Chinese: 青天白日旗;
pinyin: qīng tīan bái rì qí) currently serves as the party flag of the
Kuomintang. Its design was the basis for the
canton of the
flag of the Republic of China and the
emblem of the Republic of China.
In the "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flag, the twelve rays of the white Sun representing the twelve months and the twelve traditional Chinese hours (時辰 shíchen), each of which corresponds to two modern hours (小時 xiǎoshí, literal meaning: "little shi") and symbolizes the spirit of progress.
The "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flag was designed by Lu Hao-tung, a martyr of the Republican revolution. He presented his design to represent the revolutionary army at the inauguration of the Hong Kong, on February 21, 1895. In 1905, Sun Yat-sen added a red field to the design to create what would become the current flag of the Republic of China.
During the Wuchang Uprising in 1911 that heralded the Republic, the various revolutionary armies had different flags. Lu Hao_tung's "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flag was used in the provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou, while the "18-Star Flag," "Five-Colored Flag," and other designs were used elsewhere.
When the government of the Republic of China was established on January 1, 1912, The "Five-Colored" flag was adopted as the national flag, but Sun Yat-sen did not consider its design appropriate, reasoning that horizontal order implied a hierarchy or class like that which existed during dynastic times. Thus, when he established a rival government in Guangzhou in 1917, he brought over the "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flag for the party and the "Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth" (then the naval ensign) for the nation. This officially became the national flag in 1928, and continued to serve as the naval ensign; the "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flag was adopted as the naval jack at the same time.
In the early years of the Republic, under the KMT's political tutelage, the KMT party flag shared the same prominence as the ROC flag. A common wall display consisted of the KMT flag perched on the left and the ROC flag perched on the right, eached tilted at an angle with a portrait of National Father Sun Yat-sen displayed in the center.
Since the Natioanlist government moved to Taiwan and especially in the years since the end of martial law the KMT flag has lost some of its prominence. However, it is still frequently seen in political rallies and other meetings of KMT and the pan-blue coalition.
The flag and the KMT party emblem made the news in during the ROC legislative elections of 2004, when President Chen Shui_bian suggested that the Kuomintang's flag and party emblem violate the ROC's National Emblem Law and copyright laws. Chen stated the law forbids the ROC's emblem and flag from being used by non_governmental organizations. President Chen even gave the KMT three months to change their flag or emblem if his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a majority of seats the legislature . However, the DPP did not win the majority of seats, and Chen has taken no action since the initial statement.
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