CC Clique

The CC Clique, or Central Clique was one of the political factions within the Kuomintang, in the Republic of China. It was led by the brothers Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu, friends of Chiang Kai-shek.

Chen Lifu and his older brother Chen Guofu were nephews of Chen Qimei, who until his assassination by the Chinese warlord Yuan Shih-kai in 1916 was the mentor of upcoming Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. Because of those personal ties, the Chen brothers came to direct the organizational operations of the Chiang-dominated KMT, founding their own political organization known as the CC Clique.

Considered to be the extreme right of the Kuomintang, the CC Clique represented traditionalists, zealous anti-Communists and the landlord interest. They stood closest to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, controlling appointments and promotions, and held the largest block of votes in the Central Executive Committee. Chen Li-fu was considered the party boss. Its members included many of the elite within the party, including such people as Chiang Kai-shek's wife Soong Mei-ling and H.H. Kung. They dominated intelligence, trade, banking, the military, education, and propaganda.

The CC Clique placed loyal followers throughout the party and the government machinery, ensuring a dominating influence in the bureaucracy, educational agencies, youth organization and labor unions. The brothers also controlled the KMT's Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, one of Chiang's two main secret police bodies.