The Trees Party () is a minor political party 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 no ...

. The core ideology of the party is

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment (biophysical), environment, par ...

, and it is commonly identified as a "third force" party belonging to neither the Pan-Blue or

Pan-Green Coalition The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union ...

s. The party was formed in 2014 as a splinter group of the

Green Party Taiwan Green Party Taiwan is a political party in Taiwan established on 25 January 1996. Although the party is sympathetic to Taiwan nationalism and shares a number of centre-left positions with the Pan-Green Coalition, the party emphasizes campa ...

by brothers Pan Han-sheng and Pan Han-chiang.

History

In 2014 Pan Han-sheng, one of the "stars" of the Green Party Taiwan (GPT), left the fold to start a new party, the Trees Party with his brother, Pan Han-chiang, a development described as "damaging" to the GPT. Despite this, the Green Party Taiwan responded to the announcement of the formation of the Trees Party by "welcoming their strong stance on the protection of trees". While several articles in the English-language media refer to the party as the "Tree Party", the formal English name as stated in the constitution is the "Trees Party". In April 2020 the Trees Party was given notification by the Ministry of Interior of its disbandment.

Platform

There are six core policy positions articulated in the party constitution: environmental stewardship, social justice, upholding participatory democracy, pacifism, sustainable development, and respect for diversity. The constitution also commits the party to "defending trees and Mother Earth from human greed and ignorance". The party sees its mission as: * Increasing public awareness of the global environmental crisis, with political action proposed as the main solution * Nominating candidates to participate in elections * Proposing public policy * Providing educational programs and publications and encouraging citizen participation * Promoting exchanges and cooperation between domestic and foreign political groups and local environmental groups * Other matters to promote an environment conducive to political development

Electoral performance

In the November 2014 9-in-1 elections the party won one seat in the Yilan County council. In the race for the Taipei City Council, the party polled 2.1% of the total votes cast, winning no seats. In the same set of elections, the party won one mayoral race, for Jiji Township in

Nantou County Nantou County (; Hokkien POJ: ''Lâm-tâu-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Nàm-thèu-yen'') is the second largest county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives fro ...

. The mayor resigned from the party on 24 June 2015.

References

{{Taiwanese political parties 2014 establishments in Taiwan Green political parties Environmentalism in Taiwan Progressive parties in Taiwan Taiwanese nationalist political parties Political parties in Taiwan Political parties established in 2014 Social democratic parties in Taiwan