Democratic Progressive Party
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Democratic Progressive Party 民主進步黨 | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | DPP |
Chairperson | Lai Ching-te |
Secretary-General | Yang Yi-shan (acting) |
Founded | 28 September 1986 |
Split from | Tangwai |
Headquarters | 10F-30, Beiping East Rd. Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan 10049[1] |
Think tank | New Frontier Foundation |
Membership (2023) | 238,664[2] |
Ideology | |
Political position | Centre to centre-left[B] |
National affiliation | Pan-Green Coalition |
Regional affiliation | Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats[3] |
International affiliation | Liberal International |
Colors | Green |
Legislative Yuan | 51 / 113 |
Municipal mayors | 2 / 6 |
Magistrates/mayors | 3 / 16 |
Councilors | 277 / 910 |
Township/city mayors | 40 / 204 |
Party flag | |
Website | |
www | |
^ A: Taiwan independence is written in the DPP platform, but main DPP politicians support Huadu (ROC independence) position. right-wing by pro-China or pro-communism media outlets owing to its anti-communism.[5] |
Democratic Progressive Party | |
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Tâi-lô | Bîn-tsìn Tóng |
Taiwan portal |
The Democratic Progressive Party[I] (DPP)[II] is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre to centre-left political party in Taiwan.[6][7][8] It is currently the major ruling party in Taiwan, controlling both the presidency and the central government, also the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition.
Founded in 1986 by
The DPP is a longtime member of Liberal International and a founding member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. It represented Taiwan in the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO). The DPP is widely classified as socially liberal having been founded as a party for human rights, including factions within the party supporting same-sex marriage and other LGBT rights. On foreign policy, the DPP is more willing to increase military expenditures to prevent military intimidation from the People's Republic of China (PRC) owing to the ambiguous political status of Taiwan. It favors closer ties with democratic nations such as Japan and the United States, as well as the nations of ASEAN as part of its New Southbound Policy. The party is frequently accused by the PRC government of being a primary force in Taiwan to "prevent the Chinese nation from achieving complete reunification" and "halt the process of national rejuvenation"[12] due to the party's outspoken advocacy of the Taiwanese nationalism, its supportive attitude to Taiwanese enjoying the right to decide their own future,[13][14] and its firm opposition to the notion of "One China", including the alleged "1992 Consensus" narratives by both the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and KMT.
History
The DPP's roots were in the
The tangwai were not a unified political unit and consisted of factions which carried over into the early DPP. At its founding the DPP consisted of three factions: the Kang group ,a moderate faction led by
The party did not at the outset give explicit support to an independent Taiwanese national identity, partially because moderates such as Hsu Hsin-liang were concerned that such a move that could have invited a violent crackdown by the Kuomintang and alienate voters, but also because some members such as Lin Cheng-chieh supported unification. Partially due to their waning influence within the party and partially due to their ideological commitment, between 1988 and 1991 the New Tide Faction would push the independence issue, bolstered by the return of pro-independence activists from overseas who were previously barred from Taiwan. In 1991, in order to head off the New Tide, party chairman Hsu Hsin-liang of the moderate Formosa faction agreed to include language in the party charter which advocated for the drafting of a new constitution as well as declaration of a new Republic of Taiwan via referendum (which resulted in many pro-unification members leaving the party).[18][19] However, the party would quickly begin to walk back on this language, and eventually in 1999 the party congress passed a resolution that Taiwan was already an independent country, under the official name "Republic of China", and that any constitutional changes should be approved by the people via referendum, while emphasizing the use of the name "Taiwan" in international settings.[20]
Despite its lack of electoral success, the pressure that the DPP created on the ruling KMT via its demands are widely credited in the political reforms of the 1990s, most notably the
In 1996, DPP Chairman Shih Ming-teh united with the New Party to run for the President of the Legislative Yuan, but lost by one vote. The vote that was missing was legislator Chang Chin-cheng's failure to vote for Shih. As a result, Chang was expelled from the DPP.
