 Liang and his followers refused to join because they felt a rival government was harmful to China's national integrity and that the movement was itself unconstitutional because it was a military government.After reuniting with Tang's faction, Liang ran what was left of his party as the Research Clique (研究系) in the 1918 elections for a new assembly but placed a distant third behind Duan's Anfu Club (皖系) and Liang Shiyi's Communications Clique (交通系).Tang was assassinated in Victoria, British Columbia on 1 September by a rogue member of the Chinese Revolutionary Party (中華革命黨).