ABSTRACT
Democratization transformed Taiwan’s electoral politics. Multi-party elections, perhaps more than any other political phenomenon, have widened the gulf between Taiwan and China. Under martial law elections there were only candidates from one political party, almost all political communication was KMT dominated and there was no real policy debate. In contrast, the democratic era brought political advertising, a free media, intense partisan competition, open policy debate and extremely expensive election campaigns. Within less than two decades, Taiwan made the transition from what Pippa Norris calls the ‘premodern campaign’ to the ‘postmodern campaign.’ 1 The degree of change to Taiwan’s electoral politics can be compared to the switch from black and white to colour television or from vinyl records to digital music downloads. But there is much continuity as well. Taiwanese elections offer a unique blend of the old and new, with practices borrowed from US political marketing blended together with traditional communication that gives elections the atmosphere of a Chinese festival.
