sometimes passed himself off as Japanese. According to an American military historian, Japanese military officers were part of the Black Dragon Society. The Yakuza and Black Dragon Society helped arrange in Tokyo for Sun Yat-sen to hold
8432-402: The army to disperse. Accordingly, this uprising also failed. British soldier Rowland J. Mulkern participated in this uprising. A very short uprising occurred from 25 to 28 January 1903, to establish a "Great Ming Heavenly Kingdom" ( 大明順天國 ). This involved Tse Tsan-tai , Li Jitang ( 李紀堂 ), Liang Muguang ( 梁慕光 ) and Hong Quanfu ( 洪全福 ), who formerly took part in the Jintian uprising during
8556-426: The assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe , he made a private trip to Tokyo to pay his respects and became Taiwan's most senior official to visit Japan in five decades. In November 2022, Lai led representatives of Taiwan's travel agencies and industry associations to Palau to foster collaborations between the two countries. In November 2022, president Tsai Ing-wen resigned as leader of DPP after
8680-520: The cities of Qinzhou and Lianzhou in Guangdong. The struggle continued for fourteen days but was forced to stop after the revolutionaries ran out of supplies. In April 1908, another uprising was launched in Yunnan , Hekou, called the Hekou Uprising ( 雲南河口起義 ). Huang Mingtang ( 黃明堂 ) led two hundred men from Vietnam and attacked Hekou on 30 April. Other participating revolutionaries included Wang Heshun ( 王和順 ) and Guan Renfu ( 關仁甫 ). They were outnumbered and defeated by government troops, however, and
8804-531: The collapse of the Chinese monarchy , the end of over two millennia of imperial rule in China and the 200-year reign of the Qing, and the beginning of China's early republican era . The Qing had struggled for a long time to reform the government and resist foreign aggression, but the program of reforms after 1900 was opposed by conservatives in the Qing court as too radical and by reformers as too slow. Several factions, including underground anti-Qing groups , revolutionaries in exile, reformers who wanted to save
8928-538: The communist army survived. A new base, the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region , was created with Soviet aid. KMT secret police persecuted suspected communists and political opponents with terror . In The Birth of Communist China , C.P. Fitzgerald describes China under the rule of the KMT thus: "the Chinese people groaned under a regime Fascist in every quality except efficiency." In 1936, Chiang
9052-532: The communists in the civil war. From 1949 to 1987, the KMT ruled Taiwan as an authoritarian one-party state after the February 28 incident . During this period, martial law was in effect and civil liberties were curtailed as part of its anti-communism efforts, with the period known as the White Terror . The party oversaw Taiwan's economic development , but experienced diplomatic setbacks , including
9176-631: The country. Sun Yat-sen was the leader of this unified group. Other revolutionaries who worked with the Tongmenghui include Wang Jingwei and Hu Hanmin . When the Tongmenghui was established, more than 90% of the Tongmenghui members were between 17 and 26 years of age. Some of the work in the era includes manhua publications such as the Journal of Current Pictorial . In February 1906, Rizhihui ( 日知會 ) also had many revolutionaries, including Sun Wu ( 孫武 ), Zhang Nanxian ( 張難先 ), He Jiwei and Feng Mumin. A nucleus of attendees at this conference evolved into
9300-504: The first Kuomintang meetings, and were hoping to flood China with opium and overthrow the Qing and deceive the Chinese into overthrowing the Qing to Japan's benefit. After the revolution was successful, the Japanese Black Dragons started infiltrating China and spreading opium. The Black Dragons pushed for the takeover of Manchuria by Japan in 1932. Sun Yat-sen was married to a Japanese woman, Kaoru Otsuki . The New Army
9424-423: The first time in the ROC history. The 2000 presidential election ended 72 years of KMT's dominance in the ROC. The KMT reclaimed power from 2008 to 2016, with the landslide victory of Ma Ying-jeou in the 2008 presidential election , whose presidency significantly loosened restrictions on economic and cultural exchanges with the People's Republic of China. The KMT lost the presidency and its legislative majority in
