The Council was created on 10 December 1993, in a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan.[1] There are nine member parties, an associate member, and one party with observer status. Currently, many democrats in Asia have a relationship with CALD. CALD has also opened its membership to like-minded individuals, and regularly engages with non-member political parties from Japan and South Korea with which it shares the same democratic values. The Democratic Party of Japan is one of the examples.
For the convenience of particular members, they also accept individual members, like the situation in Hong Kong. The Democratic Party of Hong Kong is represented in CALD by Martin Lee and Sin Chung Kai. The third individual member of the CALD was Indonesia's ex-President Abdurrahman Wahid (1940–2009). Aung San Suu Kyi and Corazon Aquino (1933–2009) are honorary members of CALD.
The CALD has been sanctioned by the People's Republic of China for allegedly promoting Taiwanese independence.[2][3] The council has called the sanctions unfortunate and said they would not undermine the advocacy work it is engaged in.[4]
