Chinese Unification Promotion Party

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Chinese Unification Promotion Party
中華統一促進黨
AbbreviationCUPP
President Chang An-lo
Chairman Zhang Futang
Secretary-GeneralTang Zhongsheng
First Vice ChairmanZeng Zhengxing
Second Vice ChairmanLi Zongkui
Founded9 September 2005;19 years ago (2005-09-09)
Preceded byGreat Alliance for Defending China
Headquarters2nd Floor, No. 150, Fuxing North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei, Taiwan
Membership (2017)30,000 (self-claimed) [1]
Ideology Chinese unification
Chinese conservatism
Anti-Taiwan independence
Political position Far-right [2]
National affiliation Pro-Beijing camp
Colours  Red,   Blue,   Yellow,
Legislative Yuan
0 / 113
Chinese Unification Promotion Party
Traditional Chinese 中華統一促進黨
Simplified Chinese 中华统一促进党
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnghuá Tǒngyī Cùjìn Dǎng
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ Tiong-hôa Thóng-it Chhiok-chìn-tóng

The Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), [I] also known as the Unionist Party, [II] is a minor far-right political party in Taiwan that promotes Chinese unification. [3] [4]

Contents

History

On 9 May 2004, Chang An-lo established the NGO "Great Alliance for Defending China" in Guangzhou, China, with the help of the Bamboo Union triad (who he was formerly a leader of). Chang then helped register the Taiwan branch of his organization as a political party on 9 September 2005, under the name "Chinese Unification Promotion Party".

In 2017, the party claimed to have over 30,000 members, many of whom were accused by authorities of having ties to organized crime, something Chang himself does not deny. [1] Other sources have put their membership at approximately 60,000. [5]

In November 2024, a husband and wife couple affiliated with the CUPP and funded by the mainland Taiwan Affairs Office were indicted for contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act and election laws. [6] [7] The Ministry of the Interior stated that it would seek to forcibly disband the CUPP for engaging in illegal election interference on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. [8] [9]

Controversies

The controversy about the China Unification Promotion Party mainly revolves around its pro-Chinese Communist Party position, intimidating pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong and Pan-Green Coalition leaders in Taiwan, using the triad background of their members. [5]

Attack on Lam Wing-kee

Lam Wing-kee, the owner of Causeway Bay Books, announced in September 2019 that he planned to re-open the store in Taiwan. The store focuses on the history, social economy and other cultural related books of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China. The store publishes the works of dissident creators, and serves as a connection and mutual assistance base for people in Taiwan and Hong Kong, dedicated to preserving Hong Kong culture and promoting the free exchange of ideas and culture. [10] [11]

On 21 April 2020, Lam was splashed with paint by unidentified men while dining at a café. [12] The Mainland Affairs Council posted on Facebook stating that Taiwan is a democratic country and cannot tolerate such behaviors. A self-proclaimed member of the Unionist Party left a message under the post, reading, "This is just our first warning to you, [we will] kill you in a matter of minutes" (這只是我們對你的第一次警告,搞死你分鐘的事). [13] The New Power Party responded to the incident by urging the Taiwan government to dissolve and ban the Unionist Party. They also referred to the previous assaults against Joshua Wong, Denise Ho and other Hong Kong democrats conducted by members of Unionist Party, and criticized the government for its inaction. [14]

Banning proposal

The proposal to ban the Chinese Unification Promotion Party was first proposed by the Hong Kong Future Concern Group, a political organization based in Hong Kong, on August 18, 2017. In an open letter to 18 legislators of the Taiwan Parliamentary Concern for Hong Kong Democracy Alliance (all of them being members of either the New Power Party or the Democratic Progressive Party), the group made a number of demands, including declaring the Chinese Patriotic United Association (中華愛國同心會) and the Chinese Unification Promotion Party illegal organizations and arresting all related persons, as well as banning members of Hong Kong's pro-China political parties from entering Taiwan. [15]

In 2020, the New Power Party’s Legislative Yuan caucus proposed that the Ministry of the Interior transfer the Unification Promotion Party to the Constitutional Court of the Judicial Yuan for dissolution procedures. [16] The ruling Tsai Ing-wen government, however, has not responded positively. The proposal by the New Power Party was even rejected by the then-ruling Democratic Progressive Party with 64 votes against and only 7 votes in favor. [16]