Post-democratization, the DPP shifted their focus to anti-corruption issues, in particular regarding KMT connections to organized crime as well as "party assets" illegally acquired from the government during martial law.[21] Meanwhile, factions continued to form within the DPP as a mechanism for coalition-building within the party; notably, future President Chen Shui-bian would form the Justice Alliance faction.
2000–2008: in minority government
The DPP won the presidency with the
In 2002, the DPP became the first party other than the KMT to reach a plurality in the Legislative Yuan following the
In 2003, Chen announced a campaign to draft a referendum law as well as a new constitution, a move which appealed to the fundamentalist wing of the DPP. By now, the New Tide faction had begun to favor pragmatic approaches to their pro-independence goals and dominated decision-making positions within the party. By contrast, grassroots support was divided largely between moderate and fundamentalist wings. Though Chen's plans for a referendum on a new constitution were scuttled by the legislature, he did manage to include a largely symbolic
President Chen's moves sparked a debate within the party between fundamentalists and moderates who were concerned that voters would abandon their party. The fundamentalists won out, and as a result the DPP would largely follow Chen's lead. The DPP suffered a significant election defeat in nationwide
The results led to a shake up of the party leadership.
with 54.4% of the vote.Premier Frank Hsieh, DPP election organizer and former mayor of Kaohsiung twice tendered a verbal resignation immediately following the election, but his resignation was not accepted by President Chen until 17 January 2006 after the DPP chairmanship election had concluded. The former DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang was appointed to replace Hsieh as premier. Hsieh and his cabinet resigned en masse on 24 January to make way for Su and his new cabinet. President Chen had offered the position of Presidential Office Secretary-General (vacated by Su) to the departing premier, but Hsieh declined and left office criticizing President Chen for his tough line on dealing with China.
In 2005, following the passage of the Anti-Secession Law, the Chen administration issued a statement asserting the position that Taiwan's future should be decided by the people on Taiwan only.[22]
Separate identity from China
On 30 September 2007, the DPP approved a resolution asserting a separate identity from China and called for the enactment of a new constitution for a "normal nation". It struck an accommodating tone by advocating general use of "Taiwan" as the country's name without calling for abandonment of the name Republic of China.[23]
2008–2016: return to opposition
In the national elections held in early months of 2008, the DPP won less than 25% of the seats (38.2% vote share) in the new Legislative Yuan while its presidential candidate, former Kaohsiung mayor Frank Hsieh, lost to KMT candidate Ma Ying-jeou by a wide margin (41.55% vs. 58.45%). In May, the DPP elected moderate Tsai Ing-wen as their new leader over fundamentalist Koo Kwang-ming.[21] Tsai became the first female leader of the DPP and the first female leader to lead a major party in Taiwan.
The first months since backed to the opposition were dominated by press coverage of the travails of
The DPP vowed to reflect on public misgivings towards the party. Chairperson Tsai insisted on the need for the party to remember its history, defend the Republic of China's sovereignty and national security, and maintain its confidence.[25][26]
The party re-emerged as a voice in Taiwan's political debate when Ma's administration reached the end of its first year in office. The DPP marked the anniversary with massive rallies in Taipei and Kaohsiung. Tsai's address to the crowd in Taipei on 17 May proclaimed a "citizens' movement to protect Republic of China" seeking to "protect our democracy and protect Republic of China."[27]
2016–2024: in majority government
On 16 January 2016, Taiwan held a general election for its presidency and for the Legislative Yuan. The DPP gained the presidential seat, with the election of Tsai Ing-wen, who received 56.12% of the votes, while her opponent Eric Chu gained 31.2%.[28] In addition, the DPP gained a majority of the Legislative Yuan, winning 68 seats in the 113-seat legislature, up from 40 in 2012 election, thus giving them the majority for the first time in its history.[29]
President Tsai won reelection in the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election on 11 January 2020, and the Democratic Progressive Party retained its legislative majority, winning 61 seats.
