The New Party (NP) (;

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

: ''Sîn Tóng''), formerly the Chinese New Party (CNP), is a Chinese nationalist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in the

Republic of China 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 northeast ...

(Taiwan).

History

The New Party was formed on 22 August 1993 out of a split from the then-ruling

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 ...

(KMT) by members of the

New Kuomintang Alliance The New Kuomintang Alliance () was a faction of Kuomintang in the Republic of China (Taiwan), active late 20th century. Composed of mainly younger mainlanders, this faction was in favor of intraparty reform. It accused President Lee Teng-hui of ...

. Members of the Alliance had accused KMT Chairman

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He was the fir ...

of autocratic tendencies and moving the party away from

Chinese unification Chinese unification, also known as the Cross-Strait unification or Chinese reunification, is the potential unification of territories currently controlled, or claimed, by the People's Republic of China ("China" or "Mainland China") and the ...

. Co-founders of the New Party included Chen Kuei-miao. Originally, the party wanted to keep the name of the faction, but was prevented from doing so due to the similarity of names. The name "New Party" was seemingly inspired by the contemporary electoral success of the

Japan New Party The was a Japanese political party that existed briefly from 1992 to 1994. The party, considered liberal, was founded by Morihiro Hosokawa, a former Diet member and Kumamoto Prefecture governor, who left the Liberal Democratic Party to protest ...

("Nihon Shintō"; see

Politics of Japan Politics of Japan are conducted in a framework of a dominant-party bicameral parliamentary constitutional monarchy, in which the Emperor is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government and the head of the Cabinet, which d ...

). At this time, the party favored direct presidential elections, the ideals of

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

, voluntary service instead of military service, and "equal protection of human rights." The party also called for direct flights between Taiwan and the mainland, speaking of a "Great Chinese

Common Market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

." In the mid-1990s, the New Party attracted support from the KMT old guard as well as young urban professionals. The New Party was aided by former Finance Minister

Wang Chien-shien Wang Chien-shien (; born 7 August 1938) is a Taiwanese politician who is the founder of the New Party. He was finance minister of the Republic of China from 1990 to 1992 and is the chairman of the Chinese Management Association (CMA) (since 19 ...

and former Environmental Protection Administration Director

Jaw Shaw-kong Jaw Shaw-kong (; born 6 May 1950) is a Taiwanese media personality and politician. Jaw served a single term on the Taipei City Council before being elected to the Legislative Yuan from 1987 to 1991 and 1993 to 1994. Between Legislative Yuan stin ...

, who had charismatic and clean images. In the 2000 presidential election, the party nominated writer and dissident

Li Ao Li Ao (, also spelled Lee Ao; 25 April 1935 – 18 March 2018) was a Chinese writer, social commentator, historian and independent politician based in Taiwan. Li has been called one of the most important modern East Asian essayists today; his ...

, who ran a spirited but token campaign. In the election, most members of the party supported former

provincial governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

James Soong James Soong Chu-yu (born 16 March 1942) is a Taiwanese politician. He is the founder and current Chairman of the People First Party. Born to a Kuomintang military family of Hunanese origin, Soong began his political career as a secretary to ...

, who ran as an

independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

after losing the KMT nomination and subsequently being expelled from the KMT, and in fact both

and the New Party leader

Lee Ching-hua Lee Ching-hua (; born 3 December 1948) is a Taiwanese politician. Family and education Lee Ching-hua was born on 3 December 1948, the second child to Lee Huan and Pan Hsiang-ning. He had one older brother, Lee Ching-chung, and two younger siste ...

encouraged people to support him. In the 2001 Legislative Yuan election, the party won a single seat,

Wu Cherng-dean Wu Cherng-dean (; born 10 May 1957) is a Taiwanese politician. As of 2003 and 2006 he was of the New Party of the Republic of China in Taiwan and served as a legislator. In 2003 he and Sisy Chen joined the People First Party (PFP) legislative ca ...

's, in

Kinmen Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separate ...

. In the 2006 municipal elections, the New Party made significant gains, seating over a dozen members into public office. The New Party also gained four seats in the Taipei Mayor's private offices. Since the 2008 Legislative Yuan elections, the New Party has not won any seats, while the party supported most of the KMT candidates.

Election results

Presidential elections

Legislative elections

Local elections

National Assembly elections

Leaders

;Convenors of the New Party National Committee *

(August 1993 – May 1994) *

Yok Mu-ming Yok Mu-ming (; born 19 July 1940) is a Taiwanese politician and was the chairperson of the New Party from 2003 to February 2020. Cross-strait relations 2005 Mainland China visit Yok and delegates from the New Party made an 8-day visit to Mai ...

(May 1994 – October 1994) *

(October 1994 – August 1995) * Chen Kuei-miao (August 1995 – August 1997) * Chou Yang-shan (August 1997 – August 1998) *Chen Kuei-miao (August 1998 – December 1998) *

Feng Ting-kuo Feng Ting-kuo (; 24 September 1950 – 5 June 2018) was a Taiwanese politician. He served on the Taipei City Council from 1985 to 1988, and was a member of the National Assembly (Republic of China), National Assembly between 1992 and 1996, then ...

(acting; December 1998 – January 1999) *

(January 1999 – March 2000) *

Hau Lung-pin Hau Lung-pin (; born 22 August 1952) is a Taiwanese politician. As a member of the New Party, he was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1995, and resigned his seat to lead the Environmental Protection Administration in 2001. Hau stepped down ...

(March 2000 – March 2001) *

Hsieh Chi-ta Hsieh Chi-ta (; born 10 February 1949) is a retired Taiwanese politician who served in the Legislative Yuan from 1993 to 2002. Early life and legal career Hsieh was born in Shangrao on 10 February 1949. At the age of eighteen, she became a sc ...

(March 2001 – December 2001) * Levi Ying (acting; December 2001 – January 2002) *Yok Mu-ming (January 2002 – June 2003) ;Chairmen of the New Party *Yok Mu-ming (June 2003 – 21 February 2021) *

(since 21 February 2021) ; Vice chairmen of the New Party *

Lee Sheng-feng Lee Sheng-feng (; born 10 July 1953) is a Taiwanese politician. Career Lee was first elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1986, as a member of the Kuomintang. During his first year in office, he engaged in debate about the political status of ...

(since 2016)

References

External links

* {{Taiwanese political parties Far-right politics in Taiwan Social conservative parties National conservative parties Anti-Japanese sentiment in Taiwan