9548-445: The foreign powers and the Qing dynasty. The KMT government demanded that the foreign powers renegotiate the treaties on equal terms. Before the Northern Expedition, the KMT began as a heterogeneous group advocating American-inspired federalism and provincial autonomy. However, the KMT under Chiang's leadership aimed at establishing a centralized one-party state with one ideology. This was even more evident following Sun's elevation into
9672-482: The form of military intimidation and an international blockade. In November 2018, Lai tendered his resignation to the president, after the ruling DPP was trounced in local elections. Lai agreed to remain in office to help stabilize the government until the general budget was cleared by the Legislative Yuan in January 2019. Lai's cabinet resigned on 11 January 2019 and Su Tseng-chang was appointed as new premier. On 18 March 2019, Lai Ching-te registered to run in
9796-463: The formal independence or the unification. The KMT traces its ideological and organizational roots to the work of Sun Yat-sen , a proponent of Chinese nationalism and democracy who founded the Revive China Society at the capital of the Republic of Hawaii , Honolulu , on 24 November 1894. On 20 August 1905, Sun joined forces with other anti-monarchist societies in Tokyo, Empire of Japan , to form
9920-732: The formation of the First United Front , Sun Yat-sen sent Chiang to spend three months in Moscow studying the political and military system of the Soviet Union. Although Chiang did not follow the Soviet Communist doctrine, he, like the Communist Party, sought to destroy warlordism and foreign imperialism in China , and upon his return established the Whampoa Military Academy near Guangzhou, following
10044-538: The fragmented nation , leading to the fall of the Beiyang government . KMT was the sole ruling party of the ROC in China from 1928 to 1949, however the party had no actual control over a lot of territory during this period due to the civil war with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the war against Japanese aggression. The party retreated to Taiwan in December 1949, following its defeat by
10168-538: The governors-general of Hunan and Hubei. About twenty conspirators were arrested and executed. On 8 October 1900, Sun Yat-sen ordered the launch of the Huizhou Uprising ( 惠州起義 ). The revolutionary army was led by Zheng Shiliang and initially included 20,000 men, who fought for half a month. However, after Japanese prime minister Hirobumi Ito prohibited Sun Yat-sen from carrying out revolutionary activities on Taiwan, Zheng Shiliang had no choice but to order
10292-522: The imperial family. Besides Chinese and overseas Chinese, some supporters and participants of the 1911 Revolution were foreigners; among them, the Japanese were the most active group. Some Japanese even became members of Tongmenghui. Miyazaki Touten was the closest Japanese supporter; others included Heiyama Shu and Ryōhei Uchida . Homer Lea , an American, who became Sun Yat-sen's closest foreign advisor in 1910, supported Sun Yat-sen's military ambitions. British soldier Rowland J. Mulkern also took part in
10416-454: The issue of Taiwanese independence. However, on 20 October, in response to General Secretary Xi Jinping 's comments on the one China policy and the 1992 consensus at the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party , Lai said that the Taiwanese government, following the directives of Tsai Ing-wen, would fulfill its promise of not changing the status quo between the two neighbors and not ceding before pressure from Beijing, which comes in
10540-467: The late Taiwanese painter Tan Ting-pho and met politicians of the Chinese Communist Party . Lai stood for reelection on 29 November 2014 against Huang Hsiu-shuang of the Kuomintang. His opponent was considered to have such an uphill task in the DPP stronghold that she rode a black horse through the streets of Tainan as an election stunt; a hopeful allusion to her status as a "dark horse". Lai, on
10664-471: The monarchy by modernizing it, and activists across the country debated how or whether to overthrow the Qing dynasty. The flash-point came on 10 October 1911, with the Wuchang Uprising , an armed rebellion among members of the New Army . Similar revolts then broke out spontaneously around the country, and revolutionaries in all provinces of the country renounced the Qing dynasty. On 1 November 1911,
