Constitutional developments in Taiwan and democratization of the Republic of China: A model or a precedent for the People’s Republic of China?

Constitutional reforms have played a crucial role in the democratization

process of Taiwan. The major elements of Taiwan’s democratization have

been identified by political scientists, even if they have not always agreed on

their respective roles: rapid economic development; a steady increase in the

population’s education level; the formation of a large middle class; the lib-

eral foundations of the Kuomintang (KMT)’s ideology despite that party’s

Leninist organization; the strong influence of the US democratic model; the international isolation of Taiwan; increasing pressure for change from

opposition political forces; and the crucial role played by Chiang Ching-

kuo, Chiang Kai-shek’s son, in the last 2 years of his life.1