The Republic of China (Chinese: 中華民國政治, Pinyin: ''Zhōnghuá Mínguó de zhèngzhì'') (commonly known as
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
) is governed in a framework of a
representative democratic
Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
under a Five-Power system envisioned by
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
, whereby under the constitutional amendments, the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
is
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
and the
Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) is
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
, and of a
multi-party system
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coal ...
.
Executive power
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems ba ...
is exercised by the government.
Legislative power
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...
is vested in primarily with the parliament and limited by
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. The
Judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
is independent of the executive and the legislature. In addition, the
Civil service power is in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants and the supervision
auditory power inspects, reviews, and audits the policies and operations of the government. The party system is dominated by the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
, which favors closer links to
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
, and the
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
, which favors
Taiwanese nationalism
Taiwanese nationalism () is a nationalist movement to identify the Taiwanese people as a distinct nation. Due to the complex political status of Taiwan, it is strongly linked to the Taiwan independence movement in seeking an identity separate ...
.
The modern-day ROC consists of
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
(Formosa) and
Penghu
The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
(the Pescadores) as well as portions of the
Fujian Province
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
(
Kinmen
Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separate ...
(Quemoy) and
Matsu) and
several smaller islands. Taiwan's six major cities,
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
,
New Taipei
New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest s ...
,
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
,
Tainan
Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...
,
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
, and
Taoyuan, are
special municipalities. The rest of the territories are divided into 3
cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and 13
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
. Overall, the country is nominally ''de jure''
subdivided into 35
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
, 1
special administrative region, 2 regions, and 18
special municipalities.
Prior to the
constitutional reforms, the political system of the ROC took place framework of a
parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
representative democratic
Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, where the President served a primarily ceremonial role as Head of State. Executive power was exercised by the government. Legislative power is formerly vested in both the government and its tricameral parliament: the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
where it elects the President and
Vice-President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
as well as make major constitutional amendments, the
Control Yuan
The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Prior to constitutional reforms in the 1990s, the Control Yuan, along with National Assembly (electoral college) and the Legislative ...
and the
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...
. Historically, the Chinese political system under the ''
Dang Guo
''Dang Guo'' ( zh, t=黨國, p=Dǎngguó, l=party-state) was the one-party system adopted by the Republic of China under the Kuomintang. It was from 1924 onwards, after Sun Yat-sen acknowledged the efficacy of the nascent Soviet Union's politi ...
'' regime and the
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
period was
authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
where political opposition was suppressed, all religious activity was controlled by the KMT, dissent was not permitted and civil rights were curtailed. After democratization, all political parties became legal and the Republic of China was democratized where free speech and civil rights were relaxed.
Overview
The ROC is governed under the
Constitution of the Republic of China
The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the session on 25 December 1946, in Nanjing, and adopted on 25 December 1947. The constitution, ...
which was drafted in 1947 before the fall of the
Chinese mainland
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
to the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
(CCP) and outlined a government for all of China. Significant amendments were made to the Constitution in 1991, and there have been a number of judicial interpretations made to take into account the fact that the Constitution covers a much smaller area than originally envisioned.
The government in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
officially asserts to be the sole legitimate government of all of China, which it defined as including Taiwan,
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
, and
outer Mongolia
Outer Mongolia was the name of a territory in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia and the Russian republic of Tuva. The historical region gained ''de facto' ...
. In keeping with that claim, when the KMT fled to Taipei in 1949, they re-established the full array of central political bodies, which had existed in mainland China in the de jure capital of
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
(Nanking). While much of this structure remains in place, the President
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He was the fir ...
in 1991 unofficially abandoned the government's claim of sovereignty over
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
, stating that they do not "dispute the fact that the
Communists
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...
control mainland China." However, the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
has not officially changed the national borders, as doing so may be seen as a prelude to formal
Taiwanese independence
The Taiwan independence movement is a political movement which advocates the formal declaration of an independent and sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Strait relations.
Currently, Tai ...
. The People's Republic of China has several times threatened to start a war if the government of Taiwan formalizes independence; as in the
Anti-Secession Law
The Anti-Secession Law () is a law of the China, People's Republic of China, passed by the 3rd Session of the 10th National People's Congress. It was ratified on March 14, 2005, and went into effect immediately. President of the People's R ...
. Neither the National Assembly nor the Supreme Court has actually defined what the term "existing national boundaries," as stated in the constitution, actually means. The latter refused to do so claiming that it is a "major political issue".
Political history
Taiwan under Japanese rule
After the
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
were forced to cede the island of Formosa to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Under Japanese rule, Taiwan has its
governor general
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
as its head of government under the
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
led by the
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
. Taiwanese citizens in Formosa and Pescadores were Japanese citizens until the end of World War II in 1945.
