ABSTRACT
Taiwan has been pursuing democratization for decades. Taiwan’s vibrant democracy, in particular, is in some respects superior even to that of the United States and other Asia-Pacific countries. Democratization in Taiwan began with the lifting of martial law in 1987. This chapter argues that three forces—first, the liberalization and the limited democratic reforms spearheaded by the KMT; second, bottom-up demands of the non-KMT dangwai movement; and third, historical legacy of Taiwan’s relations with China—have coexisted and influenced each other in such a way as to foster political compromise in Taiwan’s democracy. Accordingly, these three forces entangled continue to shape the future development of Taiwan’s democracy. This chapter first scrutinizes the three changes of government, in 2000, 2008, and 2016, and assesses the implications of these changes for democratic consolidation in Taiwan. Then it highlights new developments in Taiwan’s democracy since 2016, focusing on improvements in the quality of democratic governance—in particular, the China factor in the form of socioeconomic penetration in Taiwan along with the rise of populist politician influence on Taiwan’s democracy under siege. Finally, this chapter concludes with the predictions for the future of democracy in Taiwan.
