Green Party of Canpei
Green Party of Canpei 綠黨 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Executive Chairman | Zhou Nan |
| Founder | Zhou Nan |
| Preceded by | Green Association of Canpei |
| Headquarters | 6F, No. 28, Zeiting E. Rd., Brink |
| Newspaper | Toucan Gazette |
| Student wing | Green Pioneers |
| Ideology | Ecopolitics Green Conservatism Anti-communism |
| National affiliation | Canpei Stability Front (1995-2000) National Alliance (2010-present) |
| Colors | Green/Orange |
| High Council of State | 48 / 500
|
| Governorships | 1 / 20
|
| Seats in regional councils | 224 / 1,200
|
The Green Party of Canpei known locally by the abbreviation GPC and informally as the Toucans is a major political party of Canpei. Formed in 1987 by Zhou Nan, one of the most well known green activists in Canpei's capital of Brink; the party is the direct successor of a civil society group called the Green Association of Canpei that agitated for animal rights and the preservation of green spaces. Originally conceived of as a traditional green party with esoteric leftist tendencies, the GPC has moved hard towards the center-right on social and economic issues, being especially criticized in ecological circles for championing the use of the death penalty on convicted murderers, kidnappers and pedophiles and advocating for the relaxation of child labor regulations. The party has been repeatedly fined by the electoral watchdog for breaches of campaign finance laws and unlawful political advertising. Since 2010 the GPC has been part of the ruling alliance, consistently voting in support of the legislative priorities of the National Union of Canpei.
History
The Green Party of Canpei has its origins on the Green Association of Canpei, a civic organization that began as a neighborhood brigade that cleaned and maintained green spaces in the city of Brink. Founder Zhou Nan gained national notoriety for chaining himself to trees slated to be cut down and going on a hunger strike for two months to prevent the euthanization of Rocky, a bonobo monkey from Brink's city zoo that had bitten a boy. The media attention gave the notion of direct political action important traction inside the association; in 1985 Zhou Nan filed for the creation of the Green Party of Canpei with the electoral board. The novel idea of green causes coupled with the media sensation of Nan's emaciated figure on national tv over a monkey soon paid dividends and by september 1987 the party had fulfilled all the requirements to become an official party.