ABSTRACT
Introduction At 9:30 on the evening of 22 March 2008 Taiwan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) announced that Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九 ) had been elected president with an overwhelming majority. The news was greeted with fi recrackers by his supporters from the Kuomintang (KMT) party and tears from those of the outgoing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). After eight long years in opposition, the former authoritarian party was back in power. This was Taiwan’s fourth direct presidential election and second change of ruling party through elections. The fact that these election-driven party turnovers have been so smooth and peaceful stands in stark contrast to the post-election violence seen in many other new democracies. As such, over the last two decades, Taiwan has gained a reputation as one of Asia’s model liberal democracies.
