The China Democratic Socialist Party (CDSP; ) was a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

political party founded in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

on 14 August 1946. It was formed through the merger of the former Chinese National Socialist Party (; their preferred shorthand name was "Socialists"; no relation to the German

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

) and the Democratic Constitutionalist Party (), both of which had survived the years of Japanese aggression by generally supporting the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

-led national government. The new party's first head was

Carsun Chang 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 ...

. Along with the

, 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 ...

and China Democratic League, it was one of the longest active political parties in both Nationalist China and in post-civil war

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Republic of China in Taiwan.

Ideology

The CDSP's platform was to promote democratic socialism in China,

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, individual freedoms,

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, a narrowing of the gap between rich and poor, and equal rights for women. The party also sought the implementation of a

social welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

system for

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

and

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

History

Both the Socialists and the Democratic Constitutionalists had strong ties to

Liang Qichao Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超 ; Wade-Giles: ''Liang2 Chʻi3-chʻao1''; Yale: ''Lèuhng Kái-chīu'') (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political activist, journalist, and intellectual. His thou ...

's defunct

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

. The former were based in China as part of the China Democratic League while the latter was made up of overseas Chinese and expatriates. Most of their members were middle-age to elderly. They never actively recruited and most of their members were friends or relatives of each other. Their small numbers meant they lacked influence but also allowed them to operate under the radar of the Kuomintang and prevent infiltration by other parties. After the promulgation of the Republic of China's constitution in January 1947, the CDSP established branches in several provinces and cities around China and participated in the first elections to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

, Legislative Yuan and

Control Yuan The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Prior to constitutional reforms in the 1990s, the Control Yuan, along with National Assembly (electoral college) and the Legislati ...

. The party also postulated Hsu Fu-lin as candidate for vice-president in the First National Assembly of 1948 in

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

. After the ROC Government's retreat from mainland China, key members, including elected representatives and party leaders, followed the Kuomintang to

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 ...

. Carsun Chang moved to the

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and was replaced as party head by Hsu Fu-lin until Hsu's death in 1958. Chang was elected party chairman by a national congress of the CDSP held in 1959. The CDSP was one of three authorized political parties in the Republic of China after the transfer to Taiwan and imposition of

Martial Law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

, the other two being the ruling Kuomintang and the minor

. The party held a small number of seats in the National Assembly, Legislative Yuan and Control Yuan, but failed to gain elected representation after Taiwan's democratic transition in the 1990s. On 29 April 2020, it was reported that the party had been disbanded by the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

due to a failure to re-register after changes in the law regarding political parties.

References

{{Chinese political parties 1946 establishments in China 2020 disestablishments in China Defunct political parties in Taiwan Defunct political parties in China Democratic socialism in China Democratic socialist parties in Asia Political parties established in 1946 Political parties in the Republic of China Political parties with year of disestablishment missing Socialist parties in China Socialist parties in Taiwan