The China Democratic League (CDL) is one of the
eight legally recognized minor political parties in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
under the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
's
United Front
A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...
. The CDL was originally founded in 1941 as an umbrella coalition group of the
Chinese National Socialist Party
The China Democratic Socialist Party (CDSP; ) was a Chinese political party founded in Shanghai on 14 August 1946. It was formed through the merger of the former Chinese National Socialist Party (; their preferred shorthand name was "Socialists" ...
, the
Chinese Youth Party
The Young China Party (YCP), also known as the Chinese Youth Party (CYP), is a minor political party in Taiwan (Republic of China). It was one of the three legal political parties in Taiwan during the martial law period from 1949 to 1987, the ...
and the
Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party to fight the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
while providing for a "Third Way".
By 2020, the party had grown to 330,600 members, making it the largest legally recognized minor political party in the People's Republic of China. Of all such parties it also has the most seats in the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
at 9 seats. However, it has 58 seats in the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2, ...
, 6 less than the
Jiusan Society.
History
The China Democratic Political League was established in
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
on 19 March 1941, and changed its name to the China Democratic League in September 1944. At its formation, it was a coalition of three pro-
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
parties and three
pressure groups
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
. Its two main goals were to support China's war effort during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
and to provide a
centrist
Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...
third option between the
Nationalists
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
and the Chinese Communist Party. Influential members or supporters included
Zhang Dongsun
Zhang Dongsun (; 1886–1973), also known as Chang Tung-sheng, was a Chinese philosopher, public intellectual and political figure. He was a professor of Philosophy and Sinology at Yenching University and Tsinghua University.
Biography
Zhang Dong ...
,
Zhang Junmai
Carsun Chang (Shanghainese for (; 1886–1969), also known as Chang Chun-mai (), was a prominent Chinese philosopher, public intellectual and political figure. Carsun Chang was a social democratic politician.
Biography
A pioneering theorist of ...
(Carson Chang),
Luo Longji
Luo Longji (; July 30, 1898 – December 7, 1965) was a Chinese politician and famous intellectual. Luo has been called the "China's number two rightist". He and Hu Shih collaborated to research and promote human rights in China, which made them o ...
,
Pan Guangdan
Pan Guangdan (; 1898–1967) known in English as Quentin Pan, was a Chinese sociologist, eugenicist, and writer. He was one of the most distinguished sociologists and eugenicists of China. Educated at Tsinghua University on a Boxer Indemnity S ...
,
Huang Yanpei,
Fei Xiaotong
Fei Xiaotong or Fei Hsiao-tung (November 2, 1910 – April 24, 2005) was a Chinese anthropologist and sociologist. He was a pioneering researcher and professor of sociology and anthropology; he was also noted for his studies in the study o ...
,
Li Huang
Li Huang (1895 – 15 November 1991) was a Chinese politician and educator. While studying in France from 1919–1924, he was one of the founders of the Young China Party. After returning to China, he taught French literature in several universit ...
of the
Young China Party
The Young China Party (YCP), also known as the Chinese Youth Party (CYP), is a minor political party in Taiwan (Republic of China). It was one of the three legal political parties in Taiwan during the martial law period from 1949 to 1987, the ...
,
Wu Han,
Chu Anping
Chu Anping (, 1909–1966?) was a Chinese scholar, liberal journalist and editor of ''Guancha'' (观察, The Observer) in the Civil War era of the late 1940s. He is widely considered to be one of the most famous liberals in China. He was Editor ...
, and
Wen Yiduo
Wen Yiduo (; 24 November 189915 July 1946) was a Chinese poet and scholar known for his nationalistic poetry. Wen was assassinated by the Kuomintang in 1946.
Life
Wen Yiduo was born Wén Jiāhuá () on 24 November 1899 in what is now Xishui ...
.
After the war, many Americans in China were sympathetic to the League.
Theodore White
Theodore Harold White (, May 6, 1915 – May 15, 1986) was an American political journalist and historian, known for his reporting from China during World War II and the ''Making of the President'' series.
White started his career reporting for ...
wrote that if "the men of the middle group were well organized, they could guarantee peace. But they are not. They lack an army, a political machine, roots in any social class. Only the spread of education and industry can create enough men of the modern world to give them a broad social base."
In October 1945, the League released a report reaffirming its political commitments and outlining its goals.
In it, the League declared themselves to be neither left nor right, favoring neither
liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into diff ...
nor
socialist democracy
Socialist democracy is a political system that aligns with principles of both socialism and democracy. It includes ideologies such as council communism, democratic socialism, and Soviet democracy, as well as Marxist democracy like the dictatorsh ...
. Although the report praised elements of Western liberal democracies, it also criticized the economic inequalities that existed in Western capitalist societies. The report thus concluded that the best form of democracy for China would incorporate elements of both "Western political democracy" and "Soviet economic democracy". To achieve this, the League hoped to work with both the Nationalists and the Communists in a coalition government to write a new constitution.
