Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre to centre-left political party in Taiwan. It is currently the major ruling party in Taiwan, controlling both the presidency and the central government, also the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition.
Democratic Progressive Party 民主進步黨 | |
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| Abbreviation | DPP |
| Chairperson | Lai Ching-te |
| Secretary-General | Yang Yi-shan (acting) |
| Founded | 28 September 1986 |
| Split from | Tangwai |
| Headquarters | 10F-30, Beiping East Rd. Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan 10049 |
| Think tank | New Frontier Foundation |
| Membership (2023) | 238,664 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre to centre-left[b] |
| National affiliation | Pan-Green Coalition |
| Regional affiliation | Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats |
| International affiliation | Liberal International |
| Colors | Green |
| Legislative Yuan | 51 / 113 |
| Municipal mayors | 2 / 6 |
| Magistrates/mayors | 3 / 16 |
| Councilors | 277 / 910 |
| Township/city mayors | 40 / 204 |
| Party flag | |
| Website | |
| www | |
^ a: Taiwan independence is written in the DPP platform, but main DPP politicians support Huadu (ROC independence) position. ^ b: The DPP has also been characterized as centrist on an international political spectrum because of its historical positioning as the major big tent opposition party supporting democracy. It is also sometimes described as right-wing by pro-China or pro-communism media outlets owing to its anti-communism. | |
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| Traditional Chinese | 民主進步黨 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 民主进步党 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| DPP | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 民進黨 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 民进党 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Taiwan portal |
Founded in 1986 by Hsu Hsin-liang, Hsieh Tsung-min and Lin Shui-chuan, a year prior to the end of martial law, the DPP is one of two major parties in Taiwan, the other being the historically dominant Kuomintang (KMT), which previously ruled the country as a one-party state. It has traditionally been associated with a strong advocacy of human rights, emerging against the authoritarian White Terror that was initiated by the KMT, as well as the promotion of Taiwanese nationalism and identity. Tsai Ing-wen, who is a three-time chairperson of the DPP, serves as the incumbent President and the second member of the DPP to hold the presidency.
The DPP is a longtime member of Liberal International and a founding member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. It represented Taiwan in the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO). The DPP is widely classified as socially liberal having been founded as a party for human rights, including factions within the party supporting same-sex marriage and other LGBT rights. On foreign policy, the DPP is more willing to increase military expenditures to prevent military intimidation from the People's Republic of China (PRC) owing to the ambiguous political status of Taiwan. It favors closer ties with democratic nations such as Japan and the United States, as well as the nations of ASEAN as part of its New Southbound Policy. The party is frequently accused by the PRC government of being a primary force in Taiwan to "prevent the Chinese nation from achieving complete reunification" and "halt the process of national rejuvenation" due to the party's outspoken advocacy of the Taiwanese nationalism, its supportive attitude to Taiwanese enjoying the right to decide their own future, and its firm opposition to the notion of "One China", including the alleged "1992 Consensus" narratives by both the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and KMT.