The China Zhi Gong Party ( zh, s=中国致公党, p=Zhōngguó Zhìgōngdǎng, l=Public Interest Party of China) 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 ...

that are subservient to the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

(CCP) and represented in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a principal organization in the

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 ...

strategy. Some scholars have described the Zhi Gong Party as "gathering non-party voices to support the party".

History

The China Zhi Gong Party derives from the overseas Hung Society organization "Hung Society Zhigong Hall" or "

Chee Kung Tong The Chee Kung Tong (), or Gee Kung Tong, was a Chinese secret society established in 1880 and holds an active presence still. In earlier years, the society has also been recognized as the "Chinese Masons" and has been identified under various names ...

", based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, United States. This organization was one of the key supporters of Sun Yat-sen in his revolutionary efforts to overthrow the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. The party was founded in October 1925 in San Francisco, and was led by Chen Jiongming and Tang Jiyao, two ex-

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 ...

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

s that went into opposition. Their first platform was federalism and

multi-party democracy In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coal ...

. The party moved its headquarters to the then-British colony of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

in 1926. After the

Japanese invasion of Manchuria The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden Incident. At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Their occupation lasted until the ...

in 1931 it began engaging in anti-Japanese propaganda and boycotts. The party was nearly wiped out during the

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce ...

. The party turned to the left during its third party congress in 1947. After the People's Republic of China was founded, at the invitation of the CCP, representatives of the CZGP attended the First Plenary Session of the CPPCC in 1949. They participated in drawing up the CPPCC Common Program and electing the Central People's Government. As part of the CCP's reorganization of the minor aligned parties, the CZGP was designated as the party of returned overseas Chinese, their relatives, and noted figures and scholars who have overseas ties. On occasions, the Zhi Gong Party appears to be used as an intermediary for contacts with certain foreign interests. For example, when a delegation of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

an politicians visited Beijing in 2001 and met

Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ch ...

(despite Paraguay having diplomatic relations not with PRC but with ROC in Taiwan), it was invited not by the PRC government or the CCP, but by the Zhi Gong Party. In April 2007,

Wan Gang Wan Gang (, born August 1952) is a Chinese expert on automobiles, former president of Tongji University (2002–2007) and former Minister of Science and Technology. He is the Chairman of the China Zhi Gong Party, a legally sanctioned minor p ...

, Deputy Chair of the Zhi Gong Party Central Committee, was appointed Technology Minister of China. This was the first non-CCP ministerial appointment in China in 35 years.

Leaders

# Chen Jiongming (1925–1933) # (1933–1947) #

Li Jishen Li Jishen or Li Chi-shen (5 November 1885 – 9 October 1959) was a Chinese military officer and politician, general of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China (1949–1954 ...

(1947–1950) # (1950–1970, died in office) # (1979–1984) # Dong Yinchu (1984–1997) #

Luo Haocai Luo Haocai (; March 1934 – 12 February 2018) was a Chinese legal scholar, Supreme Court judge, and politician. He served as professor and Vice President of Peking University, Vice President of the Supreme People's Court, Chairman of China Zhi ...

(1997–2007) #

(2007–present)

References

External links

* {{Politics of China navbox 1925 establishments in China Political parties established in 1925

History

Leaders

See also

References

External links