The Kuomintang of China, or the Chinese Nationalist Party, is the founding party of the Republic of China (ROC). The party was founded in 1912 from several revolutionary groups that worked to topple China's last ruling dynasty.
In 1927, tensions flared between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party, escalating into what became the Chinese Civil War. The Kuomintang lost Mainland China to communist forces in 1949 and retreated to Taiwan.
Leader of the Kuomintang administration, President Chiang Kai-shek, declared martial law in the Republic of China on Taiwan in 1950 and suspended most of the country's democratic processes. Under martial law, opposition parties were outlawed and suspected communists were persecuted. But the Kuomintang started moving the country towards a multi-party democracy in the 1980s, and martial law was eventually lifted in 1987, although many restrictions remained in place. In 1991, under President Lee Teng-hui, the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion was abolished. This was highly significant because the provisions allowed for the martial law rule in Taiwan. Lee, a Kuomintang member, was re-elected to office under Taiwan's first-ever nationwide elections in 1996.
The Kuomintang is now the biggest in a group of likeminded political parties referred to as the pan-blue coalition. That's in contrast to the pan-green coalition headed by the Democratic Progressive Party.
Following a major loss in local elections on Nov. 29, the party’s chairman, President Ma Ying-jeou, resigned to take responsibility for the humiliating defeat. Vice President Wu Den-yih, also a key party member, has been selected as interim party chairman.