CC Clique

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

The CC Clique derived much of its influence from its control over the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, a powerful intelligence agency, as well as its dominance over major newspapers. The group was primarily composed of technocrats and civil officials, giving it substantial sway over both policymaking and bureaucratic appointments within the party-state structure.

From the conclusion of the Northern Expedition to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the CC Clique held long-standing control over the Kuomintang’s party apparatus under the authorization of Chiang Kai-shek. At the same time, Chiang also supported the Whampoa-based faction led by Chen Cheng and Hu Zongnan, Kang Tse and 賀衷寒 of the Blue Shirt Society. During this decade, intense factional rivalries between the CC Clique and its Whampoa-Blue Shirt counterparts resulted in widespread organizational stagnation, inefficiency, and a tarnished reputation across various party branches, progressively weakening the KMT’s overall authority.

In January 1938, Chen Lifu, then head of the Military Affairs Commission’s Sixth Department—which managed wartime party organization and training—was appointed Minister of Education. The Sixth Department was subsequently merged into the Political Training Department, effectively transferring the party’s powers of organization, propaganda, and training from Chen Lifu to Chen Cheng. In April of the same year, Chiang appointed former CC Clique member Zhu Jiahua as KMT Secretary-General and backed him in curbing the CC faction’s influence, marking a gradual shift in Chiang’s stance from reliance on to confrontation with the CC Clique.

Following the death of Guofu and the forced exile of Lifu, Chi Shi-ying, a prominent member of the CC Clique, rose to leadership within the faction in the Legislative Yuan. During his tenure, Chi steered the group towards a more liberal orientation within the party. However, after his expulsion from the Kuomintang in 1954, the CC Clique gradually lost its political influence.