Republic of China declaration of war on Germany

Last updated

The Republic of China's declaration of war on Germany was a topic of vigorous debate from April to May 1917 in the first National Assembly of the Republic of China governed by the Beiyang government, involving the question of whether to participate in World War I by declaring war on Germany.

The National Assembly had already ratified the cessation  [ Wikidata ] of diplomatic relations with Germany in February and March. The hawkish faction in the assembly was led by Premier Duan Qirui, who had secretly borrowed money from the Japanese government, as the press revealed in May in a scandal called the Nishihara Loans. This caused the National Assembly to delay the declaration of war.

After a failed attempt to restore the Manchu Imperial House in July, the dovish faction suffered a setback in the resignation of President Li Yuanhong. The second Duan cabinet then declared war against the German Empire and Austria-Hungary on 14 August 1917, denouncing all treaties with them, retrieving the concessions and leases in Tianjin and Hankou from them, and supporting the Entente Powers. The controversy over the declaration of war against Germany was part of the power struggle  [ zh ] between the president and the premier in the nascent Republic of China. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution of the Republic of China</span> Supreme law of the East Asian country

The Constitution of the Republic of China, also known as the Constitution of Taiwan, is the current constitution of Taiwan and the fifth constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the Constituent National Assembly session on 25 December 1946, in Nanjing, and adopted on 25 December 1947. The constitution, along with its Additional Articles, remains effective in ROC-controlled territories.

The history of the Republic of China began in 1912 with the end of the Qing dynasty, when the Xinhai Revolution and the formation of the Republic of China put an end to 2,000 years of imperial rule. The Republic experienced many trials and tribulations after its founding which included being dominated by elements as disparate as warlord generals and foreign powers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Li Yuanhong</span> Fourth President of the Republic of China

Li Yuanhong was a Chinese politician during the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China. He was the first Vice President of China from 1912 to 1913 as well as the president of the Republic of China between 1916 and 1917, and between 1922 and 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cao Kun</span> Chinese general and warlord (1862–1938)

General Cao Kun was a Chinese warlord and politician, who served as the President of the Republic of China from 1923 to 1924, as well as the military leader of the Zhili clique in the Beiyang Army; he also served as a trustee of the Catholic University of Peking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warlord Era</span> Period in the history of the Republic of China (1916–1928)

The Warlord Era was a period in the history of the Republic of China when control of the country was divided among former military cliques of the Beiyang Army and other regional factions from 1916 to 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beiyang government</span> Government of the early Republic of China

The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zhili clique</span> Chinese faction during the Warlord Era

The Zhili clique was a military faction that split from the Republic of China's Beiyang Army of the during the country's Warlord Era. It was named for Zhili Province, which was the clique's base of power. At its height, it also controlled Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Hubei.

The Anhui clique was a military and political organization, one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang clique in the Republic of China's Warlord Era. It was named after Anhui province because several of its generals–including its founder, Duan Qirui–were born in Anhui.

The Constitutional Protection Movement was a series of movements led by Sun Yat-sen to resist the Beiyang government between 1917 and 1922, in which Sun established another government in Guangzhou as a result. It was known as the Third Revolution by the Kuomintang. The constitution that it intended to protect was the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China. The first movement lasted from 1917 to 1920; the second from 1921 to 1922. An attempted third movement, begun in 1923, ultimately became the genesis for the Northern Expedition in 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchu Restoration</span> Royalist attempt to restore the Qing dynasty, July 1917

The Manchu Restoration or Dingsi Restoration, also known as Zhang Xun Restoration, or Xuantong Restoration, was an attempt to restore the Chinese monarchy by General Zhang Xun, whose army seized Beijing and briefly reinstalled the last emperor of the Qing dynasty, Puyi, to the throne. The restoration lasted just less than two weeks, from July 1, 1917 to July 12, 1917, and was quickly reversed by Republican troops. Despite the uprising's popular name, almost all putschists were ethnic Han.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beijing Coup</span> 1924 coup détat in China

The Beijing Coup was the October 1924 coup d'état by Feng Yuxiang against Chinese President Cao Kun, leader of the Zhili warlord faction. Feng called it the Capital Revolution. The coup occurred at a crucial moment in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War and allowed the pro-Japanese Fengtian clique to defeat the previously dominant Zhili clique. Followed by a brief period of liberalization under Huang Fu, this government was replaced on November 23, 1924 by a conservative, pro-Japanese government led by Duan Qirui. The coup alienated many liberal Chinese from the Beijing government.

