Zhongguo guo min dang

Chinese nationalist political party.

From the description of Zhongguo guo min dang records, 1894-1987. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 754872866

Historical Note

Sun Yat-sen and other overseas Chinese concerned about the situation in China founded the Hsing Chung Hui in Hawaii on 24 November 1894. This organization was superseded by the Tung Meng Hui, formed by Sun and other Chinese in Tokyo on 20 August 1905. The headquarters of the Tung Meng Hui moved to Nanjing after the Republic of China was established in January 1912. Later that year it merged with other groups to form the Kuomintang (Zhongguo guo min dang or Nationalist Party of the Republic of China), with Sun as chairman.

The organization of the Kuomintang (KMT) expanded rapidly. At the First National Party Congress in January 1924 a party constitution was adopted. The congress elected a Central Executive Committee (CEC) to handle party affairs when the congress was not in session, and established a Central Control Committee to oversee party affairs. The CEC was headed by the director of the party, who had final decision-making power over the resolutions passed by the CEC. Sun Yat-sen, who died on 12 March 1925, was the first director. He set up a Political Committee in 1924 to handle party-government relations. At first the Political Committee met by itself, but in 1927 it began meeting with the CEC. The CEC elected a Standing Committee to handle party affairs when the full CEC was not in session. Various departments were established under the CEC, with departmental reorganizations occurring occasionally. This structure remained largely unchanged until 1950.

In 1938, after the war with Japan began, a National Supreme Defense Commission was founded with KMT director general Chiang Kai-shek as its head. All CEC departments, the entire national government, and all military affairs fell under the jurisdiction of this new unit.

The Kuomintang (KMT) was defeated in 1949 by Chinese Communist Party forces and forced to relocate in Taiwan. Following the removal, the KMT entered a period of reorientation and reformation. A Central Reform Committee (CRC) was established in August 1949 to determine the most effective way to revitalize the party. It drafted a new party platform and studied organizational changes, among other activities.

The recommendations of the CRC were subsequently adopted by the Seventh National Party Congress (October 10-20, 1952), and the former Central Executive Committee and the Central Control Committee were replaced by a single Central Committee (CC). The CC elected a Central Standing Committee (CSC), chaired by the director general, with a secretary general to oversee the work of the party departments and committees. Initially the CSC had six sections concerning party affairs in Taiwan, party affairs in mainland China, party affairs overseas, propaganda, handling social organizations, and social and economic research and planning strategies against the enemy. The CSC also had four committees for evaluation, discipline, finance, and party history. A Secretariat for the CSC handled documents, accounting, personnel, and party member welfare.

Another part of the KMT's self-reformation movement in the early 1950s involved intensification of training and indoctrination of cadres working with various mass organizations, like the Chinese Federal of Labor, Chinese Women's Anti-Aggression League, and National Association of Youth Organizations, formed. A system of "basic party cadres" was established to revitalize the party and ensure thorough implementation of party policies and programs at the local level. The cadres worked closely with youth, farmers, laborers, and other groups.

For the two decades after the 1952 reform, the KMT presided over an increasingly repressive political system, followed in the 1970s by cycles of loosening and tightening of controls. Facilitated by party members in critical government positions at all levels, the KMT was able to activate its policies through the legislative and executive yuan (branches) of the government.

The basic structure of the party remained fairly constant during this period. Its organization formed a pyramid paralleling the organization of the government. Local units of up to 15 members formed the base, with the subdistrict, district, county, and provincial organizations above it. At the top was the central unit, the Central Committee. Each level of organization maintained a central committee and an advisory committee. The committees at the base were elected directly by party members, and the congresses (known as assemblies at district and lower levels) at each higher level elected the central and advisory committees for their respective levels.

Going down the pyramid, the Provincial Congress met every two years. It decided on the methods for implementing the KMT's programs and elected the Central Committee. The County Congress met annually to elect its committee members and to formulate policy at its level of authority. The district and subdistrict assemblies were comprised of all party members in the area concerned. The basic unit of 3 to 15 members was responsible for carrying the party's message to the people and recruiting members. Members with no fixed residence, such as railroad workers, seamen, other vocational groups, and Overseas Chinese, had special organizations under the direct control of the central party headquarters.

At the national level, the National Congress, scheduled to meet every few years, continued to be the highest unit of the party. Its chief duties were to amend the party constitution, determine the party platform and policies, review the work of the Central Committee, train and guide party cadres, elect the president, and elect members of the Central Committee.

The Central Committee met annually. Its functions were to execute resolutions of the National Congress and represent the party in its external relations, discuss and administer party and political affairs, organize and direct party branches at various levels, train and guide party cadres, enforce party discipline, and raise funds and administer the party budget.

Because of the large membership of the Central Committee (CC), the real power was vested in its Central Standing Committee (CSC), whose members were elected by the CC. The CSC functioned during the recess of the plenary session of the CC. It could issue orders, make appointments, and call an extraordinary plenary session of the CC when necessary. The CSC initially held unlimited authority because the director general of the party was its chairman, and the ultimate source of power in the party resided with the director general. The director general was elected by the National Congress and possessed absolute veto authority over the decisions of the CC. Chiang Kai-shek was director general from 1938 until his death on 5 April 1975. After his death the position was retired, and Chiang Ching-kuo became party chairman.

A Central Advisory Committee was added in 1969, and the number of seats in the CSC was gradually increased to 21 members.

From the guide to the Zhongguo guo min dang records, 1894-1987, (Hoover Institution Archives)