Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.2, 2017

 

The Proposal to Abolish the Provinces during Xiong Xiling’s Cabinet

(Abstract)

 

Chen Ming

 

When Xiong Xiling became Premier of the Beijing government, he proposed to solve the government’s financial problems, achieve national unity and centralized power, and support the establishment of a strong central government by abolishing the provincial system. This proposal was included in policy guidelines and was the subject of active planning. While plans were under way, a variety of different views emerged in the Office of the President and the State Council, and the same was true of the State Council. The changing situation and political expedience led Yuan Shikai to take changing positions on the Xiong Xiling cabinet proposal. When he needed recourse to their influence in order to get on good terms with the Progressive Party and seek greater power, Yuan humored them, seeking to expand his influence; but when provincial governors, unaware of these maneuverings, expressed their support for the proposal, Yuan secretly instructed his cronies to oppose it. Once he had strengthened his control and the provincial governors had begun to support introduction of a presidential system, he switched to supporting retention of the provincial system. The concerted resistance of Yuan and the provincial governors meant that the planned abolition of the system was suspended with the downfall of Xiong’s cabinet.