Some Hong Kong residents in Taiwan perceived unfairness and are dissatisfied with the overly strict requirements for their settlement applications, with some even resorting to far-fetched national security reasons, along with the excessive tolerance of the Chinese Unification Promotion Party. [17]

On November 6, 2024, the Ministry of the Interior believed that the party was clearly likely to violate the free, democratic and constitutional order of the Republic of China, and therefore filed a petition with the Constitutional Court of the Judicial Yuan to dissolve the Unification Promotion Party in accordance with the Additional Articles to the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文) and the Political Parties Act (政黨法). [18]

Interior Ministry officials said the law does not protect key members of a political party from engaging in criminal activity, which is the most important red line. The United Front Party is the first political party to be referred to the case by the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry will continue to monitor other political parties with similar cases. [19]

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, strongly condemned this, saying that the DPP was suppressing patriotic unification forces on the island. [20] The New Power Party responded to the Ministry of the Interior’s 2024 action plan by expressing strong support and even stating that it was “long overdue.” [16]

Notes

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "白狼反咬王世堅唆使開槍傷人 王:胡扯". Apple Daily (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 26 September 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  2. "風評:婊子洪秀柱,真的想當急統聖戰士嗎?". www.storm.mg (in Chinese (Taiwan)). The Storm Media. 7 October 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2022. 無涉統獨之外,還包括中華復興會、白色正義社會聯盟、中華統一促進黨…,幾乎是極右急統政團大會串
  3. "台灣黑幫介入政治 中國幕後操控 - 焦點 - 自由時報電子報". news.ltn.com.tw. 28 September 2017. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  4. "民視新聞 - 台灣的眼睛". 民視新聞 (in Traditional Chinese). February 2018. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  5. 1 2 Lee, Yimou; Pomfret, James (26 June 2019). "Pro-China groups step up offensive to win over Taiwan". Reuters . Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  6. Yi-chang, Lin; Pan, Jason (5 November 2024). "Couple charged with accepting Chinese cash". Taipei Times . Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  7. Chung, Tina (6 November 2024). "Taiwanese couple prosecuted for spreading China's propaganda". Voice of America . Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  8. Hiciano, Lery (7 November 2024). "Ministry seeks to disband the CUPP". Taipei Times . Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  9. "Interior ministry to request that CUPP be dissolved". Taipei Times . 4 January 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  10. "銅鑼灣書店|台灣重啟|為自由的靈魂而開". Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  11. "銅鑼灣書店重啟募280萬一天達標 林榮基謝台灣人[]". 中央通訊社. 6 September 2019. Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  12. "林榮基在台北遭潑漆:開個書店就要恐嚇 真的很荒謬". 21 April 2020. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  13. 汪君邯 (23 April 2020). "林榮基潑漆案還沒完 自稱統促黨成員恐嚇:搞死你分鐘的事 我們兄弟多". Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  14. "林榮基遭潑漆事件 時代力量:內政部有責任聲請解散統促黨". 23 April 2020. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  15. "香港前途關注組 Hong Kong Future Concern Group". Facebook (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  16. 1 2 3 "內政部聲請解散統促黨 時力強烈支持「早就該」:涉犯罪人數達134人". ETtoday新聞雲 (in Traditional Chinese). 9 November 2024. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  17. Stone, 《追新聞》台灣特約記者弗斯及Adam (12 January 2024). "台灣大選・在台港人系列|反送中黃絲批蔡英文內政零改善反中非唯一考慮 藍營支持者轟民進黨將對手一律抹紅". 追新聞 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 8 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  18. 中華民國內政部民政司 (6 November 2024). "內政部:統促黨系統犯罪逾百人,依法查處聲請解散". 中華民國內政部 . Archived from the original on 13 January 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  19. "聲請解散統促黨 內政部:防衛台灣民主自由制度". 中央社. 6 November 2024. Archived from the original on 6 November 2024.
  20. "台当局将申请解散"统促党",国台办:"台独"势力倒行逆施,必将受到历史和人民的审判". 环球时报 (in Chinese (China)). 13 November 2024.