China Democratic League
Encyclopedia
The China Democratic League is one of the eight legally recognised political parties in the People's Republic of China
.
The party was established in 1939 and took its present name in 1944. At its formation, it was a coalition of three pro-democracy
parties and three pressure groups. Its two main goals were to support China's war effort during the Second Sino-Japanese War
and to provide a "Third Way" from the Nationalists
and the Communists. Influential members or supporters included Liang Shuming
, Fei Xiaotong
, Li Huang of the Young China Party, Zhang Junmai (Carson Chang), Huang Yanpei
, Wu Han
, Chu Anping
, and Wen Yiduo
.
After the war, many Americans in China were sympathetic. Theodore White
wrote that if "the men of the middle group were well organized, they could guarantee peace. But they are not. They lack an army, a political machine, roots in any social class. Only the spread of education and industry can create enough men of the modern world to give them a broad social base.” But disillusionment with the Nationalist government, which outlawed the party in 1947, and infiltration
by the Communists caused the League to tilt towards the CCP during the Chinese Civil War
. Thereafter, two of its constituent parties, the China National Socialist Party
and the Chinese Youth Party
, left the League to join the Nationalists in Taiwan
. The "Third Party" eventually became the Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party
in 1947. It left the League, but remained pro-Communist.
The three interest groups were the National Salvation Association, the Rural Reconstruction Association, and the Vocational Education Society. The NSA, by far the largest and most popular of the interest groups, was inspired by the National Salvation Armies
and existed to encourage resistance against Japan, but became irrelevant after the war's end. The RRA was an agrarianist lobby formed from the Rural Reconstruction Movement
, which was originally hostile to communism but their interests in peasant welfare gradually intersected. The third interest group, the Vocational Education Society, wanted to establish vocational school
s throughout China and became the core of the China Democratic National Construction Association
.
In 1997, it adopted a constitution, which stipulated that its program was "to hold high the banner of patriotism
and socialism
, implement the basic line for the primary stage of socialism, safeguard stability in the society, strengthen services to national unity and strive for the promotion of socialist modernisation, establishment and improvement of a market economy
, enhancement of political restructuring and socialist spiritual civilisation, emancipation and development of productive forces
, consolidation and expansion of the united patriotic front and realisation of the grand goals of socialism with Chinese characteristics."
The League is mainly made up by middle-level and senior intellectual
s in the fields of culture
, education
, science
and technology
. As of the end of 2010, the party had a membership of more than 214,000. Of this total, 32.9% were from the field of compulsory education, 25% were in higher education, 9.8% were in science and technology, and 8.3% were in medicine.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
The party was established in 1939 and took its present name in 1944. At its formation, it was a coalition of three pro-democracy
Democracy in China
Democracy was a major concept introduced to China in the late nineteenth century. The debate over its form and definition as well as application was one of the major ideological battlegrounds in Chinese politics for well over a century. It is still a contentious subject...
parties and three pressure groups. Its two main goals were to support China's war effort during the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
and to provide a "Third Way" from the Nationalists
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
and the Communists. Influential members or supporters included Liang Shuming
Liang Shuming
Liang Shuming , October 18, 1893—June 23, 1988), born Liang Huanding , courtesy name Shouming , was a philosopher, teacher, and leader in the Rural Reconstruction Movement in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican eras of Chinese history.Liang was of Guilin, Guangxi origin, but born in Beijing...
, Fei Xiaotong
Fei Xiaotong
Fei Xiaotong, or Fei Hsiao-Tung was a pioneering Chinese researcher and professor of sociology and anthropology; he was also noted for his studies in the study of China's ethnic groups as well as a social activist...
, Li Huang of the Young China Party, Zhang Junmai (Carson Chang), Huang Yanpei
Huang Yanpei
Huang Yanpei was a Chinese educator, industrialist, politician, and one of the founding pioneers of the China Democratic League.-Biography:...
, Wu Han
Wu Han
Wu Han was a famous Eastern Han Dynasty general who made great contributions to Emperor Guangwu 's reestablishment of the Han Dynasty and who is commonly regarded as Emperor Guangwu's best general, but who was also known for cruelty against civilians.-Biography:Wu Han was initially a deputy to...
, Chu Anping
Chu Anping
Chu Anping was a Chinese scholar, intellectual, noted liberal journalist and editor of Guancha in the Civil War era of the late 1940s....
, and Wen Yiduo
Wen Yiduo
Wen Yiduo , born Wén Jiāhuá , courtesy names Yǒusān , Youshan , was a Chinese poet and scholar.-Biography:Wen was born in Xishui County, Hubei. After receiving a traditional education he went on to continue studying at the Tsinghua University. In 1922, he traveled to the United States to study fine...
.
