Foreign Concepts and the Transformation of Local Governance (Political Design and Participation of the Chinese Intellectual Elite in the 1920s and 1930s)

Author: Deng Lilan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
Features: When modern China introduced Western political systems, it coincided with the decline of Western parliamentary democracy, which had reached its peak and was now in a downturn. In the first half of the 20th century, the wave of reforming representative institutions in Europe and America deeply influenced Sun Yat-sen and the constitutional ideals of Chinese intellectual elites, as well as the political transformations of the Nanjing regime. The debate over "reforming representative institutions" or "returning to representative institutions" centered around the drafting of the "May Fifth Constitution" between constitutionalists within the Three Principles of the People and Westernized constitutionalists. The political debates in the intellectual circles covered topics such as constitutional salvation, democracy and authoritarianism, administrative reform, and the Five-Yard System, with the entanglement of "human affairs" and "institutions". Establishing a strong government and achieving administrative modernization became a consensus among all factions. The political reforms of the Nanjing government followed the form of the "expert cabinet" in Europe and America, but they were rigidly bound by the "Five-Yard System" and could not progress toward systemic change. This period of constitutional history was a replay of the "self-immolation of democracy" phenomenon on a global scale in China. The tortuous history of constitutionalism during the Republic of China reveals the difficulties traditional large countries face in transitioning to democracy, demonstrating that the transplantation of systems should draw on the long-tested achievements of human civilization. The cultivation of institutions is not an overnight process but requires a gradual nurturing period.