ABSTRACT
The premier, mainlander Sun Yuan-suan, would continue as premier and become the operational chief executive. Internal security czar Wang Sheng and external Defense Minister Soong Chang-chih would remain, balancing each other, off-stage. This succession arrangement would implicitly but inconspicuously grant the Taiwanese a larger role in the political system. Politics in Taipei—regarding succession and any other issue—operates at two levels. On the surface are the constitutionally prescribed positions, institutions, and procedures of government and Party. Beneath the surface is the central leadership group, which is composed of representatives from key institutional sectors. The Nationalist state contains experienced and effective organizations responsible for the economic development and social modernization of the island. These include constitutional line agencies, whose leaders compose the cabinet. The government sector’s most important social constituency consists of the leaders of Taiwan’s largest-scale corporations—public and private, mainlander and Taiwanese.