10788-520: The new armies. The famine in 1906 and 1907 was also a major contributor to the revolution. Following the death of the Guangxu Emperor and Cixi in 1908, the throne was inherited by the two-year-old Xuantong Emperor , with Prince Chun as a regent. The Prince continued the reform path of Cixi, but conservative Manchu elements in the court opposed it, causing further support for revolutionaries. Many revolutionaries and groups wanted to overthrow
10912-480: The number "6348". In 1900, after the Boxer Rebellion started, Tang Caichang ( 唐才常 ) and Tan Sitong of the previous Foot Emancipation Society organized the Independence Army. The Independence Army Uprising ( 自立軍起義 ) was planned to occur on 23 August 1900. Their goal was to overthrow Empress Dowager Cixi to establish a constitutional monarchy under the Guangxu Emperor. Their plot was discovered by
11036-461: The ones organized by Sun and supported Japanese taking over Manchuria. The anti-Qing Tongmenghui was founded and based in exile in Japan where many anti-Qing revolutionaries gathered. The Japanese had been trying to unite anti-Manchu groups made out of Han people to take down the Qing. The Japanese were the ones who helped Sun Yat-sen unite all anti-Qing, anti-Manchu revolutionary groups together, and there were Japanese like Tōten Miyazaki inside of
11160-598: The opportunity, capturing several towns. They defeated the Qing army once again in Bazhiyie. Many organizations voiced their support after the uprising, and the number of revolutionary forces increased to two hundred men at its height. The uprising, however, ultimately failed. On 6 July 1907, Xu Xilin of Guangfuhui led an uprising in Anqing , Anhui, which became known as the Anqing Uprising ( 安慶起義) . Xu Xilin at
11284-523: The original capital of the Ming dynasty , and thus a symbolic purge of the final Qing elements. This period of KMT rule in China between 1927 and 1937 was relatively stable and prosperous and is still known as the Nanjing decade . After the Northern Expedition in 1928, the Nationalist government under the KMT declared that China had been exploited for decades under the unequal treaties signed between
11408-590: The other hand, did not plan many campaign activities, choosing to focus on mayoral duties. He eventually won the election by 45 percentage points, the largest margin of victory in any of the municipal races in the election. Lai stepped down as Mayor in September 2017, after being appointed to the Premiership. He was succeeded in acting capacity by Lee Meng-yen . In September 2017, Premier Lin Chuan tendered his resignation to President Tsai Ing-wen , which
11532-493: The party's heavy losses in local elections . Lai officially registered as a candidate for the DPP chair election in December. Since Lai was the only candidate running, he became the new chairman of the DPP in 2023. In March 2023, Lai registered as the only person to run in the DPP's 2024 presidential primary and was officially nominated by the ruling party in April. On 21 November 2023, Lai formally registered his campaign at
11656-474: The people and issuing the Gold Standard Scrip in exchange. As most farmland in the north were under CCP's control, the cities governed by the KMT lacked food supply and this added to the hyperinflation. The new scrip became worthless in only ten months and greatly reinforced the nationwide perception of the KMT as a corrupt or at best inept entity. Third, Chiang Kai-shek ordered his forces to defend
11780-578: The power of Yuan. The Nationalists won an overwhelming majority in the first National Assembly election in December 1912. However, Yuan soon began to ignore the parliament in making presidential decisions. Song Jiaoren was assassinated in Shanghai in 1913. Members of the Nationalists, led by Sun Yat-sen, suspected that Yuan was behind the plot and thus staged the Second Revolution in July 1913,
11904-504: The previous administration's New Southbound Policy , signing an investment pact with Thailand in June 2024. Thailand became the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since the announcement of the policy in 2016. Ching-te reaffirmed the island's commitment to resisting Chinese annexation, emphasizing its sovereignty during National Day celebrations. He also expressed hopes for dialogue with Beijing, despite ongoing military pressure and tensions. Previously, Lai
