# Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League

The Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League (TDSL), also known by its Chinese abbreviation Taimeng (simplified Chinese: 台盟; traditional Chinese: 臺盟), is one of the eight minor democratic parties in the People's Republic of China under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party.
The party was founded in the then-British colony of Hong Kong in November 1947, by members of the Taiwanese Communist Party who survived the February 28 incident. It is mostly composed of prominent people from Taiwan or people of Taiwanese heritage who now reside on the mainland. It is the eight-ranking minor party in China. It currently has 14 seats in the National People's Congress, 4 seats in the NPC Standing Committee and 20 seats in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; it is the smallest legally recognized minor political party in the People's Republic of China. TDSL supports Chinese unification. The party does not participate in the political system of Taiwan. Its current chairwoman is Su Hui.

## History

The party was founded in the then-British colony of Hong Kong on 12 November 1947, by members of the Taiwanese Communist Party who survived the February 28 incident. The party's founding chair, Xie Xuehong, was the leader of a communist armed resistance movement against the Nationalists in central Taiwan after the February 28 incident. The February 28 incident and the subsequent crackdown caused large portions of the Taiwanese diaspora, such as those in Japan, to sympathize with the Chinese Communists. The party quickly established branches in Japan where they worked to oppose the Taiwan independence activist Thomas Liao's calls for a United Nations plebiscite on the status of Taiwan.
Before 1958, the party advocated for Taiwan's communization but supported Taiwanese self-determination. The party is now opposed to Taiwan independence.

## Organization

According to its constitution, the TDSL is officially committed to socialism with Chinese characteristics and upholding the leadership of the CCP. The TDSL supports Chinese unification and opposes Taiwanese independence. It is the eight-ranking minor democratic party in China.
The highest body of the TDSL officially is the National Congress, which is held every five years. The 11th National Congress, held in December 2022, was the most recently held Party Congress. The National Congress elects the Central Committee of the TDSL. In June 2022, the party had organizations in 19 province-level administrative divisions throughout China. The TDSL publishes the newspaper Taimeng (The TDSL). It historically published the Xin Taiwan Congkan (New Taiwan Series) before 1949 while it was based in Hong Kong.

### Composition

The TDSL is mostly composed of prominent people from Taiwan or people of Taiwanese heritage who now reside on the mainland. As of June 2022, it has 3,400 members.

### Chairpersons

| No. | Chairperson | Took office | Left office |
| 1 | Xie Xuehong 谢雪红 | October 1949 | January 1958 |
| 2 | Cai Xiao 蔡啸 | October 1979 | December 1983 |
| 3 | Su Ziheng 苏子蘅 | December 1983 | November 1987 |
| 4 | Lin Shengzhong 林盛中 | November 1987 | December 1988 |
| 5 | Cai Zimin 蔡子民 | December 1988 | November 1997 |
| 6 | Zhang Kehui 张克辉 | November 1997 | December 2005 |
| 7 | Lin Wenyi 林文漪 | December 2005 | December 2017 |
| 8 | Su Hui 苏辉 | December 2017 | Incumbent |