The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is a political party in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

founded in 2015. In 2015, the SDP formed a coalition with the

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

to contest the 2016 legislative election. Historically, the SDP is one of Taiwan's "Third Force" () parties, a collection of parties that do not self-claim to either the Pan-Green or Pan-Blue Coalitions and tend to be rooted in social movements. Currently, the SDP has become part of the Pan-Green camp, with more Taiwanese nationalist positions accepted and working with the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

Political ideology

The SDP is a

social-democratic Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, socia ...

and progressive party, calling for a reduction in

income inequality In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes ...

, the protection of

labour rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, the ...

, the abolition of the death penalty and the legalisation of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. The party has also called for a reform to Taiwan's electioneering process, criticising the advantage given to parties with big financial backers.

Electoral history

In the 2016 legislative election, the SDP ran in a coalition with the Green Party Taiwan, garnering 2.5% of the vote and winning no seats. In the 2018 local elections, SDP candidate Miao Po-ya won a seat on the Taipei City Council. She is one of the first openly lesbian members of the municipal council.

Notes

References

{{Taiwanese political parties, state=collapsed 2015 establishments in Taiwan Anti-imperialist organizations Political parties established in 2015 Political parties in Taiwan Taiwanese nationalist political parties Progressive parties in Taiwan Social democratic parties in Taiwan