List of political parties in China explained

The People's Republic of China is a one-party state ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Despite this, eight minor political parties subservient to the CCP exist.

Under the one country, two systems principle, the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, which were previously colonies of European powers, operate under a different political system from the rest of China. Currently, both Hong Kong and Macau possess multi-party systems that were introduced just before the handover of the territories to China.^[1]

Legal parties

Ruling party

The Chinese Communist Party is the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese constitution states that "The defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Communist Party of China",^[2] while the CCP constitution declares the party to be the "highest force for political leadership".^[3]

Minor parties

While only the CCP holds effective power at the national level, there are officially eight minor and non-oppositional parties that exist alongside the CCP that are officially titled "democratic parties" .^[4] Founded before the proclamation of the People's Republic of China, these parties must accept the "leading role" of the CCP as a condition of their continued existence.^[5] The relationship between these parties and the CCP has officially been described as "long-term coexistence and mutual supervision, treating each other with full sincerity and sharing weal or woe" (prosperity or adversity) ^[6] According to Human Rights Watch, these parties "play an advisory rather than an oppositional role".^[7]

The eight minor parties take part in "united front work" and also take part in the political system, but they have no power at a national level.^[8] The Chinese political system allows for the participation of some members of the eight minor parties and other non-CCP members in the National People's Congress (NPC), but they are vetted by the CCP. According to Aaron Friedberg, these parties' "purpose is to create the illusion of inclusiveness and representation."^[9] One of the ways the CCP controls the minor parties is through its United Front Work Department (UFWD), which vets the membership applications and controls who is the leader of these parties.^[10] UFWD also keeps the parties in check by preventing them from expanding widely in counties and villages. The cadres of the eight parties are trained at the Central Institute of Socialism.^[11] There is officially a ranking system of the parties; the ranking is based on their "contribution to the new democratic revolution".^[12]

Party			Year founded	Members (2022)	Chairperson	NPC seats	NPCSC seats	CPPCC seats
		Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (RCCK) Chinese: 中国国民党革命委员会 (民革) Zhōngguó Guómíndǎng Gémìng Wěiyuánhuì (Míngé)	1948	158,000	Zheng Jianbang Chinese: 郑建邦
		China Democratic League (CDL) Chinese: 中国民主同盟 (民盟) Zhōngguó Mínzhǔ Tóngméng (Mínméng)	1941	348,300	Ding Zhongli Chinese: 丁仲礼
		China National Democratic Construction Association (CNDCA) Chinese: 中国民主建国会 (民建) Zhōngguó Mínzhǔ Jiànguó Huì (Mínjiàn)	1945	220,000	Hao Mingjin Chinese: 郝明金
		China Association for Promoting Democracy (CAPD) Chinese: 中国民主促进会 (民进) Zhōngguó Mínzhǔ Cùjìn Huì (Mínjìn)	1945	192,000	Cai Dafeng Chinese: 蔡达峰
		Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party (CPWDP) Chinese: 中国农工民主党 (农工党) Zhōngguó Nónggōng Mínzhǔdǎng (Nónggōngdǎng)	1930	192,000	He Wei Chinese: 何维
		China Zhi Gong Party (CZGP) Chinese: 中国致公党 (致公党) Zhōngguó Zhì Gōng Dǎng (Zhìgōngdǎng)	1925	69,000	Jiang Zuojun Chinese: 蒋作君
		Jiusan Society (JS) Chinese: 九三学社 Jiǔsānxuéshè	1945	204,069	Wu Weihua Chinese: 武维华
		Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League (TDSL) Chinese: 台湾民主自治同盟 (台盟) Táiwān Mínzhǔ Zìzhì Tóngméng (Táiméng)	1947	3,400	Su Hui Chinese: 苏辉

Other parties

Banned parties

The following parties formed in China are (or have previously been) banned by the government:

