ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes Taiwan's public policy processes (PPP) from the perspectives of institution, the elite, and interest groups. Major changes in institutional rules, organizational entities, and procedures frame the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of public policy in Taiwan. Taiwan's policy-making process was shaped by the change of the state–party relationship and the constitutional design of the central government. Major changes in the policy process give opportunities as well as challenges to citizen participation. Two innovations in citizen participation merit discussion: One is the application of the information and communication technologies (ICT) in government's service delivery and public consultation, and the other is the experiment of deliberative participation mechanisms. Like the ICTs, deliberative democracy also provides opportunities and challenges to citizens’ participation in policy processes. Research in Taiwan indicates that deliberative forms of public participation are a sophisticated approach to direct democracy that transforms conflicts of interest into a process for participants to learn together.