12028-515: The provincial capital of Guangdong . The Guangxi warlords pledged loyalty to the KMT. The KMT now became a rival government in opposition to the warlord Beiyang government based in Beijing . Chiang assumed leadership of the KMT on 6 July 1926. Unlike Sun Yat-sen, whom he admired greatly and who forged all his political, economic, and revolutionary ideas primarily from what he had learned in Hawaii and indirectly through Hong Kong and Japan under
12152-460: The revolution. Some foreigners, such as English explorer Arthur de Carle Sowerby , led expeditions to rescue foreign missionaries in 1911 and 1912. The far right-wing Japanese ultra-nationalist Black Dragon Society supported Sun Yat-sen's activities against the Manchus, believing that overthrowing the Qing would help the Japanese take over the Manchu homeland and that Han Chinese would not oppose
12276-594: The revolutionaries were forced to retreat into the mountainous areas. After this uprising's failure, Sun was forced to move to Singapore due to anti-Sun sentiments within the revolutionary groups. He would not return to the mainland until after the Wuchang Uprising. On 27 March 1908, Huang Xing launched a raid, later known as the Qin-lian Uprising ( 欽廉上思起義 ), from a base in Vietnam and attacked
12400-426: The same year, Sun Yat-sen sent more revolutionaries to Huizhou to launch the "Huizhou Qinühu Uprising" ( 惠州七女湖起義 ). On 2 June, Deng Zhiyu ( 鄧子瑜 ) and Chen Chuan ( 陳純 ) gathered some followers, and together they seized Qing arms in the lake, 20 km (12 mi) from Huizhou. They killed several Qing soldiers and attacked Taiwei ( 泰尾 ) on 5 June. The Qing army fled in disorder, and the revolutionaries exploited
12524-582: The spirit of the revolution. As a result, he became largely sidelined within the Republican movement during this period. Sun returned to China in 1917 to establish a military junta at Canton to oppose the Beiyang government but was soon forced out of office and exiled to Shanghai . There, with renewed support, he resurrected the KMT on 10 October 1919, under the name Kuomintang of China ( 中國國民黨 ) and established its headquarters in Canton in 1920. In 1923,
12648-793: The support of the Soviet agent Mikhail Borodin , Wang declared the National Government as having moved to Wuhan. Having taken Nanjing in March, Chiang halted his campaign and prepared a violent break with Wang and his communist allies. Chiang's expulsion of the CCP and their Soviet advisers, marked by the Shanghai massacre on 12 April, led to the beginning of the Chinese Civil War . Wang finally surrendered his power to Chiang. Once this split had been healed, Chiang resumed his Northern Expedition and managed to take Shanghai. During
12772-446: The swearing-in of his successor Su Tseng-chang . Lai mounted an unsuccessful challenge against Tsai in the 2019 Democratic Progressive Party presidential primary , then served as Tsai's running mate in the 2020 Taiwan presidential election . In April 2023, Lai was nominated by the DPP as their presidential candidate for the 2024 presidential election and was elected with 40.05% of votes. He took office as President on 20 May 2024. Lai
12896-535: The takeover. Toyama believed that the Japanese could easily take over Manchuria and that Sun Yat-sen and other anti-Qing revolutionaries would not resist and help the Japanese take over and enlarge the opium trade in China, while the Qing was trying to destroy the opium trade. The Japanese Black Dragons supported Sun Yat-sen and anti-Manchu revolutionaries until the Qing collapsed. The far right-wing Japanese ultranationalist Gen'yōsha leader Tōyama Mitsuru supported anti-Manchu, anti-Qing revolutionary activities including
13020-456: The time was the police commissioner as well as the supervisor of the police academy. He led an uprising that aimed to assassinate the provincial governor of Anhui, En Ming ( 恩銘 ). They were defeated after four hours of fighting. Xu was captured, and En Ming's bodyguards cut out his heart and liver and ate them. His cousin Qiu Jin was executed a few days later. From August to September 1907,