• The Communist Party of China (Marxist–Leninist) is an anti-revisionist communist party founded in 1976 by several Maoist rebel factions of the Red Guards in Wuhan, Hubei. They believed it was illegal to arrest the Gang of Four and that the new leadership of the CCP is revisionist and unlawful. They were suppressed after attempts at an armed revolt failed in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Canton and Yunnan.^[13]
• The Communist Party of China (Workers' and Peasants' Liberation Army) is an anti-revisionist communist party founded in 1976 by a Maoist rebel faction of the Red Guards in Fujian. They used the old fortifications built during the Chinese Civil War and organized a partisan army named the "Workers' and Peasants' Liberation Army".^[14] They announced that the new leadership of the CCP is revisionist and called for uprising and reestablished the Party Central Committee.^[15] Their activities lasted until 1978.
• The Democracy Party of China was founded by participants of the 1978 Democracy Wall movement and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Founded in 1998, it was declared illegal that same year.^{[16] [17]}
• The Union of Chinese Nationalists supports the ideals of the Pan-Blue Coalition in Taiwan. As such, its goals include establishing a liberal democracy in China, based on Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People. The group originated from an internet forum discussion in August 2004. The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said it is an illegal organization on April 25, 2007.^[18]
• The New Democracy Party of China was founded by Guo Quan in Nanjing at the end of 2007.^{[16] [17]}
• The Maoist Communist Party of China is an anti-revisionist communist party founded in 2008. The party seeks to initiate a "second socialist revolution" to re-establish the dictatorship of the proletariat. It has been subject to crackdowns by the Chinese government.^[19]
• The Zhi Xian Party, also known as the Chinese Constitutionalist Party in English. Founded by the supporters of Bo Xilai^{[20] [21]} in 2013 and banned in December of that year.^{[22] [23]}
• The Chinese Proletarian Revolutionary Central Committee (abbreviated) is an anti-revisionist communist party founded in the 2010s by Zhou Qun . The party leaders were members of a rebel faction during the Cultural Revolution, and the committee core consisted of dozens of laid-off workers in Jiangsu. It was suppressed after the police found their "provocative" online activities.

Overseas parties

• Shanghai National Party is a pro-democracy party which advocates for Shanghai independence, led by He Anquan, who left China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.^[24] The party was notable for its opposition to China's COVID-19 lockdown policies.^[24] In particular, he referred to the lockdowns in Shanghai as a genocide and maintained a hunger strike outside the Chinese consulate in New York City.^[25] Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, He visited Ukraine in order to document the war.^[26]

See also

• History of political parties in China
• List of ruling political parties by country
• List of political parties in Hong Kong
• List of political parties in Macau

