Kuomintang

The Kuomintang (KMT) is a political party in Taiwan. It was once located in China, where it was known as the Chinese Nationalist Party. In 1949, it fled to Taiwan to escape the Chinese Communist Party. Nowadays, the KMT is identified by its opposition to independence from China. It is the leader of the Pan-Blue Coalition, and is the current majority party in the legislature. The KMT supported Ma Ying-Jeou's successful presidential campaign in 2008.

The Kuomintang was founded in China in 1912 by Sun Yat-sen. It was a nationalist party established after the Xinhai Revolution to fight growing foreign influence in China. It was later ruled by by Chiang Kai-shek during conflicts with Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party. In 1949 the KMT was defeated by the Communists and fled to Taiwan. It was the country's sole ruling party until reforms took place in the 1970s.

• Constituency votes: 5,291,512 (53.5%)
• Party list votes: 5,010,801 (51.2%)
  • Total seats won: 81 (Majority party)Adam Carr's Election Archive: 2008 Taiwanese Legislative Election Results

• Official Site: Introduction to the Party
• Wikipedia: Kuomintang
• Google News: Kuomintang
• Reuters: Old Allegiances Fade As Taiwan Heads for the Polls (March 6, 2008)
  • "Discontent over the economy, whose growth of 4-6 percent in recent years masks a widening wealth gap, has already bloodied the DPP this year. It won just a quarter of parliament's seats in legislative elections in January and the KMT emerged with the lion's share."
• The China Post: Hu Offer Ok Under '92 Consensus' (March 6, 2008)
  • "A ranking official of the main opposition Kuomintang said yesterday that cross-Taiwan Strait peace talks could be held on the basis of the '92 consensus' under which the two sides agreed to the notion of 'one China, two interpretations.'"
• Forbes: Taiwan Presidential Hopeful Ma Vows End to Curbs on Fund Investments in China (March 4, 2008)
• The China Post: Lien Urges KMT to Boycott U.N. Referendums (March 3, 2008)