13144-688: The uprising failed. On 19 November 1908, the Mapaoying Uprising ( 馬炮營起義 ) was launched by revolutionary group Yuewanghui ( 岳王會 ) member Xiong Chenggei ( 熊成基) in Anhui . Yuewanghui, at this time, was a subset of Tongmenghui . This uprising also failed. In February 1910, the Gengxu New Army Uprising ( 庚戌新軍起義 ), also known as the Guangzhou New Army Uprising ( 廣州新軍起義 ), took place. This involved
13268-460: The urbanized cities. This decision gave CCP a chance to move freely through the countryside. At first, the KMT had the edge with the aid of weapons and ammunition from the United States (US). However, with the country suffering from hyperinflation , widespread corruption and other economic ills, the KMT continued to lose popular support. Some leading officials and military leaders of the KMT hoarded material, armament and military-aid funding provided by
13392-534: The vote over Lai's 27.48 percent, officially becoming the DPP's presidential candidate for the 2020 election. In November 2019, Lai accepted president Tsai Ing-wen's offer to become her running mate for the 2020 presidential election . Tsai secured over 57% of the ballot, winning a record 8.17 million votes in the election and began her second term in 2020. During his vice presidency, Lai served as president Tsai Ing-wen's special envoy to Honduras for president Xiomara Castro 's inauguration in January 2022. After
13516-775: The war, the conflicts among the cliques would have a devastating effect on the survival of the KMT. Muslim Generals in Gansu waged war against the Guominjun in favor of the KMT during the conflict in Gansu in 1927–1930 . In 1931, Japanese aggression resumed with the Mukden Incident and occupation of Manchuria, and the CCP founded the Chinese Soviet Republic (CSR) in Jiangxi while secretly recruiting within
13640-487: Was "Take one province by force, and inspire the other provinces to rise". The Guangfuhui (Restoration Society) was also founded in 1904, in Shanghai, by Cai Yuanpei . Other notable members include Zhang Binglin and Tao Chengzhang. Despite professing the anti-Qing cause, the Guangfuhui was highly critical of Sun Yat-sen. One of the most famous female revolutionaries was Qiu Jin , who fought for women's rights and
13764-581: Was "to expel the Tatar barbarians, to revive Zhonghua , to establish a Republic, and to distribute land equally among the people." ( 驅除韃虜, 恢復中華, 創立民國, 平均地權 ). Many underground groups promoted the ideas of "Resist Qing and restore Ming" (反清復明) that had been around since the days of the Taiping Rebellion . Others, such as Zhang Binglin , spread calls to "slay the Manchus" ( 興漢滅胡 ) and the concept of "Anti-Manchuism" ( 排滿主義 ). Many groups supported
13888-584: Was a failure. Under pressure from the Qing government, the government of Hong Kong banned the two men from the territory for five years. Sun Yat-sen went into exile, promoting the Chinese revolution and raising funds in Japan, the United States, Canada, and Britain. In 1901, following the Huizhou Uprising, Yeung Ku-wan was assassinated by Qing agents in Hong Kong. After his death, his family protected his identity by not putting his name on his tomb, just
14012-580: Was also from Guangfuhui. Gelaohui (Elder Brother Society) was another group, with Zhu De , Wu Yuzhang , Liu Zhidan ( 劉志丹 ) and He Long . This revolutionary group would eventually develop a strong link with the later Communist Party . Sun Yat-sen successfully united the Revive China Society, Huaxinghui and Guangfuhui in the summer of 1905, thereby establishing the unified Tongmenghui (United League) in August 1905 in Tokyo. While it started in Tokyo, it had loose organizations distributed across and outside
14136-418: Was born in the United States in 2020. 1911 Revolution [REDACTED] Qing dynasty The 1911 Revolution , also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution , ended China's last imperial dynasty , the Qing dynasty , and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade of agitation, revolts, and uprisings. Its success marked
14260-728: Was born into a working-class coal mining family in Wanli , a rural coastal town in northern Taipei County (now New Taipei City) on 6 October 1959. Lai's father died on 8 January 1960 of carbon monoxide poisoning while laboring in the coal mines of Wanli. His widowed mother raised him and his five siblings as a single parent . Lai underwent schooling in Taipei City and studied at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of National Taiwan University in Taipei, receiving
