Chapter 54 53. Destroying Democracy

Before the establishment of the National Congress in 2001, the political parties had quite different opinions on the drafting of the constitution. There were three schools of distinction: the first was the Kuomintang’s view that the drafting and enactment of the constitution was a matter of national sovereignty, and of course it was the Congress responsibilities.According to the provisions of the "Convention Act", after the establishment of the National Assembly, drafting committee members should be elected by the National Assembly and drafted by the Senate and the House of Representatives.The second faction was advocated by Liang Qichao and others, and was supported by the governors-general of eighteen provinces, the Republican Party, the United Party, and the Democratic Party. This faction advocated that the government should organize a constitution-drafting organ. The members of the faction drafted the constitution and submitted it to the National Assembly for resolution; the third faction was the Yuan family's idea that the current political parties have different opinions, and the government tried to let the president directly issue the constitution drafting order and announce it to the whole country to avoid political disputes.After the establishment of the National Congress, the KMT won an overwhelming majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Therefore, the KMT advocated victory. The two houses elected constitution drafting committee members and established a constitution drafting committee.In this committee, members of the Kuomintang accounted for the majority.

When the drafting of the constitution was in progress, Yuan Shikai was most concerned about two issues regarding the upcoming official constitution: first, whether it was necessary for the president to appoint state servants to obtain the approval of the congress; second, whether the president had the right to dissolve the congress that power.Yuan believes that in the past one year or so, the cabinet has been reshuffled three times, and the appointment of each cabinet member has to be approved by the National Assembly, while many members of the parliament have difficulties. Therefore, Yuan believes that in the official constitution, the right of the National Assembly to approve the appointment and removal of cabinet members and the president's right to dissolve the National Assembly should be abolished .

These two issues raised by Yuan were naturally severely criticized by the Kuomintang's Constitution Drafting Committee. At this time, the second revolution happened, and the Yuan government and the Constitution Drafting Committee had more sharp conflicts. In mid-August 2, Xu Xiujun, a drafting member, was arrested and sent to Jiujiang to be shot. On August 27, the government re-arrested five senators Zhu Nianzu, Gao Yinzao, Zhang Wohua, Zhao Shiyu, and Ding Xiangqian, who had been removed from the Kuomintang, and three members of the House of Representatives Chang Hengfang, Chu Fucheng, and Liu Engel.Among them, Zhang Wohua, Zhao Shiyu, Chu Fucheng, and Liu Enge were members of the Constitution Drafting Committee.Later, Chu Fucheng and Zhu Nianzu were sent to Su County, Chang Hengfang was sent to Anqing, Zhao Shiyu and other five people were detained in Tianjin, and they were not released until the National Assembly was dissolved.Chu Fucheng and Zhu Nianzu were released from prison at the same time as Chang Hengfang after the death of Yuan and the resurrection of the National Assembly.After Yuan dissolved the National Assembly, Xu Jingxin was killed in Beijing, and Duan Shiheng died in Shaanxi.This is a very sad and tragic history of blood and tears in the struggle for democracy. Among the atrocities committed by Yuan Shikai because the congressmen did not listen to his opinions, three members of the drafting committee of the Constitution were killed and four were arrested. The worst scene in history.

When Yuan Shikai was still drafting the constitution, he used despicable means to achieve his own goal of self-improvement.He never knew what democracy was in his mind. At the same time, he demanded that the constitution conform to his will on the assumption that he could serve as president for life, because what he was fighting for was not the hope of the people, nor the needs of the country, but his convenience when he was president! The politics of the early years of the Republic of China made people laugh and cry in many places.As mentioned earlier, the composition of political parties, some people have several parties in one body, and many people are one party today and another party tomorrow.Members of Congress, in particular, are sold at a price and at a market. One day they sell to Party A, and the next day they sell to Party B. So some good-for-nothing people drafted a deed of selling themselves:

"The last member, A, now sells one of the councilors he bought to your party. He doesn't keep his flesh and bones. After selling himself to your party, he has allowed your party to do evil and evil. I will obey you." Actually speaking, this deed of sale is still written by a layman, because those councilors who sell themselves once are the most stupid, and the cunning ones usually sell them for countless times, or sell to five parties at the same time. Self-proclaimed to dislike partisanship.So at that time, some people read the deed of selling their lives, and even sold the belt and bones. It is said that they still have a conscience, and they are people of more than three generations.It is said that when the prostitute received the money for the first time, the first courteous sentence he made to the broker was: "Why be polite!" Therefore, in the social circles in Beijing at that time, as long as someone said that there is no need to be polite, it must have caused an uproar.Some people were very indignant when they saw the scene at that time, and once said with emotion: "Today's republic, the price of betraying the country is much cheaper than before." Others didn't understand what it meant and asked what it meant.The man said: "In the Qing Dynasty, an Englishman once said: We don't need to fight China, we can take all the land rights in China, we only need HSBC Bank to do it. Because you are a magistrate in China, you only need to Eight thousand taels of silver can be donated. In this way, all the states and counties in China can be bought up. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation can provide this money at any time. Now, the Republic of China is going to elect the official president According to the election law, only four to five hundred votes are needed. I heard that each ticket is 10,000 yuan, and buying four or five hundred tickets is only four to five million yuan. Wouldn't it be better to buy a big president with this amount to rule the whole of China? Are county magistrates much cheaper!"

In Beijing at that time, the councilors became wealthy customers. Originally, there were not many horse-drawn carriages in Beijing. At this time, nine out of ten councilors took horse-drawn carriages, and most of them brought their own carriages.In the old days when Beijing entertained guests, an ordinary banquet cost only eight yuan and ten yuan.It is also common for members of parliament to take concubines.As for the liveliness of the Eight Great Hutongs, it is also unprecedented since Gengzi.Famous flowers such as Yao Rongchu and Jin Xiaoju were hidden in the golden house.Clubs are a foreign thing, Beijing didn’t have them originally, but now they are extremely developed, and there are clubs everywhere, as a place for politicians to socialize and unite their party.Most of the famous flowers in Shanghai come from the south to the north.

The bad atmosphere in Beijing during this period really surpassed that of the end of the Qing Dynasty.Politicians use parliamentarians, and parliamentarians use politicians, colluding with each other, using each other, feasting, singing and dancing, this is the city of Beijing in the early years of the Republic of China. During the Civil War, Zhao Bingjun, the culprit in the assassination of the Song Dynasty, served as the commander-in-chief of martial law in Beijing. Journalists once interviewed Zhao. The following is the conversation between Zhao and the reporter: Zhao said: Huang Keqiang and others’ plan is also very impressive, but unfortunately the materials are not complete. Now in Chinese politics, I am not afraid that no one will make a good menu, but no matter how good your menu is, there is no material, and you will not be able to make good dishes. .I often advise President Yuan to give up part of his career, ask new people to help, ask them to practice and practice, and they will know the difficulty.A new person wants to be the chief when he opens his mouth. Who would be willing to take the lower position, that is, Mr. Reporter, if someone asks you to be the governor, will you do it?

Zhao also talked about the governor. He said: In the past, there was no one to be the governor of Zhili, and they all wanted to resign. Now some people rush to do it. After careful investigation, the reason is that someone invented a new law, communicated with the gentlemen of the county council, and allowed the people to sow opium. The remaining profits are divided equally, so the barren vacancies become fat vacancies. If the boss wants to be replaced, the council will retain him, and the great gentleman will petition. The reporter asked: Why did President Yuan go to the office in person?The first is trivial, and the second is a small loss.

Zhao said: This is the habit of President Yuan who has been a governor for more than ten years. Because he is personally involved in everything, no one can take care of this key. With President Yuan around, no one would dare to control the domineering. The deputy commander-in-chief of martial law was Lu Jianzhang, director of the Military and Political Law Enforcement Department. In Beijing at that time, he seemed to be more popular than Zhao Bingjun.One of Lu's subordinates was Chief Detective Hao Zhanyi. At the time when Hao's name was mentioned, there was a tendency that children would not dare to cry at night.After the promulgation of the martial law in Beijing, there were many shocking news, such as: Socialist Party leader Chen Yilong was shot, councilor Xu Xiujun was arrested because of Duan Zhigui's call, "Patriotic Daily" Prime Minister Ding was arrested, Yantai Commander-in-Chief Lian Chengji Jingshe Party suspects were arrested, Kuomintang members Wang Yiwen and Jiang Juqing were under police surveillance, Kuomintang member Wu Hanchi was arrested in Tianjin, and Kuomintang newspapers were suspended.

