Journal paper

Issue No.	No. 45
Title	The Kwangtung Provincial Assembly During Kwangsi Clique’s Domination Period in Early Republican
Author	Chen Hui-fen
Page	109-170
Abstract	This paper focuses on the first Kwangtung provincial assembly which rebegan holding conferences in Oct. 1916, explores its activities under the Kwangsi Clique’s domination after Yuan’s monarchical movement, and examines the problems it might have in the building of democratic politics in early Republican. The first Kwangtung provincial assembly which almost constituted by KMT members was strongly in favor of Constitutional Protection Movement led by Sun Yat-Sen and boosted Congress Extraordinary Session. Meanwhile, the Kwangsi clique declared the autonomy of Kwangtung, set up monopolies of more important resources, and also the Political Study Group has deeply impact on Kwangtung politics. On the other side, with serious financial difficulties, the Kwangsi clique raised money in hurry; however, at the same time, the Kwangtung provincial assembly attempted the draconian revenue measure. Therefore, their relationship had become frayed and later led to the impeachment of Financial department chief ,Yang Yong-tai.In addition, Kwangsi Clique’s struggle for the military and financial power forced the Kwangtung governor altered frequently. In the whole process, the Kwangtung provincial assembly insisted that the candidates of the Kwangtung governor should be locals and voted by native people, and the thinking also filtered into most people’s mind. However, in 1919, the Communication Clique and the Political Study Group held most seats in second Kwangtung provincial assembly. 　　After the failure of the Kwangsi clique, the reorganized KMT won the political power in Kwangtung. At that time, the United-province autonomy movement led by Chen Chiung-Ming was a flash in the pan. After Chen’s failure, Sun Yat-Sen gradually led China politics to the one-party dictatorship. When the provincial assemblies of other provinces ran in normal, the Kwangtung provincial assembly no more existed. In Summary, the Kwangtung provincial assembly during the Kwangsi clique period protected the rights and interests of the people. Even thought the result was limited, it’s still an important experience in the history of democracy in Kwangtung.
Keyword	Kwangtung assembly, Kwangsi clique, Constitutional Protection Movement, Political Study Group
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