The China Democracy Party was a failed political organization of the Republic of China from 4 May to 4 September 1960 in an attempt to establish it as an opposition party. In 1949,

Lei Chen Lei Chen (; 8 July 1897 – 7 March 1979) was a Chinese people, Chinese politician and dissident who was the early leading figure in the movement to bring fuller democracy to the government of the Republic of China. Born in Zhejiang in 1897, Le ...

Hu Shih Hu Shih ( zh, t=胡適; 17 December 189124 February 1962) was a Chinese academic, writer, and politician. Hu contributed to Chinese liberalism and language reform, and was a leading advocate for the use of written vernacular Chinese. He part ...

Chi Shi-ying Chi Shi-ying (; October 4, 1899 – August 8, 1987) was a Chinese politician, intelligence officer, and dissident. As a close confidant and secretary to Chen Li-fu, as well as a member of the CC Clique, Chi was one of the key leaders of Kuomintan ...

Wang Shijie Wang Shih-chieh also known as Wang Shijie (; 10 March 1891 – 21 April 1981) was a Chinese politician and scholar of the Kuomintang in service to the Republic of China.徐主編（2007）、79頁。劉国銘主編（2005）、143頁。 He s ...

, and Han Lih-wu founded the ''

Free China Journal ''Free China Journal'' () was a periodical sponsored by the Kuomintang that was published in Taiwan after the Kuomintang retreat following their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. The first issue appeared on 20 December 1949. The publisher was H ...

'' in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. The publication was initially friendly to Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT, but comments criticizing them gradually began to appear. On May 4, 1960, Lei Chen announced 'why we desperately need a strong opposition' (我們為什麼迫切需要一個強有力的反對黨), strongly insisting on the opposition's participation in elections to keep the ruling party in check. On May 18, non-KMT figures held an election improvement review meeting to demand the creation of a new political party and the realization of fair elections and true democracy. From this day on, the resolution organized a 'local election improvement forum' and immediately prepared to organize an opposition party. The Democracy Party received support from the

CC Clique The CC Clique ( zh, c=CC派), or Central Club Clique ( zh, t=中央俱樂部組織), officially Ko-hsin Club ( zh, t=革新俱樂部) was one of the political factions within the Kuomintang (The Chinese Nationalist Party), in the Republic of Chin ...

within the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

. Chi Shi-ying, a key figure in the clique and former secretary to

Chen Lifu Chen Lifu or Ch'en Li-fu (; 21 August 1900 – 8 February 2001) was a politician in the Republic of China. He was a close advisor of Chiang Kai-shek. With his brother Chen Guofu, he led the CC Clique. Life and career Chen was born in Wuxi ...

, once told Lei Chen that many CC Clique members favored the establishment of an opposition party. On September 4, 1960, some members of the party were imprisoned after a military trial and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

References

{{Reflist Anti-fascist organizations in China Banned political parties Liberal parties in China Liberal parties in Taiwan Taiwanese democracy movements

See also

References