Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.4, 2013

 

The Basic Law of the Early Republican Era from the Perspective of Comparative Constitutional Law                           

(Abstract)

 

Yang Tianhong

 

The drafting of the early Republican constitutions involved a continuous accumulation of experience. The Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China, which emphasized the "Principle of Democracy" and the strengthening of the legislature, resulted in a flawed political structure with unbalanced powers. The Constitutional Compact of the Republic of China stressed statism, leading to the excessive concentration of power in the executive and thus paving the way for Yuan Shikai’s revival of the monarchy. Although the 'Temple of Heaven' Draft Constitution trimmed congressional power, it retained a distorted system of cabinet responsibility intended to curb the power of the head of state. The text of the Constitution of the Republic of China was more complete than that of its predecessors, but its design for a federal system tended to be vague, without no specific institutional rules or norms that would have coordinated “unity” and “federalism.” The constitutions drafted during this period suffered from the effects of the political situation and from people’s undeveloped political ideas, but the key factor distorting the outcome was the successive manipulation of the two major political factions represented by Kuomintang and the Progressive Party.