On the eve of the ROC government forces' evacuation from Nanking late
in April 1949, Chieng Kai-shek, then in temporary retirement from the
presidency, talked with Acting President Li Tsung-jen and General Ho Ying-chin
in Hangchow and decided to set up an Emergency Council which, as the
Kuomintang's highest policy-making organ, was to put party-government
interactions on a proper track and help facilitate Li's work. But the actual
launching of the council had to wait nearly three months, till mid- July.
Political repercussions were recorded in the meantime, revolving around issues
ranging from the organ's necessity to its lineup, all reflecting Chinag's
clashes and compromises with Li Tsung-jen. By going through archives materials
as well as other pertinent records and recollections, this paper attempts a
factual depiction of the Emergency Council's course, thereby casting light on
some aspects of the Chiang-Li relationship.