2024–present: return to minority government
The 13 January 2024 presidential election and legislative elections led to the election of Lai Ching-te who won with 40.1% of the votes, while his opponents, Hou Yu-ih of the KMT had 33.5% of the votes, and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party with 26.5% of the vote. In addition, this election made the DPP the first party to win three consecutive presidential terms since direct elections were introduced in 1996. The DPP was unable to retain its majority in the Legislative Yuan, losing ten seats.[30][31]
Ideology and policies
Part of a series on |
Taiwan independence movement |
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Taiwan portal |
The DPP is a
Stance on Taiwanese independence
The primary political axis in Taiwan involves the issue of
The current official position of the party is that Taiwan is an independent and sovereign country whose territory consists of Taiwan and its surrounding smaller islands and whose sovereignty derives only from the ROC citizens living in Taiwan (similar philosophy of
By contrast, the KMT or pan-blue coalition agrees that the Republic of China is an independent and sovereign country that is not part of the PRC, but argues that a one China principle (with different definitions across the strait) can be used as the basis for talks with China. The KMT also opposes Taiwan independence and argues that efforts to establish a Taiwanese national identity separated from the Chinese national identity are unnecessary and needlessly provocative. Some KMT conservative officials have called efforts from DPP "
The first years of the DPP as the ruling party drew accusations from the opposition as a self-styled Taiwanese nationalist party, the DPP was itself inadequately sensitive to the ethnographic diversity of Taiwan's population. Where the KMT had been guilty of Chinese chauvinism, the critics charged, the DPP might offer nothing more as a remedy than Hoklo chauvinism.[45] The DPP argues that its efforts to promote a Taiwanese national identity are merely an effort to normalize a Taiwanese identity repressed during years of authoritarian Kuomintang rule.
Support
Since the democratization of Taiwan in the 1990s, the DPP has had its strongest performance in the Hokkien-speaking counties and cities of Taiwan, compared with the predominantly Hakka and Mandarin-speaking counties, that tend to support the Kuomintang.
The deep-rooted hostility between
Structure
The DPP National Party Congress selects, for two-year terms, the 30 members of the Central Executive Committee and the 11 members of the Central Review Committee. The Central Executive Committee, in turn, chooses the 10 members of the Central Standing Committee. Since 2012, the DPP has had a "China Affairs Committee" to deal with Cross-Strait relations; the name caused some controversy within the party and in the Taiwan media, with critics suggesting that "Mainland Affairs Committee" or "Cross-Strait Affairs Committee" would show less of a hostile "One Country on Each Side" attitude.[52]
Factions
For many years the DPP officially recognized several factions within its membership, such as the New Tide faction (新潮流系), the Formosa faction (美麗島系), the Justice Alliance faction (正義連線系) and Welfare State Alliance faction (福利國系). Different factions endorse slightly different policies and are often generationally identifiable, representing individuals who had entered the party at different times. In 2006, the party ended recognition of factions.[53] The factions have since stated that they will comply with the resolution. However, the factions are still referred to by name in national media.[54][55]
As of 2022, Taiwan News identified at least 7 factions within the party:[56]
- New Tide faction - William Lai, Chen Chu , Tsai Chi-chang, Chiu Tai-san, Pan Men-an , Lai Pin-yu
- TNCPA - Lin Chia-lung, Fifi Chen Ting-fei , Lin You-chang
- Green Fellowship Association - Ho Chih-wei
- Taiwan Forward - Lin Kun-hai, Hsu Kuo-yung
- Su Faction - Su Tseng-chang
- Ing Faction - Tsai Ing-wen, Chen Ming-wen , Kuan Bi-ling
- Democracy Living Water Connection - Cho Jung-tai, Luo Wen-jia , Lin Fei-fan
Chair
- Current Chair: Lai Ching-te
Secretary-General