Republic of China on Mainland China, 1911–1949
The original founding of the Republic centered on the
Three Principles of the People
The Three Principles of the People (; also translated as the Three People's Principles, San-min Doctrine, or Tridemism) is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to improve China made during the Republican Era. ...
(): nationalism, democracy, and people's livelihood. Nationalism meant the Chinese people standing up against
Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
rule and Japanese and Western interference, democracy meant elected rule modeled after Japan's parliament, and people's livelihood or socialism, meant government regulation of the means of production. Another lesser known principle that the Republic was founded upon was ''five races under one union'' (五族共和), which emphasized the harmony of the five major ethnic groups in China as represented by the colored stripes of the original
Five-Colored Flag of the Republic. However, this "five races under one union" principle and the corresponding flag were abandoned in 1927.
In reality the three original principles were left unrealized. Republican China was marked by warlordism, foreign invasion, and civil war. Although there were elected legislators from its inception, it was actually a largely one-party dictatorship apart from some minor parties, including the
Chinese Youth Party
The Young China Party (YCP), also known as the Chinese Youth Party (CYP), is a minor political party in Taiwan (Republic of China). It was one of the three legal political parties in Taiwan during the martial law period from 1949 to 1987, the ...
, the National Socialist Party and the Rural Construction Party, with
suppression of dissent
Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to ...
of communists within the KMT. As the central government was quite weak, little could be done in terms of land reform or redistribution of wealth. Politics of this era consisted primarily of the political and military struggle between the KMT and the CCP in between bouts of active resistance against Japanese invasion.
Political structure
The first national government of the Chinese Republic was established on 1 January 1912, in Nanjing, with Sun Yat-sen as the provisional president. Provincial delegates were sent to confirm the authority of the national government, and they later also formed the first parliament. The power of this national government was both limited and short-lived, with generals controlling all of central and northern China. The limited acts passed by this government included the formal abdication of the Qing dynasty and some economic initiatives.
Shortly after the rise of
Yuan Shikai
Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...
, the parliament's authority became nominal; violations of the Constitution by Yuan were met with half-hearted motions of censure, and KMT members of the parliament that gave up their membership to the KMT were offered 1,000 pounds. Yuan maintained power locally by sending military generals to be provincial governors or by obtaining the allegiance of those already in power. Foreign powers came to recognize Yuan's power as well: when Japan came to China with
Twenty-One Demands
The Twenty-One Demands ( ja, 対華21ヶ条要求, Taika Nijūikkajō Yōkyū; ) was a set of demands made during the First World War by the Empire of Japan under Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu to the government of the Republic of China on 18 ...
, it was Yuan that submitted to them, on 25 May 1915.
After the death of Yuan in 1916, the parliament of 1913 was reconvened to give legitimacy to a new government. However, the real power of the time passed to military leaders, forming the warlord period. Still, the powerless government had its use—when World War I began, several Western powers and Japan wanted China to declare war on Germany, in order to liquidate the latter's holdings there.
From the beginning to the end of Republican China, political power was generally exercised through both legal and non-legal means. Yuan ruled as a dictator, remolding the constitution as he saw fit; warlords withdrew from the Republic, ruling through military control; and Chiang based his political power on military power. During this time, Chiang ruled more as a dictator than as a leader of a one-party state. He used white terror tactics and various military campaigns to destroy the CCP, and the police and military apparatus were freely used to attack dissenters. However, Chiang's influence never extended beyond the Yangtze Delta, and the rest of the country was under the effective control of former warlords, and Chiang faced insurrections from them throughout the 1930s, even after the
Northern Expedition
The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...
, which had nominally unified the country. Regional political power remained strong throughout Republican China, and central authority deteriorated continuously until the Second Sino-Japanese War, to the point that Chiang became no more than the "head of a loose coalition," as observed by
Albert Wedemeyer
General Albert Coady Wedemeyer (July 9, 1896 – December 17, 1989) was a United States Army commander who served in Asia during World War II from October 1943 to the end of the war. Previously, he was an important member of the War Planning Board ...
.
Republic of China on Taiwan since 1949
After the death of
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
in 1975, Vice President
Yen Chia-kan
Yen Chia-kan (; 23 October 1905 – 24 December 1993), also known as C. K. Yen, was a Kuomintang politician. He succeeded Chiang Kai-shek as President of the Republic of China on 5 April 1975, being sworn in on 6 April 1975, and served out the ...
briefly took over from 1975 to 1978, according to the Constitution, but the actual power was in the hands of Premier
Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China after its retreat to Taiwan. The eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government ...
