List of political parties in the People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is formally a multi-party state under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CCP) in the popular front model similar to the former Communist-era Eastern European countries such as the National Front of Democratic Germany. The dominance over the political system is such that China is effectively a single-party state.

This means that only one political party, the CCP, holds effective power at the national level. Eight minor parties also participate in the political system under the leadership of the dominant party. The PRC political system allows for the participation of some non-party members and minor parties in the National People's Congress (NPC), but they are vetted by the CCP.

Although opposition parties are not formally banned in mainland China (the PRC), the CCP maintains control over the political system in several ways.

Firstly, the PRC political system is composed of a series of indirect elections in which one people's congress appoints the members of the next higher congress, and in which only the lowest people's congresses are subject to direct popular vote. This means that although independent members can theoretically, and occasionally in practice, get elected to the lowest level of congress, it is impossible for them to organize to the point where they can elect members to the next higher people's congress without the approval of the CCP or to exercise oversight over executive positions at the lowest level in the hierarchy. This lack of effective power also discourages outsiders from contesting the people's congress elections even at the lowest level.

Second, although PRC law has no formal provision for banning a non-religious organization, it also has no provision which would give non-CCP political parties any corporate status. This means that a hypothetical opposition party would have no legal means to collect funds or own property in the name of the party. More importantly, PRC law also has a wide range of offenses which can and have been used against the leaders of efforts to form an opposition party such as the China Democracy Party and against members of organizations that the CCP sees as threatening its power.Gittings, John. "The Changing Face of China: From Mao to Market". (2005). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192806122] Goldsmith, Jack L. Wu, Tim. 2006). "Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of Borderless World". Oxford University Press. ISBN 01895152662] These include the crimes of subversion, sedition, and releasing state secrets. Moreover, the control that the Party has over the legislative and judicial processes means that the Party can author legislation that targets a particular group.

In the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau multi-party systems exist, remaining from before their transfer from European colonial territories to integration into the PRC.Buckley, Roger. (1997) "Hong Kong: The Road to 1997". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521469791] Currently in effect is a one country, two systems plan by which both SARs have multiple active political parties including opposition parties.

The parties

* Communist Party of China ("Zhongguo Gongchan Dang") More than 70 million members,

* The eight registered minor parties under CCP's direction:
**Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang ("Zhongguo Guomindang Geming Weiyuanhui"). Formed by leftist members of the Kuomintang who did not escape to Taiwan. 53,000 members. It is considered "second" in status to the Communist Party of China. Thus it has 30% of the seats in the People's Political Consultative Conference.
**China Democratic League ("Zhongguo Minzhu Tongmeng"). Originally a league of pro-democracy parties. Formed by 144,000 members, mainly middle-level and senior intellectuals.
**China Democratic National Construction Association ("Zhongguo Minzhu Jianguo Hui"). Entrepreneurs from the manufacturing, financial or commercial industries, in both private and state sectors.
**China Association for Promoting Democracy ("Zhongguo Minzhu Cujin Hui"). Intellectuals, mostly in the education, technology and publishing sectors. Some 117,500 members.
**Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party ("Zhongguo Nonggong Minzhu Dang"). Most of its 65,000 members work in the fields of public health, culture and education, science and technology.
**China Zhi Gong Party ("Zhongguo Zhi Gong Dang"). Returned overseas Chinese, relatives of overseas Chinese, and noted figures and scholars who have overseas ties.
**September 3 Society ("Jiu San Xueshe"). Most of its 68,000 members are high- and medium level intellectuals in the fields of science, technology, education, culture and medicine.
**Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League ("Taiwan Minzhu Zizhi Tongmeng"). 1,600 people, most of whom are prominent people that are from Taiwan or are of Taiwanese heritage, but now reside on the Mainland.

Underground political parties

*The China Democracy Party was founded by participants of the 1978 Chinese Democracy Wall Movement and the 1989 Democracy Movement. It was made illegal in 1998 by the CCP on mainland soil.
* [http://www.freechina.net/pfdc/ Party for Freedom and Democracy in China]
* [http://www.uocn.org/ Union of Chinese Nationalists] (UOCN) (Traditional Chinese:中國泛藍聯盟), being equivalent to Chinese Pan-Blue Coalition in Mainland of China, a pro-western style democracy and pro-Dr. Sun Yat-sen's doctrines of "Three Principles of the People" political organization, was originally founded in a famous Chinese online forum in August, 2004.
* [http://chinagreenparty.org China/Chinese Green Party]

ee also

* Chinese political parties
* Index of political parties to browse parties by name
* List of political parties to browse parties by country
* List of political parties by ideology to browse parties by name
* Membership of internationals to browse parties By membership of internationals
*List of political parties in the Republic of China before and after 1949
*List of political parties in Hong Kong
*List of political parties in Macau
*List of political parties

References

External links

* [http://english.people.com.cn/data/China_in_brief/Political_Parties/Democratic%20Parties.html List of Democratic Parties] - People's Daily
* [http://www.china.org.cn/english/archiveen/27750.htm Profile of Democratic Parties] - Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference