The New Party (NP; Chinese: 新黨; pinyin: Xīn Dǎng; Hakka: Sîn Tóng), formerly the Chinese New Party (CNP), is a Chinese nationalist political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan).

New Party
新黨
ChairmanWu Cherng-dean
Vice ChairmanLee Sheng-feng
FounderJaw Shaw-kong, Yok Mu-ming et al.
FoundedAugust 22, 1993
Split fromKuomintang
HeadquartersTaipei
Membership (2020)at least 500[1]
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing to far-right
National affiliationPan-Blue Coalition
Legislative Yuan
0 / 113
Municipal mayors
0 / 6
Magistrates/mayors
0 / 16
Councilors
1 / 912
Township/city mayors
0 / 204
Party flag
Website
www.np.org.tw
New Party
Traditional Chinese新黨
Simplified Chinese新党
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXīn Dǎng
Hakka
Pha̍k-fa-sṳSîn Tóng
Southern Min
Hokkien POJSin Tóng
New Party Headquarters

The New Party was established in 1993 due to a split from the Kuomintang by members of the New Kuomintang Alliance, who were dissatisfied with Kuomintang Chairman Lee Teng-hui. In the 2000 presidential elections, the party symbolically nominated Li Ao as its candidate, but both Li and the party encouraged party members to support former Kuomintang member James Soong. It won one seat in the 2001 legislative elections, and saw significant support in the 2005–06 municipal elections, though its influence has waned since then.

The New Party is considered to be on the right-wing or the far-right of the political spectrum. It strongly supports unification with China under the "one country, two systems" formula and opposes Taiwanese independence. The New Party's "one country, two systems" plan proposes to establish a unified Chinese nation between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China. The Party's proposal also includes that after reunification, Taiwan would reduce the size of its military, stop purchasing U.S. equipment, and criminalize Taiwanese independence.

History

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The New Party was formed on 22 August 1993 out of a split from the then-ruling Kuomintang (KMT) by members of the New Kuomintang Alliance.[3][4] Members of the Alliance had accused KMT Chairman Lee Teng-hui of autocratic tendencies and moving the party away from Chinese unification. Co-founders of the New Party included Chen Kuei-miao.[5] Originally, the party wanted to keep the name of the faction, but was prevented from doing so due to the similarity of names. The name "New Party" was seemingly inspired by the contemporary electoral success of the Japan New Party.

At this time, the party favored direct presidential elections, the ideals of Sun Yat-sen, voluntary service instead of military service, and "equal protection of human rights." The party also called for direct flights between Taiwan and the mainland, speaking of a "Great Chinese Common Market."[4]

In the mid-1990s, the New Party attracted support from the KMT old guard as well as young urban professionals. The New Party was aided by former Finance Minister Wang Chien-shien and former Environmental Protection Administration Director Jaw Shaw-kong, who had charismatic and clean images.

In the 2000 presidential election, the party nominated writer and dissident Li Ao, who ran a spirited but token campaign. In the election, most members of the party supported former provincial governor James Soong, who ran as an independent candidate after losing the KMT nomination and subsequently being expelled from the KMT, and in fact both Li Ao and the New Party leader Lee Ching-hua encouraged people to support him.[6] In the 2001 Legislative Yuan election, the party won a single seat, Wu Cherng-dean's, in Kinmen.

In the 2005–06 municipal elections, the New Party made significant gains, seating over a dozen members into public office. The New Party also gained four seats in the Taipei Mayor's private offices.

Since the 2008 Legislative Yuan elections, the New Party has not won any seats, while the party supported most of the KMT candidates.

Ideology and policies

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The New Party considered to be to be a right-wing[7] or far-right political party.[8][9] It strongly opposes Taiwanese independence and supports Chinese unification.[2] Since 1997, the NP has switched to the Chinese ultranationalist position,[10][11] also considered pro-Beijing.[12]

In August 2019, New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming announced a proposal to unify China under the "one country, two systems" principle. Under the party's plan, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China would be united as one country, and the country's name and flag would be determined by common consultations; Yok suggested "China" as the common name.[13][14] The proposal includes post-unification goals such as maintaining a multi-party political system, a legal ban on the Taiwanese independence movement, reducing the size of Taiwan's armed forces, inclusion of Taiwanese representatives in China's delegation to the United Nations, and integration of Taiwanese business in the Belt and Road Initiative.[15]

Election results

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Presidential elections

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Election Candidate Running mate Total votes Share of votes Outcome
2000 Li Ao Elmer Fung 16,782 0.13% Lost  N
2020 Yang Shih-kuang Withdrew

Legislative elections

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Election Total seats won Total votes Share of votes Outcome of election Election leader
1995
21 / 164
1,222,931 13.0%  21 seats; Opposition Chen Kuei-miao
1998
11 / 225
708,465 7.1%  10 seats; Opposition Chou Yang-shan
2001
1 / 225
269,620 2.9%  8 seats; Governing coalition (Pan-Blue) Yok Mu-ming
2004
1 / 225
12,137 0.13%  ; Governing coalition (Pan-Blue) Yok Mu-ming
2008
0 / 113
199,402 53.5%  1 seats; No seats Yok Mu-ming
2012
0 / 113
10,678 0.08%  ; No seats Yok Mu-ming
2016
0 / 113
510,074 4.18%  ; No seats Yok Mu-ming
2020
0 / 113
147,303 1.04%  ; No seats Yok Mu-ming
2024
0 / 113
40,429 0.29%  ; No seats Wu Cherng-dean

