Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China

The Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China are a body of constitutional amendments enacted in 1991 to adapt Taiwan's original 1947 constitution to democratic reform and the Republic of China's changed territorial situation after it ceased to govern mainland China. Ratified on April 22, 1991 and effective from May 1, 1991, the Additional Articles restructured the system of government from a parliamentary model toward a semi-presidential one, introducing direct popular election of the president, who serves a four year term with a single permitted re-election, in place of the earlier indirect election by the National Assembly. The amendments also reduced the National Assembly's role within the government's five branches, the Executive, Legislative, Judicial, Examination and Control Yuans, with a unicameral Legislative Yuan as the legislature. The Additional Articles have themselves been amended seven times since 1991, most recently in 2005, and operate alongside rather than inside the original 1947 constitutional text.