The Fight for the Republic in ChinaPutnam Weale, B. L. (Bertram Lenox)
History
The Fight for the Republic in China
Putnam Weale, B. L. (Bertram Lenox)
China -- History -- Republic, 1912-1949; China -- Politics and government
Mr. Hu: During the first and second years of the Republic, in my
many conversations with the members of the Kuo Ming Tang, I said
that the republic could not form an efficient method of control,
and that there would be an over centration of power through the
adoption of monarchical methods of ruling, knowing as well as I
did the standards of our people. When the members of the Kuo Ming
Tang came to draw up the Provisional Constitution they purposely
took precisely the opposite course of action and ignored my
suggestion. It may, however, be mentioned that the Provisional
Constitution made in Nanking was not so bad, but after the
government was removed to Peking, the Kuo Ming Tang people tied
the hand and foot of the government by means of the Cabinet System
and other restrictions with the intention of weakening the power
of the central administration in order that they might be able to
start another revolution. From the dissolution of the Nanking
government to the time of the second revolution they had this one
object in view, namely to weaken the power of the central
administration so that they could contend for the office of the
president by raising further internal troubles in China. Those
members of the Kuo Ming Tang who made the constitution know as
well as I that China's republic must be governed through a
monarchical administration; and therefore the unreasonable
restrictions in the Provisional Constitution were purposely
inserted.
Mr. Ko: What is the difference between the constitutional
government which you have proposed and the constitutional
government which the Manchu Dynasty intended to adopt?
Mr. Hu: The difference lies in the proper method of procedure and
in honesty of purpose, which are imperative if constitutional
government expects to be successful.
Mr. Ko: What do you mean by the proper method of procedure?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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