- Current Secretary-General: Lin Hsi-yao (since May 2020)
Legislative Yuan leader (caucus leader)
- Shih Ming-teh (1 February 1993 – 1 February 2002)
- Ker Chien-ming (since 1 February 2002)
Election results
Presidential elections
Election | Candidate | Running mate | Total votes | Share of votes | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996
|
Peng Ming-min | Frank Hsieh Chang-ting | 2,274,586 | 21.13% | Defeated |
2000
|
Chen Shui-bian | Annette Lu Hsiu-lien | 4,977,737 | 39.30% | Elected |
2004
|
6,446,900 | 50.11% | Elected | ||
2008
|
Frank Hsieh Chang-ting | Su Tseng-chang | 5,445,239 | 41.55% | Defeated |
2012
|
Tsai Ing-wen | Su Jia-chyuan | 6,093,578 | 45.63% | Defeated |
2016
|
Chen Chien-jen ( Ind.) | 6,894,744 | 56.12% | Elected | |
2020
|
Lai Ching‑te
|
8,170,231 | 57.13% | Elected | |
2024 | Lai Ching-te | Hsiao Bi-khim | 5,586,019 | 40.05% | Elected |
Legislative elections
Election | Total seats won | Total votes | Share of votes | Changes | Party leader | Status | President |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | 21 / 130
|
Huang Hsin-chieh | Minority | Lee Teng-hui | |||
1992
|
51 / 161
|
2,944,195 | 31.0% | 30 seats | Hsu Hsin-liang | Minority | |
1995
|
54 / 164
|
3,132,156 | 33.2% | 3 seats | Shih Ming-teh | Minority | |
1998
|
70 / 225
|
2,966,834 | 29.6% | 16 seats | Lin Yi-hsiung | Minority | |
2001
|
87 / 225
|
3,447,740 | 36.6% | 21 seats | Chen Shui-bian | Minority | Chen Shui-bian |
2004
|
89 / 225
|
3,471,429 | 37.9% | 2 seats | Minority | ||
2008
|
27 / 113
|
3,775,352 | 38.2% | 62 seats | Minority | Ma Ying-jeou | |
2012
|
40 / 113
|
4,556,526 | 34.6% | 13 seats | Tsai Ing-wen | Minority | |
2016
|
68 / 113
|
5,370,953 | 44.1% | 28 seats | Majority | Tsai Ing-wen | |
2020 | 61 / 113
|
4,811,241 | 33.98% | 7 seats | Cho Jung-tai | Majority | |
2024 | 51 / 113
|
4,981,060 | 36.16% | 10 seats | Lai Ching-te | Minority | Lai Ching-te |
Local elections
Election | Magistrates and mayors | Councillors | Township/city mayors | Township/city council representatives | Village chiefs | Party leader |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 provincial |
1 / 3
|
52 / 175
|
— | — | — | Shih Ming-teh |
1997–1998 | 12 / 23
|
114 / 886
|
28 / 319
|
— | — | Hsu Hsin-liang |
1998 municipal |
1 / 2
|
28 / 96
|
— | — | — | Lin Yi-hsiung |
2001–2002
|
9 / 23
|
147 / 897
|
28 / 319
|
— | — | Chen Shui-bian |
2002 municipal |
1 / 2
|
31 / 96
|
— | — | — | |
2005
|
6 / 23
|
192 / 901
|
35 / 319
|
— | — | |
2006 municipal |
1 / 2
|
33 / 96
|
— | — | — | |
2009 | 4 / 17
|
128 / 587
|
34 / 211
|
— | — | Tsai Ing-wen |
2010 municipal |
2 / 5
|
130 / 314
|
— | — | 220 / 3,757
| |
2014 unified |
13 / 22
|
291 / 906
|
54 / 204
|
194 / 2,137
|
390 / 7,836
| |
2018 unified |
6 / 22
|
238 / 912
|
40 / 204
|
151 / 2,148
|
285 / 7,744
| |
2022 unified |
5 / 22
|
277 / 910
|
35 / 204
|
123 / 2,139
|
226 / 7,748
|
National Assembly elections
Election | Total seats won | Total votes | Share of votes | Changes | Party leader | Status | President |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991
|
66 / 325
|
2,036,271 | 23.3% | 66 seats | Huang Shin-chieh
|
Minority | Lee Teng-hui |
1996
|
127 / 334
|
3,121,423 | 29.9% | 33 seats | Shih Ming-teh | Minority | |
2005
|
127 / 300
|
1,647,791 | 42.52% | 28 seats | Annette Lu Hsiu-lien | Plurality | Chen Shui-bian |
See also
Notes
Words in native languages
References
- ^ "DPP governance, committed to excellence". www.dpp.org.tw. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ "民主進步黨第十七屆黨主席補選結果新聞稿". Democratic Progressive Party. 15 January 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- ^ cald
.org /member-parties /democratic-progressive-party-of-taiwan / - ISBN 978-1-3174-7156-1. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2020.on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- The Economist. Economist Newspaper Limited. 2011. p. 58. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- Business Asia. Business International Corporation. 2001. p. 40. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
- "Taiwan". Freedom in the World 2002. Freedom House. 2002. Archived from the original
- "台灣選舉只有右派價值的藍綠輪替,而主要的第三勢力都不算是左翼政黨". The News Lens (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2 December 2018.