(), who was KMT chairman and a son of Chang Kai-shek. During the presidency of Chiang Ching-kuo from 1978 to 1988, Taiwan's political system began to undergo gradual liberalization.
After the lifting of martial law, the opposition
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
(民主進步黨) was formed and allowed to participate overtly in politics. After Chiang Ching-kuo died in 1988, Vice President
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He was the fir ...
(李登輝) succeeded him as the first Taiwan-born president and chairman of the KMT. Lee became the first ROC president elected by popular vote in 1996, despite the PRC's
missile tests.
In 2000,
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...
(陳水扁) of the pro-independence
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
(DPP) was
elected president, marking the first peaceful democratic transition of power to an opposition party in ROC history and a decisive end to the KMT's monopoly in administration of the central government.
In the
2004 presidential election, the day after
being shot while campaigning, Chen was reelected by a narrow margin of 0.2%. The KMT filed lawsuits to demand a recount, alleged voting fraud and staged huge rallies to demand a new election. The courts ruled that the election was accurate and valid.
In both of Chen's terms, the DPP and the
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
-leaning
Pan-Green Coalition
The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (T ...
failed to secure a majority in the
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
, losing to the KMT and the pro-unification leaning
Pan-Blue Coalition
The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
. This has led to many impasses; the president in the ROC system does not have the power of
veto
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
, so the legislature is not required to obtain the assent of the executive branch in order to make laws.
In January 2008, opposition party Kuomintang won a landslide victory in
legislative election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
. President Chen Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost. In March 2008,
Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from ...
of Kuomintang party was
elected Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...
as president. In January 2012, President Ma Ying-jeou was
re-elected. In January 2016, Democratic Progressive Party candidate
Tsai Ing-wen
Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...
won
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
. She became the first female president of Republic of China. In January 2020, Tsai was
re-elected, and in the simultaneous
legislative election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, President Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a majority, with 61 out of 113 seats. The Kuomintang (KMT) got 38 seats.
In the 21st century, Taiwan's political system has been moving towards
digital democracy
E-democracy (a combination of the words Electronic publishing, electronic and democracy), also known as digital democracy or Internet democracy, is the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in Politics, political and governan ...
with increased participation from civil society and greater transparency from the government.
Political status and the major camps
One key issue has been the
political status of Taiwan
The controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan or the Taiwan issue is a result of World War II, the second phase of the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949), and the Cold War.
The basic issue hinges on who the islands of Taiwan, Peng ...
itself. With the diplomatic isolation brought about in the 1970s and 1980s, the notion of "recovering the
mainland
Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...
" by force has been dropped and the
Taiwanese localization movement
Taiwanese nationalism () is a nationalist movement to identify the Taiwanese people as a distinct nation. Due to the complex political status of Taiwan, it is strongly linked to the Taiwan independence movement in seeking an identity separate ...
strengthened. The relationship with the People's Republic of China and the related issues of
Taiwan independence
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
and
Chinese unification
Chinese unification, also known as the Cross-Strait unification or Chinese reunification, is the potential unification of territories currently controlled, or claimed, by the People's Republic of China ("China" or "Mainland China") and the ...
continue to dominate Taiwanese politics.
The political scene in the ROC is divided into two camps, with the pro-unification KMT,
People First Party (PFP), and
New Party forming the
Pan-Blue Coalition
The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
; and the
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
(DPP) and strongly pro-independence
Taiwan Solidarity Union
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) is a political party in Taiwan which advocates Taiwan independence, and is affiliated with the Taiwanese localization movement. It was officially founded on 12 August 2001 and is considered part of the Pan-Gr ...
(TSU) forming the
Pan-Green Coalition
The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (T ...
. Because of the dominance of the unification-independence issue in Taiwan's political scene, it is difficult to categorise either camp as "right" or "left" on the conventional basis of economic or social policies.
Supporters of the
Pan-Green
The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (T ...
camp tend to favor emphasizing the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
as being a distinct country from the People's Republic of China. Many Pan-Green supporters seek formal Taiwan independence and for dropping the title of the Republic of China. However, more progressive members of the coalition, such as former President Chen Shui-bian, have moderated their views and claim that it is unnecessary to proclaim independence because Taiwan is already "an independent, sovereign country" and that the Republic of China is the same as Taiwan. Some members take a much more extreme view about Taiwan's status, claiming that the ROC is nonexistent and calling for the establishment of an independent "
Republic of Taiwan". Supporters of this idea have even gone as far as issuing self-made "passports" for their republic. Attempts to use these "passports" however, have been stopped by officials at Chang Kai-shek International Airport.
