Social Democratic Party (Taiwan)

Social Democratic Party 社會民主黨
Abbreviation	SDP
Leader	Hsu Yung [1]
Founded	29 March 2015 (2015-03-29)
Headquarters	2nd Floor, No. 70, Yanping South Road, Zhongzheng, Taipei, Taiwan
Ideology	Social democracy Progressivism (Taiwanese) Anti-imperialism
Political position	Centre-left to left-wing
National affiliation	Pan-Green Coalition [2]
Legislative Yuan	0 / 113
Local councillors	1 / 912
Website
sdp.org.tw
Politics of Taiwan Political parties Elections

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) ^[I] is a political party in Taiwan founded in 2015. ^{[3] [4] [5]} In 2015, the SDP formed a coalition with the Green Party Taiwan to contest the 2016 legislative election.

Historically, the SDP is one of Taiwan's "Third Force" (第三勢力) parties, a collection of parties that do not self-claim to either the Pan-Green or Pan-Blue Coalitions and tend to be rooted in social movements. ^{[6] [7]} Currently, the SDP has become part of the Pan-Green camp, with more Taiwanese nationalist positions accepted and working with the Democratic Progressive Party. ^[2]

Political ideology

The SDP is a social-democratic and progressive party, calling for a reduction in income inequality, the protection of labour rights, the abolition of the death penalty and the legalisation of same-sex marriage. ^[8] The party has also called for a reform to Taiwan's electioneering process, criticising the advantage given to parties with big financial backers. ^[9]

Electoral history

In the 2016 legislative election, the SDP ran in a coalition with the Green Party Taiwan, garnering 2.5% of the vote and winning no seats. ^[10]

In the 2018 local elections, SDP candidate Miao Po-ya won a seat on the Taipei City Council. She is one of the first openly lesbian members of the municipal council. ^[11]

Election	Mayors & Magistrates	Councils	Third-level Municipal heads	Third-level Municipal councils	Fourth-level Village heads	Election Leader
2018 unified	0 / 22	1 / 912	0 / 204	0 / 2,148	0 / 7,744	Fan Yun  [ zh ]
2022 unified	0 / 22	1 / 912	0 / 204	0 / 2,148	0 / 7,744	Louis Lu  [ zh ]

Notes

1. • Traditional Chinese script: 社會民主黨
   • Mandarin Pinyin: Shèhuì Mínzhǔ Dǎng
   • Hokkien: Siā-hōe Bîn-chú Tóng
   • Sixian Hakka: Sa-fi Mìn-chú Tóng

References

1. "社會民主黨-司法院全球資訊網-查詢服務-司法公告查詢-法人登記公告". 司法院全球資訊網 (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2025-07-19.
2. "「民主大聯盟」第三波提名 賴清德：循跨黨派、跨世代、跨領域原則與社會連結". 民主進步黨 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2023-06-14. Archived from the original on 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
3. Joseph Wong (8 January 2016). "Taiwan Elections 2016: Certain Outcome, Uncertain Implications". asiapacific.ca. Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.
4. "Taiwan's new political voices want more openness on China ties". reuters.com. Reuters.
5. "Activists set to launch Social Democratic Party - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com.
6. "Civic groups voice support for 'third force' - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com.
7. van der Horst, Linda. "The Rise of Taiwan's 'Third Force'". The Diplomat.
8. Hioe, Brian (4 September 2015). "Interview: Jennifer Lu (呂欣潔)". New Bloom Magazine. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
9. Wilson, Aaron Wytze (14 January 2016). "SDP's Chen Shang-chih Election Ads Go Viral". New Bloom Magazine. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
10. Fell, Dafydd (2016) 'Small Parties in Taiwan’s 2016 National Elections: A Limited Breakthrough?'. American Journal of Chinese Studies, (23) 1, pp 41-58.
11. News, Taiwan. "Taiwan to see first-ever openly lesbian councillor". Taiwan News. Retrieved 15 December 2018.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)