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The Constitution could prevail only with thousands of soldiers standing behind it, as they did in the Northern Expedition (1926–1928). It died with the dissolution of the military coalition between nationalist and communist troops. As Chiang Kai-shek turned his guns on his former allies, who had threatened his authority by provoking unrest in the cities and the countryside, the rule of law was replaced by the white terror in 1927.5 In Chinese politics, words were only as strong as the army that stood behind them; political debate and negotiation meant a physical confrontation that could only end with the annihilation of the opposition.
Chapter 3: Nationalist Law
and the Communist Revolution
Western democracy is based on the premise that the louder voice will carry the day. But the debates and negotiations always continue. Chinese political dialogue is not conducted as an exchange between equals but rather as shouting match that continues until one voice has completely silenced that of the other(s). In order to gain and stabilise this total control, the Nationalists assembled a huge mass of soldiers and embarked on a mission to eradicate the forsaken Communists who had retreated to the countryside (1928–1934). At the same time, the corruption of the Nationalist government created a large section of society whose basic rights were neglected, nullified, and abused. The Japanese occupation of Shanghai (1932) and subsequent invasion (1937–1945) sharpened popular resentment against the government led by Chiang Kai-shek.6
The Communists organised this section of society and turned them from under laws to revolutionaries of outlaw, and they eventually (between 1946 and 1949) drove the Nationalists off of the mainland.7
Chapter 4: Communist Party as Legislator
and Administrator
The Communist Party assumed power in the name of the under law and rapidly became the new above law. To establish a new order, it turned