5. The Collapse
of
Parliamentary Government, 1913-1914
1913
Military Unrest.
==early.Mar > An attempted revolt
in
Hunan by military revolutionaries
Finance.International.
==Mar.03 > Europeans demand
increased control over the Chinese government in return for the
proposed Reorganization Loan - China balks
==Mar.18 > American President
Wilson
denounces the Chinese Reorganization Loan as a threat to Chinese
independence,
ending of Taft’s ‘Dollar Diplomacy’ in the Far East - US bankers
withdraw
the next day
Violence-regime.
==Mar.20 > The dynamic
Kuomintang
leader Sung Chiao-jen is shot in the Shanghai train station (he
dies
Mar.22) - ~parliamentary government rapidly breaks down in China
==Mar.24 > Sung’s murderer is
arrested - at his home, evidence is found implicating Premier Chao
Politics.
==Mar.25 > Sun Yat-sen, Huang
Hsing,
and other KMT leaders meet in Shanghai to plot against Yüan
==Mar.--- > Provincial assemblies
convene
Military Unrest.
==early.Apr > The Hupei
government
exposes a major revolutionary plot - repeated local military plots to
summer
Politics.
==Apr.08 > The National Assembly
convenes - the provisional Senate disbands
International.
==Apr.08 > Brazil formally
recognizes the Chinese Republic
Politics.Finance.International.
==Apr.20 > Yüan’s secret
Austrian loan is exposed in Parliament
==Apr.26-27 > Yüan’s
government
signs a £25 million Reorganization Loan without parliamentary
approval, in preparation for civil war against the KMT - heavy
concessions to foreign creditors - public outrage
Violence-regime.
==Apr.26 > The assassination of
Sung
Chiao-jen is clearly linked to Premier Chao, probably acting on orders
from
Yüan - ~Sun Yat-sen is ready to remove Yüan by military force
==Apr.28 > Premier Chao denies
any
involvement in Sung’s assassination
Politics.Finance.International.
==Apr.29 > The foreign consortium
pays Yüan £2 million despite pledges to Sun Yat-sen - the
Senate declares
the loan of Apr.26 null and void
US Relations.
==Apr.--- > Courting US public
opinion, Yüan asks for American Protestants to pray for China -
the gullible President
Wilson is “stirred and cheered.”
Mao.
==spring, to spring 1918 > Mao
Tse-tung attends teachers’ college in Changsha - ~he begins forming a
coherent set of political beliefs, advocating a centralized state with
strong radical leadership
Politics.
==May.01 > Premier Chao resigns
for
‘health reasons’ - Army Minister Tuan becomes acting Prime Minister
US Relations.
==May.02 > America becomes the
first
power to extend full diplomatic recognition to Yüan’s government,
which the British ambassador to Peking calls “outrageous”
Politics.
==May.05 > The
Kuomintang-dominated
Parliament declares that the Reorganization Loan is illegal - the
KMT
is moving toward clash with Yüan
==May.07 > Yüan orders the
provinces to prevent revolutionary movements
==early May > Yüan publicly
repudiates the KMT
==May.29 > The Republican,
Democratic, and Unification Parties unite to form the
moderate-conservative Progressive Party in opposition to the KMT
Labor.
==May.29 > Arsenal workers strike
in
Hanyang
Politics.
==May.31 > The Yüan regime
closes down the Nanking branch of the KMT
Transportation.
==Jun.08, to 1914 > The Yüan
government nationalizes railroads
Second Revolution.Japanese Relations.
==Jun.09 > Japan declares her
neutrality in the impending ‘Second Revolution’ - ~in fact, Japan
quietly aids the anti-Yüan
forces
Second Revolution.
==Jun.09-30 > Yüan demands
the
dismissal of opposition governors in Kiangsi, Kwangtung, and Anhwei
provinces
and orders troops to advance on Kiangsi
==end.Jun > A revolt at Wuhan is
quickly suppressed
Politics.Business.Japanese Relations.
==Jun.--- > Japanese firms set up
the China Industrial Company with Sun Yat-sen as director, to further
Japanese exploitation of China in return for Japanese financial aid
Second Revolution.
==Jul.02 > Sun Yat-sen publicly
demands that Yüan resign
==Jul.07 > Yüan’s agents
burn
down the Hunan provincial arsenal
Politics.Military.
==Jul.10 > Yüan prohibits
troops from joining political organizations
Second Revolution.