The Anfu Club was a political organisation in China. It controlled the National Assembly of the Republic of China after the elections of 1918. The organisation was forced to disband after the defeat of its patrons, the Anhui Clique, during the Zhili–Anhui War. The club was formed on 8 March 1918 from the Zhonghe Club, a political group organised by Jin Yunpeng on the order of Duan Qirui on 27 March 1917. The Anfu Club was primarily organised by Duan's right-hand man, Xu Shuzheng, along with the politicians Wang Yitang, Zeng Yujun, Liu Enge and others. At its height, the organisation controlled roughly 330 seats in the National Assembly. The Club got its name from Anfu Hutong, the street on which the members meet.

The Progressive Party was a political party in the Republic of China from 1913 to 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feng Guozhang</span> Chinese general and politician

Feng Guozhang, was a Chinese general and politician in early republican China. He held the office of Vice-President and then President of the Republic of China. He is considered the founder of the warlord faction, the Zhili clique, that vied for control of northern China during the Warlord Era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duan Qirui</span> Chinese warlord and politician (1865–1936)

Duan Qirui was a Chinese warlord, politician and commander of the Beiyang Army who ruled as the effective dictator of northern China in the late 1910s. He was the Premier of the Republic of China on four occasions between 1913 and 1918, and from 1924 to 1926 he served as acting Chief Executive of the Republic of China in Beijing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1918 Chinese National Assembly election</span>

The 1918 Chinese National Assembly elections, held in May to June, were the elections for the second National Assembly. The bicameral assembly consisted of a senate and a house of representatives. Representatives were directly elected while senators were elected by provincial assemblies.

The National Assembly was the legislative branch of the Beiyang government during the Republican era of Chinese history. The National Assembly was first founded in 1913, following the overthrow of the previous Qing dynasty, as the first free democratic legislature in Chinese history. It was disbanded less than a year later as President Yuan Shikai assumed dictatorial power and declared himself the Emperor of China. During the Warlord Era, the National Assembly was resurrected and disbanded more than once as different warlords vied for power and legitimacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China during World War I</span> China in World War I

China participated in World War I from 1917 to 1918 in an alliance with the Entente Powers. Although China never sent troops overseas, 140,000 Chinese labourers served for both British and French forces before the end of the war. While neutral since 1914, Tuan Ch'i-jui, Premier of the Republic of China, spearheaded Chinese involvement in World War I. Tuan wanted to integrate China with Europe and the United States by declaring on the side of the Allies against the Central Powers. On 14 August 1917, China ended its neutrality, declaring war on the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The Tientsin Conference, beginning 10 November 1924, was a series of conferences between powerful Chinese warlords on the future government of China. It was hoped the result would be the reunification of the Beiyang government with the Kuomintang's rival government led by Sun Yat-sen in Canton and an end to the Warlord Era.

The Sino-Japanese Joint Defence Agreement was a series of secret military unequal treaties between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, signed in May 1918. Drawn up following China's entry into the First World War on the part of the Allied Powers, the agreements, which were concluded in secrecy, granted Japan numerous military privileges within Chinese territory along the Sino-Russian border. The content of agreements were leaked to the press at an early stage, sparking a widespread protest movement by Chinese students in Japan and across China. The agreements were officially terminated in January 1921, their continuance made untenable by Chinese public opinion.

References

  1. "第一次世界大战新旧国会"对德宣战案"始末" (PDF). 中南大学学报(社会科学版) (1). 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2021-01-22.