Notes

1. Book: Buckley, Roger. Hong Kong: The Road to 1997. 1997-05-28. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-47008-7. 1. 10.1017/cbo9780511612220. 162068953.
2. Web site: Wei. Changhao. Hu. Taige. 11 March 2018. Annotated Translation: 2018 Amendment to the PRC Constitution (Version 2.0). live. https://web.archive.org/web/20181222125439/https://npcobserver.com/2018/03/11/translation-2018-amendment-to-the-p-r-c-constitution/. 22 December 2018. 4 November 2023. NPC Observer.
3. News: Xu. Wei. 28 October 2022. Amendment to the Party Constitution elaborated. China Daily. 4 November 2023.
4. Liao. Xingmiu. Tsai. Wen-Hsuan. 2019. Clientelistic State Corporatism: The United Front Model of "Pairing-Up" in the Xi Jinping Era. China Review. 19. 1. 31–56. 1680-2012. 26603249.
5. Book: China Versus the West: The Global Power Shift of the 21st Century. 2012-01-02. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. 978-1-119-19931-1. Tselichtchev. Ivan. Hoboken, NJ, USA. en. 10.1002/9781119199311. 883259659.
6. Web site: IV. The System of Multi-Party Cooperation and Political Consultation. 2022-12-30. China Internet Information Center.
7. Web site: China: Nipped In The Bud - Background. 2021-03-18. Human Rights Watch.
8. Book: Kesselman, Mark. Introduction to Politics of the Developing World: Political Challenges and Changing Agendas. 2012-01-01. Cengage Learning. 978-1-133-71258-9. 324. en.
9. Book: Friedberg, Aaron L.. Getting China Wrong. 2022. 978-1-509-54512-4. Cambridge. 50. 1310457810. Aaron Friedberg.
10. News: Baptista. Eduardo. 2021-06-11. Are there other political parties in China?. en. South China Morning Post. 2022-12-26.
11. News: 26 December 2018 . 中央社会主义学院为啥与众不同？ . Why is the Central Institute of Socialism different? . 12 May 2024 . Sohu.
12. Web site: 9 December 2012. 我国八个民主党派排序考. https://web.archive.org/web/20140304152135/http://mg.lishui.gov.cn/xxyd/tzlr/t20091202_635563.htm. 4 March 2014. 30 December 2022. Lishui Municipal Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang.
13. Book: Su. Yuan. 1978-1979: Diary. 2017. China Cultural Communication Press.
14. '四人帮'在福建打游击. 展望. 1977-01-01. 01.
15. 福建四人帮战讯. 展望. 1977-12-01.
16. Gittings, John (2005). The Changing Face of China: From Mao to Market. Oxford University Press, 2005. .
17. Book: Goldsmith. Jack. Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World. Wu. Tim. 2006-06-29. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-515266-1. en. 10.1093/oso/9780195152661.001.0001.
18. News: 国台办称中国泛蓝联盟是非法组织. The Taiwan Affairs Office said the Union of Chinese Nationalists is an illegal organization.. 25 April 2007. Phoenix TV. zh-cn.
19. News: Demick. Barbara. 20 March 2012. China puts a stop to Maoist revival. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20120604102704/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/20/world/la-fg-china-maoists-20120320. 4 June 2012. 14 December 2016. Los Angeles Times.
20. News: Moore. Malcolm. Former teacher names Bo Xilai chairman of 'new political party'. The Daily Telegraph. live. 10 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131110163134/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10439094/Former-teacher-names-Bo-Xilai-chairman-of-new-political-party.html. 10 November 2013.
21. News: Benjamin Kang Lim and Ben Blanchard. 9 November 2013. Bo Xilai supporters launch new political party in China. The Globe and Mail. Toronto . 10 November 2013.
22. News: Shao. Heng. Bizarre China Report: The Grand Wedding, Power Play & Smog-Inspired Creativity. Forbes. live. 2017-09-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20180127084546/https://www.forbes.com/sites/hengshao/2013/12/17/bizarre-china-report-the-grand-wedding-power-play-smog-inspired-creativity/. 2018-01-27.
23. News: 14 December 2013. 北京民政局发出取缔"至宪党"决定. Deutsche Welle. live. 28 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20190516212327/https://www.dw.com/zh/%E5%8C%97%E4%BA%AC%E6%B0%91%E6%94%BF%E5%B1%80%E5%8F%91%E5%87%BA%E5%8F%96%E7%BC%94%E8%87%B3%E5%AE%AA%E5%85%9A%E5%86%B3%E5%AE%9A/a-17296892. 16 May 2019.
24. Web site: Areddy . James . 26 April 2022 . Shanghai Lockdown Bolsters a Fringe Independence Movement . subscription . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220426195022/https://www.wsj.com/articles/shanghai-lockdown-bolsters-a-fringe-independence-movement-11650706204 . 26 April 2022 . The Wall Street Journal.
25. Web site: April 5, 2022 . 旅美异见人士纽约中领馆外绝食抗议上海封城 — 普通话主页 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230214180920/https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/huanjing/sc2-04052022134054.html . February 14, 2023 . Radio Free Asia.
26. Web site: Hsiao-hwa . Hsia . Long . Qiao . Ao . Jia . Exiled Chinese dissident travels to Ukraine in bid to document war . Radio Free Asia.