==Jul.12 > Yüan’s forces
clash
with Kiangsi provincial troops at Chiuchiang (Kiukiang) - Kiangsi
Governor
Li Lieh-chün declares war on Yüan and seizes Hukow - the
‘Second Revolution’ to Sep
==Jul.14 > Nanking declares its
independence from Yüan
==Jul.15 > KMT leader Huang Hsing
arrives in Nanking to organize anti-Yüan forces
==Jul.15 > The KMT compels the
Governor of Kiangsu to pledge support for rebel forces in Kiangsi -
~there is only half-hearted provincial support for the war against
Yüan and widespread opposition to the KMT - ~the constitutionalist
Progressive Party supports Yüan
==mid.Jul > Hupei province sides
with Yüan
==Jul.17 > Anhwei province
declares
independence from the Yüan government
==Jul.18 > The Governor of
Kwangtung
declares independence from the Yüan government
==Jul.20 > The Governor of Fukien
declares independence from the Yüan government
==Jul.22-29 > Rebel attempts to
seize Shanghai are repelled by Yüan’s forces
==Jul.25 > Hunan province
declares
independence from the Yüan government
==Jul.25 > Yüan’s forces
decisively route Kiangsi provincial troops at Hukow - the rebels
retreat toward Nanchang
==Jul.29 > The Governor of
Kiangsu
breaks with the KMT and re-aligns with Yüan
==Jul.29 > The KMT’s situation
around Nanking is deteriorating - Huang Hsing retreats toward Shanghai
Politics.
==Jul.31 > Hsiung Hsi-ling is
appointed Prime Minister of the Peking government with the support of
the moderate Progressive
Party (see Aug.28)
Unrest.
==summer, to 1914 > The White
Wolf
peasant revolt in northwest China
Second Revolution.Business.Japanese
Relations.
==Jul.--- > The Mitsui
Corporation’s
offer of funds to Sun Yat-sen is blocked by the hesitant Japanese
government
Second Revolution.
==Aug.03 > Military mutiny in
Canton
- the KMT Governor of Kwangtung province flees to Hong Kong
Japanese Relations.
==Aug.05-11 > Yüan’s forces
assault Japanese officers at Yenchow and Hankow - Sino-Japanese tension
Second Revolution.
==Aug.07 > Yüan’s forces
crush
the rebels in Anhwei and regain control of the province
==Aug.11 > Yüan’s forces
enter
Canton
==Aug.13 > Yüan’s forces
defeat
the rebels in Shanghai
==Aug.13 > The Governor of Hunan
breaks with the KMT and re-aligns with Yüan
==Aug.18 > Yüan’s forces
peacefully occupy Nanchang - they soon control all of Kiangsi province
==Aug.--- > Sun Yat-sen flees
to Tokyo and soon begins re-organizing the remnants of the KMT into the
Chinese Revolutionary Party
==Sep.01 > Yüan’s forces
take
Nanking after tough resistance and loot the city for three days - central
Chinese opposition to Yüan is crushed: the end of ‘Second
Revolution’
- Peiyang clique warlords control the lower Yangtze till 1926
Politics.
==Aug.10 > Yüan arrests
National Assembly opposition members
==Aug.27 > Yüan arrests more
National Assembly members
==Aug.28 > Hsiung Hsi-ling takes
office as Premier in Peking - he finds that Yüan has already
filled most of
the important cabinet posts
==Sep.11 > Premier Hsiung
announces
his ‘first-class cabinet’ of Progressives and moderate KMT members,
dominated by Yüan’s appointees
Second Revolution.
==Sep.12 > Szechwan cancels its
declaration of independence
Japanese Relations.
==Sep.16 > Japan sends a naval
force
to the Yangtze River, in response to China’s failure to honor a
reparation agreement
==Sep.28 > The Chinese commander
at
Nanking apologizes to Japan for the deaths of three Japanese soldiers
killed
in the looting of Nanking
Politics.
==early.Oct > Yüan gains
control of Hunan, ousting moderate Governor Tan
==Oct.05 > A Parliament committee
draws up articles for electing a president, under pressure from
Yüan
==Oct.06 > Parliament is
compelled
to formally elect Yüan president for a five year term after he has
it surrounded by police disguised as ‘Citizens Corps’ vigilantes
International.
==Oct.06-10 > Britain, Russia,
France, and Japan recognize the Republic of China
US Relations.
==Oct.09 > US President Wilson
congratulates Yüan on being elected President of China
Politics.
==Oct.10 > Yüan is formally
inaugurated as President - the provisional government becomes the
regular government
==Oct.13 > Yüan orders the
arrest of Kiangsi province assemblymen who supported the KMT ‘Second
Revolution’
==Oct.13 > A KMT/Progressive
Constitutional Commission prepares the liberal ‘Temple of Heaven’ draft
constitution
==Oct.15 > Yüan’s government
issues warrants for the arrest of Sun Yat-sen and other Kuomintang
leaders
==Oct.18 > Yüan’s supporters
try to force their way into the parliamentary constitutional committee
- ~Yüan demands the right to decree constitutional law
==Oct.25 > By circular telegram,
Yüan orders his followers nationwide to oppose the constitution
and to press for
dissolution of the KMT
==Oct.31 > Parliament promulgates
the liberal T’ien-t’an Constitution, with a cabinet rather than a
presidential system - the enraged Yüan has eight KMT members
arrested
==Oct.--- > ~The People’s
Constitution Party is formed by Progressives and moderate KMT members
in opposition to
Yüan
==Nov.04 > Yüan orders the
Kuomintang dissolved - 438 parliamentary delegates are ousted, leaving
too few for a
quorum - Yüan effectively shuts down Parliament - ~the KMT
goes underground
==Nov.12 > Yüan orders the
dismissal of all provincial KMT assemblymen
==Nov.26 > Yüan orders that
a
‘Political Conference’ should replace the assembly - ~Parliament
announces
an indefinite adjournment
==Dec.09 > Yüan gains
control
of Hupei, ousting moderate Governor Li Yüan-hung
==Dec.15 > A ‘Political
Conference’
of local representatives (appointed by the Yüan’s government)
meets
in Peking - Hsiung’s proposal to abolish the provinces is
overwhelmingly
rejected
Disasters.
