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The '''Chinese Nationalist Party''', or '''KMT''', was China's ruling party from 1927 until 1949. The Led by [[Chiang Kai-shek]], the party fled to [[Taiwan]] when the Chinese Communists gained control of the mainland. In recent years it has supported Chiang continued to lead the party in Taiwan until his death in 1975. Until 1979, the U.S. recognized the KMT as the legitimate government of China. They party supports pan-Chinese nationalism, democracy, Chinese reunification, and capitalism under the doctrine of the "three principles of the people." The Nationalists ruled China from 1927 until 1949 and then moved to Taiwan. The party was led by [[Chiang Kai-shek]] from 1927 until his death in 1975. The party had the support of the United States for many years beginning in the 1930s. The abbreviation "KMT" stands for "Kuomintang," an obsolete romanization of the party's Chinese name.{{language box

}}The party has its roots with the Tongmenghui, a secret society founded by [[Sun Yat-sen]] in 1905. In 1912, this society combined with several smaller groups to form the Nationalist Party. The party contested the election that year under the leadership of Led by [[Song Jiaoren]], the party won a majority of the seats in the National Assembly election that year. Song was assasinated and his party dissolved in 1913. In 1919, Sun created the "Chinese Nationalist Party" to replace it. The party has continued in this form to the present. After Sun's death in 1925, the party launched the "Northern Expedition," under Chiang's leadership. Chiang defeated the warlords of the Beiyang clique, and established a central government for China in [[Nanjing]]. From 1927 to 1975, the party was led by [[Chiang Kai-shek]].  When the Nationalists were defeated by the Communists in 1949, the party, together with most government officials, much of the army, anti-communist political activists and many business and cultural leaders evacuated to Taiwan. Until 1971, the UN and most non-communists governments recognized the Nationalist government in Taipei as the legitimate government of China. In 1991, the Nationalists withdrew their claim to territory on the mainland. KMT leader Ma Ying-jeou was elected Taiwanese president in 2008 and reelected in 2012.

Several anti-monarchist societies met in Tokyo under Sun's leadership to create the Tongmenghui on 20 August 1905. The group opposed the Qing dynasty and sought to modernize China along Japanese and Western lines. After the imperial government was toppled, a national election was scheduled in 1912. To contest this election, the Tongmenghui and several other groups combined to create the Nationalist Party. This party was led by [[Song Jiaoren]]. The party played a significant part in the first Chinese first National Assembly, where it was the majority party.

In March 1913, Song was assassinated at Shanghai Railway Station. The gunman was hired by an worked for a Shanghai underworld figure. Historians have concluded that the government of President [[Yuan Shikai]] (1859–1916) was responsible.

Yuan tried and failed to make himself emperor of China. He died unexpectedly in 1916 and . China fractured into various regionsled by various military governors. This warlord era lasted for about ten years. The opium trade returned, irrigation failed, famine killed millions. Central rule was elusive. China sided with the Allies against Germany during [[World War I]] and offered some limited assistance. The goal was hoping to obtain the return of the cities that Germany controlled in China. Instead, the Treaty of Versailles gave that land to Japan. Feeling betrayed, the Chinese angrily demonstrated against that decision with the [[May Fourth Movement]], which the Nationalists supported.