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CC Clique

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The CC Clique (Chinese: CC派), or Central Club Clique (Chinese: 中央俱樂部組織), officially Gexin Clique (Chinese: 革新俱樂部) was one of the political factions within the Kuomintang (The Chinese Nationalist Party), in the Republic of China (1912–49). It was led by the brothers Chen Guofu and Chen Lifu, sword nephews of Chiang Kai-shek.

Chen Lifu and his older brother Chen Guofu were nephews of Chen Qimei, who until his assassination by the Chinese warlord Yuan Shikai in 1916 was the mentor of upcoming Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. The Chen brothers established the CC clique within the KMT.[1]: 138 

Considered to be the extreme right of the Kuomintang alongside the Blue Shirts Society, the CC Clique represented traditionalists, anti-Communists, Constitutionalism, Free Market Economy, and land reformers. They stood closest to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, influencing appointments and promotions, and held the largest block of votes in the Central Executive Committee. Chen Lifu was considered the party head. Its members included many of the elite within the party, including such people as Chiang Kai-shek's wife Soong Mei-ling and H.H. Kung. They influenced intelligence, trade, banking, the military, education, and propaganda.

The CC Clique placed loyal followers throughout the party and the government machinery, ensuring influence in the bureaucracy, educational agencies, youth organization and labor unions. The brothers also influenced the KMT's Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, one of Chiang's two main police and intelligence bodies. Chen Lifu freely admitted that these units caused considerable criticism (The Storm Clouds, p. 68).

The Gexin movement included many younger KMT members associated with the CC Clique.[1]: 138 

The CC Clique aggressively criticized T.V. Soong following the Nationalist government's worsening economic crisis in January and early February 1947.[1]: 138  As Soong's political role receded, the CC Clique increased its economic influence, particularly in the Agricultural Bank of China, for which Chen Guofu had become the chairman of the board in 1945.[1]: 141  With Soong's influence decreased, CC Clique member Juo Jinghua aggressively developed commercial enterprises tied to the Clique.[1]: 141 

Some viewpoints suggest that the CC Clique exhibited tendencies toward democratization and openness after relocating to Taiwan. [2][3][4] Chi Shi-Ying, who was Chen Lifu's secretary and later a key figure in the clique, once told Lei Chen that many CC Clique members supported the formation of an opposition party. He later co-founded the China Democracy Party (Taiwan). [5]

In 1958, under Chi Shi-ying’s leadership, the CC Clique opposed amendments to the Publication Law that restricted freedom of speech. Led by legislator Cheng Tsang-po, Chi and 24 others submitted a motion on April 25, demanding a public review. This pressured the executive branch, and Vice Premier Huang Shao-ku admitted classifying the proposal as confidential was an oversight.[6][7]

Despite this, the Kuomintang and Executive Yuan blocked the review through party mechanisms. In response, over 100 legislators co-signed an alternative amendment, but it was ultimately defeated.[8][9]

Meanwhile, Liang Su-yung, regarded as the last leader of the CC Clique, served as the defense lawyer for Lei Chen.

Name

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Chen Lifu denied the existence of the "CC Clique" in his memoir, stating he would not name his faction in English.[10] Members of the group refer to themselves as the 'Gexin Clique.[11]

Notable members

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Wang Tseng-shan, a Chinese Muslim, was the KMT commissioner of Civil Affairs in the Xinjiang Coalition Government from 1946–47, and was associated with the CC Clique. The Uyghur Masud Sabri was also a CC Clique member, as was the Tatar Burhan Shahidi and the KMT-general and Han Chinese Wu Zhongxin.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Coble, Parks M. (2023). The Collapse of Nationalist China: How Chiang Kai-shek Lost China's Civil War. Cambridge New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-29761-5.
  2. ^ 陈, 铭德 (1987). 《新民报》春秋 (in Chinese). 重庆出版社. p. 74. ISBN 9787536602304.
  3. ^ 中美关系資料匯編 (in Chinese). Vol. 1. 中國硏究資料中心. 1993.
  4. ^ 謝, 國興 (1984). 黄郛與華北危局 (in Traditional Chinese). 國立台灣師範大學歷史研究所. p. 86.
  5. ^ 薛, 化元 (2021). 中華民國在台灣的發展 (in Chinese). Guo li Taiwan da xue chu ban zhong xin chu ban. p. 219. ISBN 9789863504757.
  6. ^ 薛, 化元 (2021). 中華民國在台灣的發展 (in Chinese). Guo li Taiwan da xue chu ban zhong xin chu ban. p. 220. ISBN 9789863504757.
  7. ^ 羅, 成典 (2014). 立法院風雲錄 (in Chinese). 獨立作家出版. p. 207. ISBN 9789865729288.
  8. ^ 薛, 化元 (2021). 中華民國在台灣的發展 (in Chinese). Guo li Taiwan da xue chu ban zhong xin chu ban. p. 220. ISBN 9789863504757.
  9. ^ 羅, 成典 (2014). 立法院風雲錄 (in Chinese). 獨立作家出版. p. 207. ISBN 9789865729288.
  10. ^ 陳, 立夫 (1994). 成敗之鑑-陳立夫回憶錄 (in Chinese). 正中. p. 436. ISBN 9789570909050.
  11. ^ 淑鳳, 吳 (2000). 趙自齊先生訪談錄. 國史館. p. 296. ISBN 957-02-7211-2 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ Andrew D. W. Forbes (1986). Warlords and Muslims in Chinese Central Asia: a political history of Republican Sinkiang 1911–1949. Cambridge, England: CUP Archive. pp. 199, 247, 253. ISBN 0-521-25514-7. Retrieved 2010-06-28.

Literature

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