==Dec.21 > Kunming in Yunnan
province is largely destroyed by an earthquake
Politics.
==Dec.29 > The ‘Political
Conference’ announces revised presidential election laws, essentially
making elections meaningless
Chiang.
==Dec.--- > In exile, the young
Chiang Kai-shek begins working closely with Sun Yat-sen
Finance.
==end.1913 > China’s foreign debt
has reached a staggering $835 million
Law.
==1913 > China legalizes
autopsies
Drugs.
==1913 > Britain agrees to end
opium
exports from India
1914
Politics.
==Jan.10 > Yüan formally
dissolves Parliament
Unrest.
==Jan.11 > Rebels in south Honan
take Kwangshan
Violence-regime.
==Jan.19 > Ying, one of the
assassins of Sung Chiao-jen, is murdered near Peking, presumably on
Yüan’s orders
Finance.European Relations.
==Jan.21 > China contracts a 600
million franc French railroad loan - on Mar.09, an £8 million
British railroad loan is contracted
Politics.
==Jan.26 > The Political
Conference
is reorganized as a Constitutional Conference, to enable Yüan to
revise the constitution
==Feb.03 > Yüan orders the
dissolution of local self-governing bodies
Finance.
==Feb.07 > The National Currency
Law
restricts the right to issue money to the central government - the
beginning
of the standardization of Chinese currency
Politics.
==Feb.12 > The disillusioned
Premier
Hsiung and other key cabinet members resign: the end of the ‘first
class
cabinet’
Violence-regime.
==Feb.17 > The sudden death of
former Premier Chao - probably poisoned by Yüan
International.
==Feb.21 > Resisting Japanese
inroads, British Foreign Secretary Grey asserts that the Yangtze Valley
is a British sphere of influence
Unrest.
==Feb.21 > Rebel White Wolf
troops
attack Chankiang, in Kwangtung
Politics.
==Feb.28 Yüan orders the
dissolution of provincial assemblies
Kuomintang.
==Feb.--- > Sun Yat-sen secures a
¥1.5 million loan by pledging that all Chinese industrial
development will be co-financed
by Japanese capital - many of Sun’s followers fall away
Police.
==Mar.02 > Yüan promulgates
the
Security Police Act
Unrest.
==Mar.06 > Unrest at Yuhsien in
Shansi province is bloodily suppressed
==Mar.15 > A revolt at Tungchwan
in
Yunnan province is soon suppressed
==Mar.29-31 > Rebels briefly
seize
Tingyuan in Anhwei province
Politics.
==Mar.18 > The first meeting of
Yüan’s Constitutional Conference
Radicals.
==Apr.11 > The article Explaining
the term 'Anarchist-Communism' is published - ~another article on
the
subject is published by the Chinese anarchist Shih Fu
Japanese Relations.
==Apr.--- > Japanese Foreign
Minister Makino contemplates direct intervention in the event of a
Chinese collapse
Finance.
==Apr.--- > Yüan’s funds
from
the Reorganization Loan are exhausted
Kuomintang.
==spring > ~Sun Yat-sen proposes
a
full military alliance and customs union with Japan in a bid for support
The walls of Peking
Politics.
==May.01 > A revised constitution
is
proclaimed - Yüan achieves virtually absolute power in China
Unrest.
==May.04 > Rebels take Tienshui
in
Kansu province
==Jun.02 > The Kansu rebels are
defeated north of Tienshui
Politics.
==May.23 > Yüan’s new system
of
provincial government is promulgated, with civil power vested in the
Governors
==May.24 > Yüan’s
Constitutional Conference announces that Senators will be appointed by
the President
Disasters.Famine.
==May-Jun > Locust plague in east
central China
Culture.
==Jun.09 > Peking’s first
Western-style theatre (‘First Stage’) is established
Unrest.
==Jun.12 > The government orders
the
suppression of the Boxer-like ‘Republican Society of the 10,000
Buddhas’
in east central China
Politics.
==Jun.20 > An appointive Senate
is
established - Yüan dissolves the Constitutional Conference
==Jun.29 > Yüan announces
that
the Senate will be the sole national legislature
Military.
==Jun.30 > Yüan replaces
provincial military governors with Generals-in-Chief
Kuomintang.
==Jun.--- > Sun Yat-sen forms the
Chung-hua Ko-ming-tang to replace the KMT, requiring members to take an
oath of allegiance to him
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