National Assembly of the Republic of China
The National Assembly (Chinese: 國民大會, pinyin: GúomÃÂn Dàhùi) is the Constitutional Convention (and formerly an electoral college) of the Republic of China (on Taiwan). As a result of a constitutional agreement made in 1997, the National Assembly is currently suspended and would be called back into session only to make amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of China.Calls for a National Assembly were part of the platform of the revolutionaries who overthrew the Qing dynasty. In 1947, the Kuomintang promulgated a constitution and the first National Assembly met in the then-Chinese capital of Nanjing. 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 Taiwan.
The first National Assembly was to have been elected for a period of only seven years. However, according to the Kuomintang leadership, the fall of the Mainland made it impossible to hold new elections, as all Mainland provinces were undergoing "Communist rebellion". As a result, the Judicial Yuan decided that the original members of the National Assembly would continue to hold office until the Communists are defeated on the Mainland and legitimate ROC rulership of all of China restored.
As a result of this decision, the same National Assembly, elected in 1947, remained until 1991, when as part of a constitutional settlement a Second National Assembly was elected.
After the passage of constitutional reforms, there was strong objection to what was essentially a permanent constitutional convention. Because of this, in 1997 the National Assembly was suspended and would only be called into session if constitutional amendments are to be considered.
Originally, the National Assembly elected the President and Vice President of the Republic of China. A subsequent constitutional amendment abolished this role and established direct popular elections. Additional amendments have delegated any impeachment legislative functions to the Legislative Yuan.
Despite being suspended, the largely ceremonial National Assembly still has a constitutional role. Some lawmakers suggest abolishing the body and allowing the people to directly amend the constitution through popular referendums. However, opponents argue that such changes would increase political instability in the Taiwan Strait by sharply reducing the threshold necessary to declare independence. Another contentious issue is the question of who would be empowered to initiate referendums.
See also: Politics of Taiwan