On this day 77 years ago, on April 19, 1948 (March 11, 1948 in the lunar calendar), the Kuomintang held its last election in the mainland. President Chiang Kai-shek and Vice President Li Zongren were inaugurated. Front row from left: Wang Fanghui Dai Jitao, Juzheng, Sun Ke, Guo Dejie (female), Soong Meiling, Chiang Kai-shek, Li Zongren, Zhang Qun On April 19, 1948, at the 13th Congress of the "Constitutional National Congress" of the National Government, Chiang Kai-shek was elected as the first president of the Republic of China after the constitution. Previously, when the presidential candidates were discussed at the Provisional Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-shek said he would not participate in the presidential election because the constitution stipulates that the president is only a ceremonial head of state. To this end, the Kuomintang Central Committee decided to On the 15th, some delegates to the National Assembly proposed to the General Assembly the "Request for the Formulation of Temporary Provisions During the Period of Mobilization and Counter-insurgency", which stipulated that "during the period of mobilization and counter-insurgency, the president may, in order to avoid emergency danger to the country or the people, or to cope with major financial and economic changes, be decided by the Executive Yuan meeting, be an emergency punishment, and shall not be restricted by the procedures stipulated in Article 39 or Article 43 of the Constitution." Passed. Chiang agreed to run and changed Hu Shi, another presidential candidate originally scheduled, to Ju Zheng. Chiang Kai-shek was elected with 2,430 votes (2,734 delegates present), and Ju Zheng received 269 votes. On April 29, Li Zongren defeated Sun Ke by 1,438 votes to 1,295, and was elected vice president of the National Government. Once the president was elected, the election of the vice president became the focus of competition among various factions. The Kuomintang has Li Zongren, Sun Ke, Cheng Qian, and Yu Youren. The social sage is Mo Dehui, and the Democratic Socialist Party has Xu Fulin. Chiang Kai-shek originally appointed Sun Ke as vice president, and Sun Ke was supported by the Guangdong faction and the CC faction. Li Zongren has the strength of the Gui family, and the United States also intends to support him. Therefore, among the six people, Li and Sun are strong competing voices for the vice president. The candidates are competing to buy delegates and bribe votes. Handing in votes with one hand and handing in money with the other, Sun, Li, and Cheng also had a banquet for delegates. Chiang Kai-shek and the CC department are willing to support Sun Ke with heavy money and various means to attract votes. Li Zongren did not show weakness, spending more than 1,000 gold bars (equivalent to gold 10,000 more than two), and established an alliance with the other two candidates Cheng Qian and Yu Youren, and agreed that no matter who won less votes in the primary election, they would support those who won more votes with their votes. On the 23rd, in the first vote, no one exceeded the legal half, so it was decided that the top three Li Zongren and Sun Ke would participate in the election again. The same is true for the second election. But Li Zongren won the first vote twice, and the situation was unfavorable to Sun Ke. Chiang Kai-shek signaled Cheng Qian to give up the election and gave the votes to Sun Ke, promising to pay for his election expenses, which was rejected by Cheng. Li Zongren followed the advice of Huang Shaohong, a close friend of the Gui family, and took retreat as an advance. Together with Cheng Qian, he announced his withdrawal from the election, stating that the election was under improper pressure. Since Sun Ke was unable to run alone, he was also forced to announce his withdrawal from the election. In this situation. The National Congress had to be forced to stop. Chiang Kai-shek had to clear Li and Cheng to participate in the election. On the 28th, the National Congress held the third vote, and Li Zongren was elected as vice president. Previously, the National Assembly passed the "Temporary Provisions for the Period of Mobilization and Counterinsurgency" proposed by more than 700 deputies including Hu Shi, Wang Shijie, and Zhang Boling on the 18th. The "Provisions" stipulate: "During the period of mobilization and counterinsurgency, in order to deal with emergency crises or major changes, the president may be dealt with urgently without the approval of the Legislative "The president and vice president can be re-elected without restriction, without being bound by the constitution's requirement to be re-elected once. The Articles also authorize the president to set up a counter-insurgency mobilization agency, decide on the major policies related to the mobilization of counter-insurgency, and handle field affairs" without being restricted by the legislative process. "When the counter-insurgency period ends, it is announced by the president. Li Zongren and his wife hold the vice president's election certificate for a group photo