At this time of turmoil, a pink rumor suddenly spread: there is an actress Jin Yulan in Beijing, whose sensual skills are superb for a while, and her sex skills are overwhelming the whole city.Suddenly it was rumored that she had been arrested and shot by the Martial Law Headquarters. People said tsk tsk, and the tabloid pictorials also described the tragic and beautiful scenes at the time of execution.The entire city of Beijing believed that this generation of celebrities had been ruined by the Civil War, and tens of thousands expressed their sorrow.Yi Kuian, a famous scholar, wrote a line in his poem: "In this life, she actually kills a beautiful woman!" So everyone spread the reason why she caused the disaster. It was said that Jin knew two revolutionaries and wanted to assassinate Yuan with a bomb. The more it spread, the more outrageous it became, and in the end it was rendered like Hongxiannu or Gongsun Da Niang.Some people say that it is caused by the jealousy of colleagues and the slander of the leader.These rumors have already constituted a moving drama; in fact, during this period, Jin Yulan was staging "Little Visit to the Grave" in Tianjin.

Yuan didn't know much about political parties at first. After the Song Dynasty and the second revolution of the Kuomintang, he had to create a political party to decorate the doors and windows. This prompted Liang Qichao, Wang Geng (later renamed Yitang) and others to jointly organize a large party and become the leader of Yuan's government. with the party.At this time, the Republican Party, the Gathering Party, the Democratic Party, and the Kuomintang did not get along well, so everyone joined forces to form the Progressive Party on May 29, 2002.The Progressive Party's platform is: (1) Adopt nationalism and build a strong and benevolent government; (2) Respect the public will of the people and support freedom endowed by law; (3) Conform to the general trend of the world and promote peace and prosperity. The personnel of the Progressive Party are: chairman Li Yuanhong, directors Liang Qichao, Zhang Jian, Wu Tingfang, Sun Wu, Na Yantu, Tang Hualong, Wang Yitang, Pu Dianying, and Wang Yinchuan.Minister of State Lin Changmin, Deputy Ministers Shi Gongjiu and Wang Yintang.Legal Director Wang Rongbao, Financial Director Wu Dingchang, Foreign Affairs Director Lin Zhijun, Public Affairs Director Zhang Jiaao, Communication Director Huang Yuanyong, etc. After the Progressive Party was formed, it suddenly became the majority party in the Congress, surpassing the KMT in momentum.However, the Progressive Party, which consisted of a majority of small parties into a large party, was originally a rabble and its unity was weak. Therefore, only one month after its establishment, Zhang Bolie, Zheng Wanzhan, Peng Jieshi, Hu Egong, etc. of the Democratic Socialist Party in the old Republican Party joined the old party. Huang Yunpeng, Wu Zongci, Wang Xiang and more than 40 members of the United Party suddenly issued a declaration, announcing that they would leave the party and form a new Republican Party. They regarded themselves as the third largest party after the Kuomintang and the Progressive Party, and accounted for more than 50 seats in both houses.The Progressive Party's majority was lost. The reasons for the split of the Progressive Party are: (1) because Liang Qichao, Tang Hualong, Lin Changmin, Sun Hongyi, Pu Dianjun, and Liang Sianji of the old Democratic Party are suspected of monopolizing; (3) When Yuan was negotiating the merger, a few ambitious politicians thought that they would be able to join the cabinet after doing so, but they failed to achieve their goals, so they were greatly disappointed. After the old Republican Party withdrew from the Progressive Party, the majority advantage of the Progressive Party was completely lost. Yuan's goal of becoming a large party was defeated. At the same time, he was afraid that these people would turn to merge with the Kuomintang. At the same time, prevent these people from getting close to the Kuomintang.In fact, these people quit the Progressive Party only because they were dissatisfied with the old Democratic Party. On major issues, they still sided with Yuan Shikai and opposed the Kuomintang.During the period of confrontation between the Progressive Party and the Kuomintang, the Kuomintang actively urged members of the Kuomintang to form another political party to divide the Kuomintang, and the Kuomintang split into five political groups: (1) Friendship Association, the chairman Liu Kuiyi. (2) Political Friends Association, founded by Jing Yaoyue and Sun Yuyun. (3) Gui Chou Comrade Association, organized by Hunan Congressman Chen Jiading. (4) Jiyi Society is an association of Cantonese people. (5) Chaoran Society, formed by Guo Renzhang and Xia Tonghe, members of the Hunan Kuomintang. During the Civil War, there were only 150 KMT members remaining in the Beijing Congress, and they had no power in the Congress.