The Origins of the Green Gang The origins of the Green Gang can be traced back to the 15th century, when a spiritual leader named Luo Qing (羅清, pinyin: Luó Qīng) founded a Buddhist sect, the Patriarch Luo Sect. The sect evolved from the famous White Lotus, which had played a major role in the overthrow … Continue reading The Green Gang, Chiang Kai-shek, and the Republic of China
In a previous post we have demonstrated that the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) contains fundamental elements which are consistent with, if not directly derived from, Legalist principles. In this chapter we shall analyse and compare the Legalist elements contained in the criminal codes of the Republic of China (ROC) and of … Continue reading Legalist Tradition And Criminal Law – Republic Of China vs People’s Republic Of China
The following text is the Provisional Constitution (約法) of the Republic of China as adopted by the National People’s Convention (國民會議) on May 12, 1931. The Provisional Constitution included Sun Yat-sen’s principle of “political tutelage”, de facto providing the Guomindang government with dictatorial powers. The Constitution remained in effect until 1936, when the government promulgated a new … Continue reading Provisional Constitution Of The Republic Of China (1931)
The Chinese Revolution of 1911, also called Xinhai Revolution (辛亥革命) after the year of the Chinese calendar in which it occurred, was an uprising that led to the fall of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and to the foundation of the Republic of China (中華民國, ROC). The revolt began on October 9th when the accidental explosion of … Continue reading The Chinese Revolution of 1911 – The Founding of the Republic of China
On Wednesday a Taiwanese diplomat was expelled at China’s request from a meeting held by the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Trade and Industry. Wang Chung-I (汪忠一), director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Prague, the de facto embassy of Taiwan in the Czech Republic, was requested to leave the meeting, to which he … Continue reading China forced Taiwanese representative in the Czech Republic to leave economic conference
China’s Televised Confessions On January 17 Gui Minhai, a Chinese-born Swedish citizen, made a high-profile confession on China Central Television (CCTV), saying that he had turned himself to the authorities voluntarily. He confessed to having caused the death of a 20-year-old woman while drunk-driving back in 2003. According to China’s state media, Gui had subsequently fled … Continue reading Voluntary Surrender and Confession in China’s Legal System – From the Empire to the People’s Republic
Both Hong Kong citizens and foreign nationals risk to be extradited to mainland China for “harming China’s national security” if an extradition law between Hong Kong and the mainland is adopted. Hong Kong-based newspaper Apple Daily reports that according to an anonymous source , who is described as “authoritative” (權威人士), recently the Vice Premier of … Continue reading Hong Kong and foreign citizens could be extradited to mainland China according to new legislation, authoritative source says
On May 13 the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives reiterated its support for Taiwan and rejected the idea that the U.S. government’s “One-China Principle” is equivalent to the “One-China Principle” advocated by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In a series of tweets the Committee rebutted an article published by China‘s … Continue reading U.S. government’s One-China Policy not the same as Beijing’s One-China Principle, U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee says
Last year Taiwanese President Ts’ai Ing-wen warned of rampant Chinese interference in the country’s elections through the dissemination of “fake news” (假消). Now Taiwan’s National Security Bureau has revealed that Beijing is working together with Taiwanese media outlets to spread Beijing’s propaganda. On May 2 the deputy director of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau Ch’en Wen-fan … Continue reading Taiwanese government says some local media work with China, send content to Beijing for approval
China is … a despotic state, whose principle is fear. Perhaps in the earliest dynasties, when the empire had not so large an extent, the government might have deviated a little from this spirit; but the case is otherwise at present. (Charles De Secondat Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws) During the Manchu dynasty … [t]he … Continue reading Freedom or despotism? – Autocratic governance and laissez-faire in Imperial China
