Taiwanese People's Party
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The Taiwanese People's Party (; ), founded 1927, was nominally
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 ...
's first political party, preceding the founding of the
Taiwanese Communist Party The Taiwanese Communist Party ( zh, t=臺灣共產黨; ja, 台湾共產党) was a revolutionary organization active in Japanese-ruled Taiwan. Like the contemporary Taiwanese People's Party, its existence was short, only three years, but its ...
by nine months. Initially a party with members holding moderate and conservative views, by the time of its banning, on 18 February 1931, it had become a solidly leftist, workers-oriented party. In a political atmosphere increasingly dominated by the rise of
Japanese fascism Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
, the party never participated in electoral politics. The party grew out of the conflict within the Taiwanese Cultural Association. By the late 1920s that organization had become largely
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
-dominated. A group of its founders met during the first half of 1927 to plan an alternative, more moderate organization. After several of their proposals had been rejected by the Japanese authorities, they finally settled on "Taiwanese People's Party" and a much diluted, vaguely worded party program. Specifically the new party officially disavowed any ambition to promote "national struggle" and declared its intention to use legal means to "affirm democratic politics", establish "reasonable economic organization" and reform "defects in the social institutions". In terms of policy it advocated the rights of Taiwanese to publish newspapers, the need to teach
Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...
in public schools, abolition of a system of informers known as " Baojia Zhidu", removal of the need for passports when travelling to mainland China, and reform of the farmers' associations and government monopolies. The party grew quickly; by the end of 1927 it had 15 branches and 456 members, among them many prominent elites, including landowners, lawyers and doctors. However, the vague party charter soon presented problems: on the one hand the charter had apparently managed to placate the wary authorities; on the other, the vague wording had the effect of hiding away some of the divisive ideological differences among the most powerful players. During the party's short existence its internal politics was dominated by the struggle between the left-wing, led by
Chiang Wei-shui Chiang Wei-shui (; 6 August 1890 – 5 August 1931) was a Taiwanese physician and activist. He was a founding member of the Taiwanese Cultural Association and the Taiwanese People's Party. He is seen as one of the most important figures in Ta ...
, and the right-wing, represented by , to define the party's core values, particularly its position on "the
class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
question". Whereas Chiang's faction sought to define the party as representing the interests of workers and peasants, Peng's faction took the moderate position of "working to improve their quality of life". After Chiang set up the as a party affiliate in February 1928, Peng resigned in protest. In August 1930 a number of conservatives left the party to form the , led by
Lin Hsien-tang Lin Hsien-tang (; 22 October 1881 – 8 September 1956) was a Taiwanese-born politician and activist who founded several political organizations and sat on the Japanese House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. Early life and family Lin Hsien-tang's ...
and . By the third party congress later that year, Chiang had won control of the executive committee. His proposal for a revision of the party charter was passed the following year. It admonished "bourgeoise" and "reactionary" members for not heeding the international climate, which had "strengthened the consciousness of struggle within the island's masses". The revised charter characterized the party as one to work toward the political freedom and interests of workers, peasants, the urban proletariat, and all similarly oppressed. Chiang believed that the time was ripe for a strategy that combined class and national (anti-colonial) movements. For the most part the party was not effective in achieving its goals. On 7 July 1927 it put forward a "Statement of Recommendations", given to Prime Minister
Hamaguchi Osachi Hamaguchi Osachi (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , also Hamaguchi Yūkō, 1 April 1870 – 26 August 1931) was a Japanese politician, cabinet minister and Prime Minister of Japan from 1929 to 1931. Nicknamed the due to his dignified demeanor and mane- ...
, that demanded local autonomy for the island and urged freedom of speech. The following year it demanded that the colonial governor institute popular, proportionally representative ballot for some councils. Its singular triumph was in forcing the authorities to set aside budget for establishing treatment centers for
opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
addicts. The party successfully created international pressure by filing complaints to the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
(of which Japan remained a member until the early 1930s), which then sent a representative to investigate. As civilian rule gave way to a new, harsher phase of all-consuming
militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
in Taiwan and elsewhere in the
Japanese colonies Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspo ...
, the fate of the party was sealed. Ironically the result was essentially as Peng Hua-ying had predicted in his objection to Chiang's more radical vision: As soon as the fourth party congress passed the revised charter, the authorities proceeded to ban the organization. Chiang Wei-shui and other party leaders were arrested. In its statement the authorities accused "leftist, nationalist members" of controlling the party and secretly working on
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
for the colony, as well as alerting the international community of Japan's use of
chemical warfare Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym ...
in suppressing the Wushe Rebellion of 1930. Chiang himself came to be disillusioned with legitimate political means of reform. After his death in August 1931 from
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
, the party fell into disarray and later disbanded.


References

{{reflist *Yang, Bichuan. 1987. ''Jianming Taiwanshi'' (A concise history of Taiwan), Diyi Chubanshe, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. 1927 establishments in Taiwan 1931 disestablishments in Taiwan Defunct political parties in Taiwan Political parties in Taiwan Political parties established in 1927