Local elections

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Election Mayors &
Magistrates
Councils Third-level
Municipal heads
Third-level
Municipal councils
Fourth-level
Village heads
Election Leader
1994
province-level only
0 / 3
15 / 175
Wang Chien-shien
1997-1998
0 / 23
10 / 886
0 / 319
Chou Yang-shan
1998
municipalities only
0 / 2
10 / 96
Chen Kuei-miao
2001
1 / 23
3 / 897
0 / 319
Hsieh Chi-ta, Levi Ying
2002
municipalities only
0 / 2
5 / 96
Yok Mu-ming
2005
1 / 23
2 / 901
0 / 319
Yok Mu-ming
2006
municipalities only
0 / 2
4 / 96
Yok Mu-ming
2009
0 / 17
0 / 587
0 / 211
Yok Mu-ming
2010
municipalities only
0 / 5
3 / 314
0 / 3,757
Yok Mu-ming
2014
unified
0 / 22
2 / 906
0 / 204
0 / 2,137
0 / 7,836
Yok Mu-ming
2018
unified
0 / 22
2 / 912
0 / 204
0 / 2,148
0 / 7,744
Yok Mu-ming
2022
unified
0 / 22
1 / 910
0 / 204
0 / 2,139
0 / 7,748
Wu Cherng-dean

National Assembly elections

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Election Total seats won Total votes Share of votes Outcome of election Election leader
1996
46 / 334
1,417,209 13.6%  46 seats; Opposition Chen Kuei-miao
2005
3 / 300
34,253 0.88%  43 seats; Opposition (Rejecting amendments) Yok Mu-ming

Leaders

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Yok Mu-ming at the New Party rally in 228 Park.
Convenors of the New Party National Committee
Chairmen of the New Party
Vice chairmen of the New Party

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "新黨27周年黨慶 堅持和平統一理念" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  2. ^ a b Wang, Amber (6 June 2023). "Beijing voices support for Taiwan's pro-unification forces in latest exchange". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  3. ^ Tai, Y.C.; Liu, L.Y.; Lin, Lillian (22 August 2015). "New Party throws weight behind KMT in legislative election". Central News Agency. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  4. ^ a b Copper, John F. (1994). "The KMT's 14th Party Congress: Toward Unity or Disunity?". American Journal of Chinese Studies. 2 (2): 163–179. ISSN 2166-0042. JSTOR 44288489.
  5. ^ Wen, Kuei-hsiang (2014-08-16). "New Party founder dies at 81". Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 2014-09-04.
  6. ^ Prelypchan, Erin (12 March 2000). "Li Ao backs Soong, but Hsu hangs on". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Former Taiwan president blasted for remarks on island dispute". Inter Press Service. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2020. On July 27, the chairman of Taiwan's right-wing New Party, Yok Mu-ming quickly filed charges of treason against the 92-year-old over his remarks. China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reiterated the charge in a July 29 editorial entitled "Lee Teng-hui a traitor to his homeland."
  8. ^ Jean-Pierre Cabestan, Jacques deLisle, ed. (2014). Political Changes in Taiwan Under Ma Ying-jeou: Partisan Conflict, Policy Choices, External Constraints and Security Challenges. Routledge. p. 44. ISBN 9781317755098. ... even more radical positions at the far left (TSU) or far right (NP) of the spectrum.
  9. ^ Fen-ling Chen, ed. (2000). Working Women and State Policies in Taiwan: A Study in Political Economy. Springer. ISBN 9780230508873. The New Party, which split from the KMT in 1994, is a conservative party and on the far Right.
  10. ^ Dafydd Fell (January 22, 2018). Government and Politics in Taiwan. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-28506-9. The NP's shift to extreme nationalist positions after the late 1990s was also a reaction to the widespread departure of party moderates and subsequent domination by extremists. In the case of the NP, it appears that defeats no longer have any effect; instead, it operates consistently.
  11. ^ Gunter Schubert (May 20, 2016). Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Taiwan. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-66969-2. ... the rise of Chinese nationalist radicals in the NP after 1997 meant the party continued its move towards more extreme positions even after electoral setbacks (Fell 2006b: 47-67)
  12. ^ Bernice Lee (September 13, 2013). The Security Implications of the New Taiwan. Taylor & Francis. p. 1954. ISBN 978-1-136-06212-4. Peng, the DPP's pro-independence challenger, secured 21%, while pro-Beijing New Party candidate Ling Tang-Kang polled only 15%.
  13. ^ "新黨一國兩制台灣方案 主張和平統一國號中國". 中央社. 2019-08-17. Archived from the original on 2019-08-17. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  14. ^ "郁慕明:中國已實現三民主義 14億人都有飯吃". 自由時報. 2019-08-17. Archived from the original on 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  15. ^ "新黨公布"一國兩制台灣方案" (全文)" [New Party Announces "One Country, Two Systems Taiwan Proposal" (Full Text)]. CRNTT.com. 2019-08-18. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
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