ABSTRACT
This chapter will introduce Taiwan’s government structure in its democratic era. It will show how the consensual nature of constitutional reform created a political system that incorporated elements of change, but also retained much of its martial law era institutional structure. The chapter will consider how we should best classify Taiwan’s political system. The major rounds of these constitutional reforms will be examined along with some of the consequences of these reforms for how the political system operates. Lastly, we will look at current debates over whether Taiwan requires continued reform to the 1947 Republic of China Constitution or whether they should discard it altogether for a more Taiwanese one.