However, disillusionment with the Nationalist government, which outlawed the League in 1947, and
infiltration
Infiltration may refer to:
Science, medicine, and engineering
*Infiltration (hydrology), downward movement of water into soil
*Infiltration (HVAC), a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning term for air leakage into buildings
*Infiltration (me ...
by the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
(CCP) caused the League to lean towards the CCP during the second phase of the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
. Thereafter, two of its constituent parties, the
China National Socialist Party and the
Chinese Youth Party
The Young China Party (YCP), also known as the Chinese Youth Party (CYP), is a minor political party in Taiwan (Republic of China). It was one of the three legal political parties in Taiwan during the martial law period from 1949 to 1987, the ...
, left the League to join the Nationalists in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. The remaining constituent party left later and eventually became the
Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party in February 1947.
The three interest groups were the National Salvation Association, the Rural Reconstruction Association, and the Vocational Education Society. The NSA, by far the largest and most popular of the interest groups, was inspired by the
National Salvation Armies and existed to encourage resistance against Japan, but became irrelevant after the war's end. The RRA was an agrarianist lobby formed from the
Rural Reconstruction Movement
The Rural Reconstruction Movement was started in China in the 1920s by Y.C. James Yen, Liang Shuming and others to revive the Chinese village. They strove for a middle way, independent of the Nationalist government but in competition with the ...
, which was originally hostile to communism but their interests in peasant welfare gradually intersected. The third interest group, the Vocational Education Society, wanted to establish
vocational school
A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
s throughout China and became the core of the
China Democratic National Construction Association.
Its chairperson
Zhang Lan
Zhang Lan (; 1872 – February 1955), courtesy name Biaofang (表方), was a Chinese political activist best known for being the chairman of the China Democratic League from its founding in 1941 until his death in 1955.
Biography
Zhang was bor ...
served as the vice chairman of
Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China
The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the pre ...
from 1949 to 1954.
In 1997, the League adopted a constitution, which stipulated that its program was "to hold high the banner of
patriotism and socialism, implement the basic line for the
primary stage of socialism
The primary stage of socialism (sometimes referred to as the preliminary stage of socialism),''Properly Understand Theories Concerning Preliminary Stage of Socialism'', by Wei Xinghua and Sang Baichuan. 1998. Journal of Renmin University of Chin ...
, safeguard stability in the society, strengthen services to national unity and strive for the promotion of socialist modernisation, establishment and improvement of a
market economy
A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
, enhancement of political restructuring and socialist spiritual civilisation, emancipation and development of
productive forces, consolidation and expansion of the united patriotic front and realisation of the grand goals of
socialism with Chinese characteristics."
Composition
The League is mainly made up of senior
intellectual
An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...
s in the fields of
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
,
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
, natural and social
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
s, and
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
. As of the end of 2012, the party had a membership of more than 282,000. Of this total, 22.8% were from the field of advanced education, 30.2% were from the field of compulsory education, 17.4% were in science and technology, and 5.8% were in art and the press.
Chairpersons
#
Huang Yanpei (): 1941–1941
#
Zhang Lan
Zhang Lan (; 1872 – February 1955), courtesy name Biaofang (表方), was a Chinese political activist best known for being the chairman of the China Democratic League from its founding in 1941 until his death in 1955.
Biography
Zhang was bor ...
(): 1941–1955
#
Shen Junru
Shen Junru (; January 2, 1875 – June 11, 1963) was a Chinese lawyer, political figure, and the first president of the Supreme People's Court of China of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China.
Biography
Shen was ...
(): 1955–1963
#
Yang Mingxuan (): 1963–1967
#
Shi Liang
Shi Liang (; March 27, 1900 – September 6, 1985) was a prominent lawyer and activist of the Republic of China. She was the only woman arrested in what was known as the Seven Gentlemen Incident on the eve of war with Japan in 1936. In 1949, s ...
(): 1979–1985
#
Hu Yuzhi
Hu Yuzhi (; September 9, 1896 – January 16, 1986) was a Chinese male politician, who served as the vice chairperson of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
References
1896 births
1986 deaths
Vice Chairpersons of t ...
(): acting, 1985–1986
#
Chu Tunan
Chu Tu'nan (; August 18, 1899 – April 11, 1994) was a Chinese male politician, who served as a vice-chairperson of the Standing Committee of the 6th National People's Congress
The 6th National People's Congress () was in session from 1983 t ...
(): 1986–1987
#
Fei Xiaotong
Fei Xiaotong or Fei Hsiao-tung (November 2, 1910 – April 24, 2005) was a Chinese anthropologist and sociologist. He was a pioneering researcher and professor of sociology and anthropology; he was also noted for his studies in the study o ...
(): 1987–1996
#
Ding Shisun
Ding Shisun (; September 5, 1927 – October 12, 2019) was a Chinese mathematician, academic administrator, and politician. He served as President of Peking University during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and was forced to resign afterwards ...
(): 1996–2005
#
Jiang Shusheng (): 2005–2012
#
Zhang Baowen
Zhang Baowen (; born November, 1946) is a Chinese politician who served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the chairman of the China Democratic League
The China Democratic League (CDL) is one o ...
(): 2012–2017
#
Ding Zhongli
Ding Zhongli (; born 14 January 1957) is a Chinese geologist and politician. He is a Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and chairman of the China Democratic League.
Biography
Ding was born in Shengz ...
(): 2017–present
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1941 establishments in China
Organizations associated with the Chinese Communist Party
Political parties established in 1941
Progressive parties
Social democratic parties in Asia
Socialist parties in China