ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the question of whether democracy is working in Taiwan by looking at three key policy areas: social welfare systems, political corruption and LGBT rights. The first two areas were seriously neglected under authoritarian rule, with a highly unbalanced welfare system and the Kuomintang (KMT) record of exploiting its government position to amass a vast business empire. The chapter will focus on the impact of democracy on these salient political issues. Has democracy created a fair and adequate social security net for Taiwan’s citizens, and how does Taiwan’s welfare system fit into global welfare typologies? The second case study asks whether democracy has actually helped reduce political corruption or exacerbated the problem. In both these policy areas the advent of electoral politics and a free media has transformed the policymaking process. LGBT rights only became politically controversial recently in Taiwan, but this represents an important test for how democracy can deal with newly salient issues.
