National Assembly (Republic of China) - 1946 Constitution

1946 Constitution

In 1946, the Kuomintang promulgated a new constitution and its first National Assembly met in 1948 in Nanjing, then the Chinese capital. Shortly afterwards in 1949, the Mainland fell to the Communists in the Chinese Civil War, and the National Assembly (along with the entire ROC government) was transplanted to Taipei. Apart from the KMT, the only legal parties were the Democratic Socialists and the Chinese Youth Party.

Under the constitution, it main duty was to elect the President and Vice President, both for a term of six years. Reciprocal to this duty, it also had the right to recall the President and Vice President due to political responsibilities. According to "National Assembly Duties Act," the National Assembly could amend the constitution with a two-thirds majority, with at least three-quarters membership present. It could also change the territorial boundaries. The right to legislate was put into moratorium until more than half of counties in the nation has exercised this right by their County Representatives' Assemblies. These rights were derived from the rights that the Dr Sun Yet-sen thought the people ought to have.

The first National Assembly was to have been elected for a period of only six years. However, according to the Kuomintang (KMT) leadership, the fall of the Mainland made it impossible to hold new elections in the mainland, as all Mainland provinces were undergoing "Communist rebellion". As a result, the Judicial Yuan decided that the original members of the National Assembly of communist controlled constituencies would continue to hold office until the constituencies are recaptured. National Assembly elections were still held to replace delegates of territories under ROC control.