White paper provides facts on political parties in China

BEIJING - In China, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and eight other political parties were founded for national salvation, with shared goals of the realization of national independence, the people's liberation and wellbeing, and the prosperity of the country, said a white paper issued on Friday.

The white paper issued by the State Council Information Office, titled "China's Political Party System: Cooperation and Consultation," laid out detailed facts about political parties in the country.

The CPC was founded in 1921, at a time when China was facing grave dangers at home and abroad, trapped in a morass of social crises. Always retaining in the forefront of mind its founding mission -- to seek happiness for the people and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation -- the CPC has succeeded in applying Marxist tenets to the Chinese context, rallying all the forces that can be combined to form an extensive united front, the white paper said.

Over the course of a century, the CPC has, leading the Chinese people, made unprecedented achievements. The CPC's role in leading the country was confirmed and consolidated in the course of China's revolution, economic development, and reform, it said.

By the end of 2019, CPC membership had reached 91.9 million, it said.

The non-CPC political parties were created and developed in the Chinese people's fight to destroy imperialism and autocracy and pursue democracy. They have evolved into a close political alliance of the socialist workers and patriots whom they represent, and become parties participating in the administration of state affairs.

Currently, the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang has a membership of more than 151,000; the China Democratic League has 330,000; the China National Democratic Construction Association has 210,000; the China Association for Promoting Democracy has 182,000; the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party has 184,000; the China Zhi Gong Party has 63,000; the Jiusan Society has 195,000; and the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League has 3,300.

Prominent individuals without affiliation to any of the political parties are also an important force in Chinese politics, the white paper noted.