The League was founded in Shanghai toward the end of 1932 on the initiative of Song Qingling, Cai Yuanpei, Yang Xingfo (also known as Yang Quan), Lin Yutang, and others; a section was later established in Beiping (the name of Beijing from 1928 to 1949), headed by Hu Shi. The League was established in response to the GMD’s increasing repression of leftist intellectuals and suspected Communist supporters, and drew support from a broad range of the Chinese political spectrum. It sought the release of all political prisoners and also publicized violations of civil rights. Note that we here translate minquan as “civil rights”; for the complex background of this term, see the General Introduction. Throughout its brief existence, the League was fraught with internal strife due to the different goals and political beliefs of its members (see Text 27). The League came to an abrupt end after less than six months when one of its members was assassinated, presumably by the Blue Shirts, a clandestine organization in charge of intelligence operations against the GMD’s political opponents.
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