The current Constitution of the Republic of China was adopted by the National Assembly in 1947, when the Nationalist Government was based in Nanjing. Since 1945, China was engulfed in a civil war that pitted the Nationalist Government against the Communist Party of China (CPC). In March 1948, the first National Assembly met in Nanjing, and after some deliberation, decided to invoke Article 174 of the Constitution to amend the Constitution". On 10 May 1948, the Assembly adopted the first set of Temporary Provisions that was set to expire after three years. In 1949, the Communists expelled the Nationalist Government from mainland China, and proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China while Chiang's government retreated to Taipei, Taiwan. In 1954, the National Assembly indefinitely renewed the Temporary Provisions in view of the Kuomintang's plans to recapture the mainland. The Temporary Provisions from then on were amended in accordance with the needs of the President of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek, or his son Chiang Ching Kuo. In 1966, the Temporary Provisions were revised to allow for supplementary elections to the National Assembly from the Taiwan Area. In 1971, the ROC was expelled from the United Nations and replaced with representatives from the People's Republic of China; the Temporary Provisions were amended again in 1972. However, in 1979, the United States severed diplomatic relations with the ROC and recognized the PRC.