- "民進黨早就沒有台獨信仰了──從議員對高雄果菜市場拆遷案的評論中,看見民進黨真面目". 公民報橘 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 10 September 2016.
清楚傳遞了民進黨就是一個右派政黨,更是一個沒有台獨信仰的政黨。
- "臺灣的偏左意識在哪裡?". 獨立評論 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 3 December 2014.
中華民國共和憲政一百多年,也由兩個右派政黨執政了一百多年。台灣民進黨右[...]
- "邱師儀》民進黨其實是極右政黨". China Times (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 28 November 2017.
- "日本記者本田善彥:民進黨種族主義表露無遺". China Times (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 28 December 2018.
民進黨一旦執政,吸引文青的美好願景就變成噁心的偽善把戲與類法西斯的極右作風。
- "柯文哲的下一步". China Times (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2 December 2022.
台灣兩大政黨其實都比較偏向傳統右派政黨,偏重維護資本家利益重視經濟發展[...]
Section II-2: "'The Republic of China is an independent and sovereign state. Taiwan's sovereignty belongs to the 23 million people of Taiwan. Only the 23 million citizens of Taiwan may decide on the future of Taiwan.' This statement represents the greatest consensus within Taiwan's society today concerning the issues of national sovereignty and the future of Taiwan. It is also a common position shared by both the ruling and opposition parties in Taiwan. A recent opinion poll shows that more than 90% of the people of Taiwan agree with this position.
Launched in 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is one of the two main political parties in Taiwan. The DPP is a centre-left, pan-Green party with a Taiwanese nationalist, strongly antiCommunist focus.
Taiwan's main, centre-left, party of opposition (the Democratic Progressive Party) has been committed to securing formal independence for Taiwan from the communist mainland, for all that its latest election success (March 2000) ...
The DPP, on the other hand, is a centre-left party that pushes for Taiwanese autonomy from China and stays closer to the Americans.
The DPP resembles a cross - mix of Western social democratic and liberal values .
President Tsai went into Wednesday's ceremony with an approval rating of 70.3 per cent after besting her opponents in a landslide re-election in January, all the while quietly enduring Beijing's subversive efforts to unseat her and Xi Jinping's constant threats of war and occupation.The Taiwanese have been blessed with four years of Tsai's avowedly liberal, mildly social-democratic and happily free-enterprise government.
The DPP advanced a socialist agenda; the KMT copied much of it in order to preempt the DPP's program and weaken the DPP's political appeal. As it did this Taiwan became more and more a Western (social) democracy.
The DPP's ideology emphasizes Taiwanese nationalism and the notion of a Taiwan that is politically and culturally distinct from mainland China. It also advocates social liberalism and is commonly associated with small- to medium-sized companies and organized labor. While the DPP wishes for greater independence from mainland China, the party is divided on the nature of that independence.