14384-527: Was chosen as the leader. These two organizations would play a big role in the Wuchang Uprising. Many young revolutionaries adopted the anarchist program . In Tokyo, Liu Shipei proposed to overthrow the Manchus and return to Chinese classical values. In Paris, well-connected young intellectuals, Li Shizhen, Wu Zhihui and Zhang Renjie , agreed with Sun's revolutionary program and joined the Tongmenghui, but argued that simply replacing one government with another would not be progress; fundamental cultural change,
14508-411: Was formed in 1901 after the defeat of the Qing in the First Sino-Japanese War . They were launched by a decree from eight provinces. New Army troops were by far the best trained and equipped. Recruits were of a higher quality than the old army and received regular promotions. Beginning in 1908, the revolutionaries began to shift their call to the new armies. Sun Yat-sen and the revolutionaries infiltrated
14632-595: Was kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang in the Xi'an Incident and forced into the Second United Front , an anti-Japanese alliance with the CCP; the Second Sino-Japanese War started the following year. The alliance brought little coordination and was treated as a temporary cease fire in the civil war. The New Fourth Army Incident in 1941 ended the alliance. Japan surrendered in 1945, and Taiwan
14756-507: Was one of the 72. On the eve of battle, he wrote "A Letter to My Wife" ( 與妻訣別書 ), later to be considered a masterpiece in Chinese literature. The Literary Society ( 文學社 ) and the Progressive Association ( 共進會 ) were revolutionary organizations involved in the uprising that mainly began with a Railway Protection Movement protest. In the late summer, some Hubei New Army units were ordered to neighboring Sichuan to quell
14880-596: Was reluctantly accepted. A recent poll showed Lin's approval rating to be a mere 28.7%, with 6 in 10 respondents dissatisfied with the performance of his cabinet. On 5 September, President Tsai announced at a press conference that Lai would become the country's next head of the Executive Yuan. Lai took office on 8 September as the 49th Premier of Taiwan. Following Lai's appointment as premier, Tsai's approval ratings reached 46%, rebounding by more than 16 points since August. Lai made his first appearance as premier at
15004-406: Was returned to the Republic of China on 25 October of that year. The brief period of celebration was soon shadowed by the possibility of a civil war between the KMT and CCP. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan just before it surrendered and occupied Manchuria , the north eastern part of China. The Soviet Union denied the KMT army the right to enter the region but allowed the CCP to take control of
15128-424: Was tasked with designing the revolutionaries' Blue Sky with a White Sun flag. On 26 October 1895, Yeung Ku-wan and Sun Yat-sen led Zheng Shiliang and Lu Haodong to Guangzhou, preparing to capture Guangzhou in one strike. However, the details of their plans were leaked to the Qing government. The government began to arrest revolutionaries, including Lu Haodong, who was later executed. The First Guangzhou Uprising
15252-487: Was the leader of the first Chinese Church of Christ. Overseas Chinese supported and actively participated in funding revolutionary activities, especially the Southeast Asian Chinese of British Malaya . Many of these groups were reorganized by Sun, who was referred to as the "father of the Chinese revolution". The Qing government established new schools and encouraged students to study abroad as part of
15376-415: Was viewed as a "deep green" member of the DPP, advocating for Taiwanese independence . As the mayor of Tainan, Lai called himself a "pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence" and argued it was possible to "love Taiwan while having an affinity to China". He has since moderated his position, saying that there was no need to declare independence as " Taiwan is already a sovereign, independent country called
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