Kuomintang

The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially based on the Chinese mainland and then in Taiwan since 1949. The KMT is a centre-right to right-wing party and the largest in the Pan-Blue Coalition. Its primary rival is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its allies in the Pan-Green Coalition. As of 2024, the KMT is the largest single party in the Legislative Yuan. The current chairman is Eric Chu.

The party originated as the Revive China Society, founded by Sun Yat-sen in 1894 in Honolulu. The party underwent reorganization before and after the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, which resulted in the collapse of the Qing dynasty and establishment of the Provisional Republic Government, with Sun as the first president. In 1919, Sun re-established the party under the name "Kuomintang" in the Shanghai French Concession. From 1926 to 1928, the KMT under Chiang Kai-shek successfully led the Northern Expedition against regional warlords and unified the fragmented nation. KMT was the sole ruling party in China during the Republican Era from 1928 to 1949, when most of the Chinese mainland was under its control. The party retreated to Taiwan in December 1949, following its defeat in the Chinese Civil War.

From 1949 to 1987, the KMT ruled Taiwan as an authoritarian one-party state after the February 28 incident. During this period, martial law was in effect and civil liberties were curtailed as part of its anti-communism efforts, with the period known as the White Terror. The party oversaw Taiwan's economic development, but experienced diplomatic setbacks, including the ROC losing its United Nations seat and most countries including, its ally the US, switching diplomatic recognition to the CCP-led People's Republic of China (PRC) in the 1970s. In the late 1980s, Chiang Ching-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek's son, lifted martial law and the ban on opposition parties. His successor Lee Teng-hui continued democratic reforms and was re-elected in 1996 through a direct presidential election, the first time in the ROC history. The 2000 presidential election ended 72 years of KMT's dominance in the ROC. The KMT reclaimed power from 2008 to 2016, with the landslide victory of Ma Ying-jeou in the 2008 presidential election, whose presidency significantly loosened restrictions on economic and cultural exchanges with the People's Republic of China. The KMT lost the presidency and its legislative majority in the 2016 election.

The KMT is a member of the International Democracy Union. The party's guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, advocated by Sun Yat-sen and historically organized on a basis of democratic centralism, a principle conceived by revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that entailed open discussion of policy on the condition of unity among party members in upholding agreed decisions. The KMT opposes de jure Taiwan independence, Chinese unification under the "one country, two systems" framework, and non-peaceful means to resolve the cross-strait disputes. Originally placing high priority on reclaiming the Chinese mainland through Project National Glory, the KMT now favors a closer relation with the PRC and seeks to maintain Taiwan's status quo under the Constitution of the Republic of China. The party accepts the 1992 Consensus, which defines both sides of the Taiwan Strait as "one China", but maintains its ambiguity to different interpretations.