Draft:Hu-pei Military Government

The Hu-pei Military Government of the Republic of China (chinese: 中華民國軍政府鄂軍都督府; pinyin: Zhōnghuá mínguó jūn zhèngfǔ è jūn dūdū fǔ; wade-giles: Chung-hua min-kuo chun cheng-fu e chun tu-tu fu), commonly known as the Hu-pei Military Government (chinese: 鄂軍都督府; pinyin: È jūn dūdū fǔ; wade-giles: E chun tutu fu), was a military government established on 11 October 1911 by the revolutionaries from the New Army to temporarily represent and govern the province of Hu-pei in the newly established Republic of China. The Hu-pei Military Government of the Republic of China was established as a result of the Wu-ch'ang Uprising and would continue to represent and govern the province until the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China on 1 January 1912 in Nanking.

The Hundred Days’ Reform
In late-nineteenth century, the intellectuals in China were divided into two factions, the constitutional monarchist reformers and revolutionary groups that wanted to establish a republic. The constitutional monarchist reformists were led by K’ang Yu-wei and Liang Ch’i-ch’ao took control of the government initially. The Kuang-hsu Emperor the Hundred Days' Reform which attempted to reform the government and education, modernise the military, seek foreign investment, and host elections for representatives in the local, municipal, and provincial levels.

But, reforms were short lived due to the Wu-hsu Coup. The coup d'état was perpetrated by the ultra-conservatives led by Empress Dowager Tz’u-hsi. Although Empress Dowager Tz’u-hsi supported the principles of the reforms, she feared that a sudden implementation without bureaucratic support would cause disruption and chaos. She feared that this would allow foreign powers such as the Japanese to take advantage of the confusion and compromise China's sovereignty and territorial integrity even more. As a result of the Wu-hsu Coup, the reforms were repealed and the Kuang-hsu Emperor was placed under house arrest.

Establishment of the Tongmenghui of China
Dissatisfied with the Ch’ing government, many exiled revolutionary groups began gathering in Japan for a conference. In 1905, Chinese revolutionary leaders gathered in Tokyo with the goal of merging their various revolutionary groups and secret societies. On the 20 August 1905, the Tongmenghui of China was established through the merging of the Revive China Society (Hsing Chung Hui), the Restoration Society (Kuang Fu Hui), and various other groups. Some of the most important members of the Tongmenghui of China were Father of the Nation, Dr Sun Yat-sen, Sung Chiao-jen, Huang Hsing, Li Tsung-jen, Hu Han-min, Wang Ching-wei, Chang Ping-lin, Ch'en T'ien-hua, T'ao Cheng-chang, Ts'ai Yuan-pei, Li Shih-tseng, Chang Jen-chieh, and Ch'iu Chin. Thus was the establishment of the Tongmenghui of China, the predecessor of the Kuomintang which later became the modern-day Kuomintang of China.

Railway Protection Movement
From 1890 to 1905, nearly all railroads in China were planned, financed, built, and operated by foreign powers. In order to help develop economies and retain the earnings from the railways, the Ch’ing government granted the provinces the right to organise their own railways. Because of this, many the provincial government funded and established many railway corporations. For example, in 1905, the Szechuan Province established the Szechwan-Hankou Railway Company.

But, after the Boxer Rebellion, the Boxer Protocol forced the Ch’ing government to pay a large indemnity to the member-states of the Eight-Nation Alliance. The Ch’ing government became impatient with the slow progress of the locally funded railways and returned to the foreign lenders. On 9 May 1911, Minister of Posts and CommunicationsSheng Hsuan-huai ordered the nationalisation of all locally funded railways under the orders of the irritated Ch’ing government. By nationalising the local railways in China, the Ch’ing government hoped to be able to earn enough money to pay off the indemnities.

The nationalisation order faced strong opposition in Southern China, especially in Szechwan. The investors were unsatisfied that they would only be partially compensated with government bonds rather than silver. On 11 June 1911, P'u Tien-chun and other influential members of the Szechwan Provincial Assembly established the Railway Protection League. They made speeches against the nationalisation order, which was widely regarded as a seize of valuable economic assets by the Ch'ing government and the conversion of local property to foreign control.

Between 11 August to 13 August, more than ten thousand protestors held a rally against the nationalisation order in Chengtu. They organised strikes and boycotts by students and merchants. On 1 September, the Szechwan-Hankou Railway Company adopted a shareholders’ resolution calling on the population of Szechwan to withhold the payment of grain taxes to the Ch’ing government.

On 7 September, the Governor-General of Szechwan, Chao Erh-feng had P’u Tien-chun arrested and the Szechwan-Hankou Railway Company closed. Enraged protestors marched onto the Governor-General’s