Kuomintang

Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China ( /ˌkwoʊmɪnˈtɑːŋ/ or /-ˈtæŋ/; KMT), sometimes romanized as Guomindang (GMD) via the Pinyin transcription system, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, was one of the dominant parties of the early Republic of China, from 1912 onwards, and remains one of the main political parties in modern Taiwan. Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, advocated by Sun Yat-sen. It is the oldest political party in the Republic of China, which it helped found, and its party headquarters are located in Taipei. It is currently the ruling party in Taiwan, and holds most seats in the Legislative Yuan. The KMT is a member of the International Democrat Union. Current president Ma Ying-jeou, elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, is the seventh KMT member to hold the office of the presidency.

Together with the People First Party and Chinese New Party, the KMT forms what is known as the Taiwanese Pan-Blue coalition, which supports eventual unification with the mainland. However, the KMT has been forced to moderate its stance by advocating the political and legal status quo of modern Taiwan. The KMT accepts a "One China Principle" - it officially considers that there is only one China, but that the Republic of China rather than the People's Republic of China is its legitimate government. However, since 2008, in order to ease tensions with the PRC, the KMT endorses the "three noes" policy as defined by Ma Ying-jeou - no unification, no independence and no use of force.

The KMT was founded by Song Jiaoren and Sun Yat-sen shortly after the Xinhai Revolution. Later led by Chiang Kai-shek, it ruled much of China from 1928 until its retreat to Taiwan in 1949 after being defeated by the Communist Party of China (CPC) during the Chinese Civil War. There, the KMT controlled the government under a single-party state until reforms in the late 1970s through the 1990s loosened its grip on power.