ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the voting patterns of the four presidential elections in Taiwan and how these patterns represent the ongoing debate over Taiwan's international status. It begins with a history of political parties in Taiwan, followed by discussion of the intersections of identity politics and political parties. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 presidential elections, and suggests how place and identity are crucial concepts in understanding the geographic patterns of these votes. However, the primary difference between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Kuomintang (KMT) rests on the issue of national identity rather than ethnic identity notes that as Taiwan became more and more democratic, Taiwanese, as the majority population, gradually got the upper hand, and the salience of ethnicity in Taiwanese politics declined. DPP are defined, supporters of the KMT are othered' as being mainlanders and pro-unification, even if it is not entirely accurate.
