 Martial law was declared in 1949 despite the democracy promised in the Constitution of the Republic of China (the Republic of China refused to implement the constitution on Taiwan until after 1949).After the Nationalist-led Republic of China government lost control of the mainland to the Communist Party of China and retreated to Taiwan in 1949, the perceived need to suppress Communist activities in Taiwan was utilised as a rationale for not lifting martial law until thirty-eight years later in 1987, just prior to the death of then President Chiang Ching-kuo.Taiwan's period of martial law was one of the longest in modern history, after that of Syria (1967–2011).