After the war, many Americans in China were sympathetic. Theodore White
Theodore H. White
Theodore Harold White was an American political journalist, historian, and novelist, known for his wartime reporting from China and accounts of the 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1980 presidential elections.-Life and career:...
wrote that if "the men of the middle group were well organized, they could guarantee peace. But they are not. They lack an army, a political machine, roots in any social class. Only the spread of education and industry can create enough men of the modern world to give them a broad social base.” But disillusionment with the Nationalist government, which outlawed the party in 1947, and infiltration
Entryism
Entryism is a political tactic by which an organisation or state encourages its members or agents to infiltrate another organisation in an attempt to gain recruits, or take over entirely...
by the Communists caused the League to tilt towards the CCP during the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
. Thereafter, two of its constituent parties, the China National Socialist Party
China Democratic Socialist Party
The China Democratic Socialist Party was founded in Shanghai on 15 August 1946. It was formed through the merger of the former Chinese National Socialist Party and the Democratic Constitutionalist Party , both of which had survived the years of Japanese aggression by generally supporting the...
and the Chinese Youth Party
Chinese Youth Party
The Young China Party , also known as the Chinese Youth Party, is a minor political party in the Republic of China...
, left the League to join the Nationalists in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. The "Third Party" eventually became the Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party
Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party
The Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party is one of the eight non-communist, legally recognised political parties in the People's Republic of China that follow the direction of the Communist Party of China and is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.The...
in 1947. It left the League, but remained pro-Communist.
The three interest groups were the National Salvation Association, the Rural Reconstruction Association, and the Vocational Education Society. The NSA, by far the largest and most popular of the interest groups, was inspired by the National Salvation Armies
National Salvation Army
National Salvation Army may refer to:* Chinese People's National Salvation Army, an anti-Japanese volunteer army* Heilungkiang National Salvation Army, an anti-Japanese volunteer army...
and existed to encourage resistance against Japan, but became irrelevant after the war's end. The RRA was an agrarianist lobby formed from the Rural Reconstruction Movement
Rural Reconstruction Movement
The Rural Reconstruction Movement was started in China in the 1920s by Y.C. James Yen, Liang Shuming and others to revive the Chinese village. They strove for a middle way, independent of the Nationalist government but in competition with the radical revolutionary approach to the village espoused...
, which was originally hostile to communism but their interests in peasant welfare gradually intersected. The third interest group, the Vocational Education Society, wanted to establish vocational school
Vocational school
A vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...
s throughout China and became the core of the China Democratic National Construction Association
China Democratic National Construction Association
The China Democratic National Construction Association is one of the eight legally recognised political parties in the People's Republic of China that follow the direction of the Communist Party of China and are member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference...
.
In 1997, it adopted a constitution, which stipulated that its program was "to hold high the banner of patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
and socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, implement the basic line for the primary stage of socialism, safeguard stability in the society, strengthen services to national unity and strive for the promotion of socialist modernisation, establishment and improvement of a market economy
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
, enhancement of political restructuring and socialist spiritual civilisation, emancipation and development of productive forces
Productive forces
Productive forces, "productive powers" or "forces of production" [in German, Produktivkräfte] is a central idea in Marxism and historical materialism....
, consolidation and expansion of the united patriotic front and realisation of the grand goals of socialism with Chinese characteristics."
The League is mainly made up by middle-level and senior intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s in the fields of culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. As of the end of 2010, the party had a membership of more than 214,000. Of this total, 32.9% were from the field of compulsory education, 25% were in higher education, 9.8% were in science and technology, and 8.3% were in medicine.
Chairpersons
- Huang YanpeiHuang YanpeiHuang Yanpei was a Chinese educator, industrialist, politician, and one of the founding pioneers of the China Democratic League.-Biography:...
(黄炎培): 1941—1941 - Zhang LanZhang LanZhang Lan , courtesy name Biaofang, was a Chinese political activist best known for being the chairman of the China Democratic League from its founding in 1941 until 1955.-Biography:Zhang was born into a scholarly family in Nanchong, Sichuan in 1872...
(张澜): 1941—1955 - Shen JunruShen JunruShen Junru was a Chinese lawyer, political figure, and the first President of the Supreme People's Court of China in the People's Republic of China.-Biography:...
(沈钧儒): 1955—1963 - Yang Mingxuan (杨明轩): 1963—1967
- Shi LiangShi Liang (1900–1985)Shi Liang was a female politician of the People's Republic of China.-Biography:Shi Liang was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu in 1900...
(史良): 1979—1985 - Hu Yuzhi (胡愈之): acting, 1985—1986
- Chu Tunan (楚图南): 1986—1987
- Fei XiaotongFei XiaotongFei Xiaotong, or Fei Hsiao-Tung was a pioneering Chinese researcher and professor of sociology and anthropology; he was also noted for his studies in the study of China's ethnic groups as well as a social activist...
(费孝通): 1987—1996 - Ding ShisunDing ShisunDing Shisun is a politician of the People's Republic of China, and the former chairman of China Democratic League....
(丁石孙): 1996—2005 - Jiang ShushengJiang ShushengJiang Shusheng is a Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.-References:Attendance at Sino-Ecuadorian Relations Banquet in late 2009 :...
(蒋树声) 2005— incumbent