Minkuotang

The Minkuotang[upper-roman 1] (MKT), also known as the Republican Party,[1] was a political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan).[2] The party was established on 13 March 2015 by former Kuomintang legislative representative Hsu Hsin-ying, with the founding assembly held on 18 March 2015. It was part of the Pan-Blue Coalition and then merged with the newly-formed Congress Party Alliance in 2019.

Minkuotang[upper-roman 1]
Chairperson	Wu Hsu-chih
Founded	13 March 2015
Dissolved	25 January 2019
Merged into	Congress Party Alliance
Headquarters	12F, No.70-1, Sec. 1, Chengde Rd., Datong District, Taipei, Republic of China
Membership (2015)	Around 5,000
Ideology	Three Principles of the People Pragmatism Liberal conservatism
Political position	Centre-right
Domestic affiliation	Pan-Blue Coalition
Colours	Gold
Legislative Yuan	0 / 113
Local Councillors	3 / 912
Party flag
Website
www.mkt.org.tw
Politics of Taiwan Political parties Elections

Party flag and emblem

The party flag of Minkuotang consisted of the national emblem of the Republic of China in the center with a golden background, representing the party's aim of reviving and making the country wealthy. The flag was controversial for its use of the national emblem in its party flag, but the flag was later approved by the Ministry of the Interior.

Controversy

Soon after its founding in 2015, the party faced allegations that it was funded for religious causes, after it was revealed that prominent religious figure Chan Master Wujue Miaotian was supporting the party for the 2016 general election.[3] Party leader Hsu Hsin-ying denied the allegations, stating that the party "belongs to the people".

Electoral history

Party chair Hsu Hsin-ying switched party affiliations from the Kuomintang to the Minkuotang midway through her term as Hsinchu County legislator. She ran for reelection in the 2016 legislative elections,[4] but quit the race when People First Party chair James Soong chose her to be his vice presidential candidate.[5] The MKT fielded four total candidates in the 2016 elections,[4] and failed to win a seat.[5]

On 25 January 2019, the party was merged with the newly-formed Congress Party Alliance.[6]

Local elections

Election	Mayors & Magistrates	Councils	Third-level Municipal heads	Third-level Municipal councils	Fourth-level Village heads	Election Leader
2018 unified	0 / 22	3 / 912	0 / 204	0 / 2,148	0 / 7,744	Hsu Hsin-ying

Chairperson

• Hsu Hsin-ying (13 March 2015 – 29 November 2018)[7]

See also

• List of political parties in Taiwan

Notes

1. • Traditional Chinese script: 民國黨
   • Mandarin Pinyin: Mínguó Dǎng
   • Hokkien: Bîn-kok Tóng
   • Sixian Hakka: Mìn-koet Tóng

References

1. "ELECTIONS: Republican Party pledges to pursue 'clean politics' - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
2. 內政部民政司公布之「政黨名冊」
3. "妙天禪師主導？ 民國黨成立的內幕是... - 政治 - 自由時報電子報". news.ltn.com.tw. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
4. Gerber, Abraham (11 September 2015). "MKT announces partial slate for legislative polls". Taipei Times. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
5. Gerber, Abraham (17 January 2016). "New Power Party wins five legislative seats". Taipei Times. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
6. https://www.storm.mg/article/778950
7. "竹縣長選戰認敗 徐欣瑩辭民國黨黨主席". 聯合新聞網 (in Chinese). 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.