After the founding of the Republic of China in 1912, there was continuous internal revolt and external invasion. The newly-founded Republic was born out of a period of turmoil, and the talented people were in high demand for the renewal and development of the nation. In 1927, the KMT, the nationalist party, established the Central Party Institute at Hongzhilang in Nanjing in order to train party cadres during the military government period. On May 20, 1927, Chiang Kai-Shek was elected head of the institute, and May 20 later became the anniversary of the founding of National Chengchi University. The teaching staff and students of the institute were responsible for party business, assisting with the Northern Expedition, and participating in national construction projects. The institute main objectives were to develop party cadres for political education and mobilization.
After the success of the Northern Expedition and the unification of the nation, the national government declared a period of “political education”. The institute was transformed into the Central Political Institute in 1929, expanding from its origins as a short-term political training academy into a full-fledged institution of higher learning, including research institutes, colleges, undergraduate departments and various kinds of professional programs. The Central Political Institute was the cradle of political talent during the period of political education. All students were sponsored by the government and upon graduation would be assigned a position in a party-related organization, an advantage that was very attractive to intellectual young men. All the admitted students were among the most talented of the time.
The war against Japan broke out in 1937 and the institute moved from Nanjing to Xiaowenquan in Chongqing. Due to the demand for talented people during the war and the larger goal of national defense, the institute adjusted its educational objectives and terminated or marginalized the long-term educational departments. Short-term training programs were established in order to quickly train large numbers of talented people. Chiang Kai-Shek further established the “San-Min-Chu-I (Three Principles of the People) Youth Corps”, and became the corps leader himself in 1938. In order to train more youth cadres, the Corps established the Central Cadre Institute in nearby Fuxingguan in Chongqing.
After the end of the war with Japan in 1945, the Central Political Institute prepared to move back to Nanjing. In 1946, the KMT passed a resolution to merge the Central Political Institute with the Central Cadres Institute into “National Chengchi University”. In 1947, the constitutional government period began and the university was placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. The nationalist military forces lost the battle of Xu Bang in 1948. At the university administrative meeting in January 1949, a resolution to move the university was passed. The university was declared to be “traveling” and all the staff and students were free to participate or not. In that year, the university moved to Xiaowenquan in Chongqing. However, by the end of 1949, communist military forces had conquered eastern Sichuan, and approximately three hundred students traveled to Chengdu to join the nationalist military forces. University operations were thus halted until 1954.
After the national government moved to Taiwan, a resolution that all public universities that had been established on the mainland would not be reestablished in Taiwan was promoted. However, in order to show the strength of the university when the nation was in upheaval, the Ministry of Education proposed that National Chengchi University be reestablished in 1954. National Chengchi University was rebuilt in Taiwan from the ground up; all campus buildings, teaching facilities, books and materials were created anew. Through an all-out effort from teachers and students, the early foundation of the university was created.
During the 1970’s and 80’s, the university continued to expand and advance from its existing academic base in terms of both quality and quantity of departments and students. The university progressed visibly during this period: for example, the construction of the Social Sciences and Information Center and the C.K.S. Library, which at the time was the most modern university building in Taiwan. Furthermore, the purchase and lease of nearby hillside land also allowed the university campus to expand and furthered the development of the uphill campus. In addition, there was great progress in academic research at NCCU. The world was dominated by the Cold War, and the Institute of International Relations came under the jurisdiction of National Chengchi University and became one of the main features of the university.
The president of the university was directly elected by all full-time teachers of the university for the first time in 1994. Discussion of politics and Taiwanese society became more open than in the past. National Chengchi University has long excelled in the fields of liberal arts, social sciences, law, business and communication, and emphasizes teaching and research, theory and practice, and internationalization and localization in order to encourage open-minded and comprehensive development in academic research.
NCCU has received subsides from the Ministry of Education to complete important projects, such as furthering excellence in teaching and aim for top universities. In order to foster conviviality on campus, NCCU continues to develop the campus landscape and organize activities such as the “Baozong Tea Festival” and “Artist in Residence”. The Affiliated High School of National Chengchi University started to recruit students in 2005, making it possible to progress from kindergarten to Ph.D. program at National Chengchi University. In the future, NCCU will continue to pursue excellency in academia and pursue a vision of becoming a first-class international educational institution in the fields of liberal arts and social sciences.