While the Pan-Green camp favors Taiwan having an identity separate from that of China, some Pan-Blue members, especially former leaders from the older generation, seem to be strongly supportive of the concept of the Republic of China, which remains an important symbol of their links with China. During his
visit to mainland China in April 2005, former KMT Party Chairman
Lien Chan
Lien Chan (; born 27 August 1936) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the Chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government from 1990 to 1993, Premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, Vice President of the Republic of China from 1996 to 20 ...
reiterated his party's belief in the "One China" policy that states that there is only one China controlled by two governments and that Taiwan is a part of China. PFP Party Chair
James Soong
James Soong Chu-yu (born 16 March 1942) is a Taiwanese politician. He is the founder and current Chairman of the People First Party.
Born to a Kuomintang military family of Hunanese origin, Soong began his political career as a secretary to ...
expressed the same sentiments during his visit in May. In contrast to the positions of these two leaders of the older generation, the more mainstream Pan-Blue position is to pursue negotiations with the PRC to immediately open direct transportation links with China and to lift investment restrictions. With regards to independence, the mainstream Pan-Blue position is to simply maintain the ROC's current state, and being open to negotiations for unification after China is democratized enough to respect human rights.
For its part, the PRC has indicated that it finds a Republic of China far more acceptable than an independent Taiwan. Ironically, although it views the ROC as an illegitimate entity, it has stated that any effort on Taiwan to formally abolish the ROC or formally renounce its claim over mainland China would result in a strong and possibly military reaction. However, the defense of Taiwan by the US and Japan is likely, so it is not, in reality, clear what the PRC reaction would be. The US's current position is that the Taiwan issue must be resolved peacefully and that it condemns unilateral action by either side, an unprovoked invasion by China or a declaration of formal independence by Taiwan.
Current political issues
The dominant political issue today in the
Taiwan Area
The free area of the Republic of China, also known as the "Taiwan Area of the Republic of China", "Tai-Min Area (Taiwan and Fujian)" or simply the "Taiwan Area", is a term used by the government of the Republic of China (ROC) to refer to ...
in the Republic of China (ROC) is its relationship with the Government of the
People’s Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(PRC) that has jurisdiction over
Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
. Specifically, many people in Taiwan desire the opening of direct transportation links with mainland China, including direct flights, which would aid many Taiwanese businesses that have opened factories or branches in mainland China. The former DPP administration feared that such links will lead to tighter economic and thus political integration with the PRC, and in the 2006 Lunar New Year Speech, Chen Shui-bian called for managed opening of links.
Mainland China and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
resumed regular direct flights or cross-Strait relations on 4 July 2008, after six decades, as a "new start" in their tense relations. Liu Shaoyong, chair of
China Southern Airlines
China Southern Airlines Company Limited is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and is the largest airline in China. Established on 1 July 1988 following the restructuring of ...
, piloted the first flight from
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
to
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
(
Taoyuan International Airport
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is an international airport serving Taipei and northern Taiwan. Located about west of Taipei in Dayuan District, Taoyuan, the airport is Taiwan's largest. It was also the busiest airport in Taiwan before t ...
). Simultaneously, a Taiwan-based
China Airlines
China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (inclu ...
flight flew to
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
. Five mainland Chinese cities will be connected with eight Taiwan airports, with 4 days a week, 36 round-trip flights across the
Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide.
The Taiwan Strait is itself a s ...
, thereby eliminating time-consuming Hong Kong stopovers.
Other major political issues include the passage of an arms procurement bill that the United States authorized in 2001. In 2008, however, the United States were reluctant to send over more arms to Taiwan out of fear that it would hinder the recent improvement of ties between China and Taiwan. Another major political issue, is the establishment of a National Communications Commission to take over from the Government Information Office, whose advertising budget exercised great control over the media.
Banking reform, including consumer finance (limiting rates on credit cards) and bank mergers, is also a major issue. Taiwan's financial sector is quite unwieldy, with over 48 banks, none of which have a market share over 10%. In addition, the government controls 50% to 60% of Taiwan's banking assets. The ultimate aim is the creation of large financial institutions that will then have the ability to compete internationally.
The politicians and their parties have themselves become major political issues. Corruption among some DPP administration officials has been exposed. In early 2006, President Chen Shui-bian was linked to possible corruption. The political effect on President Chen Shui-bian was great, causing a divide in the DPP leadership and supporters alike. It eventually led to the creation of a political camp led by ex-DPP leader
Shih Ming-teh
Shih Ming-teh (; born 15 January 1941) commonly known as Nori Shih, is a statesman and human rights defender in Taiwan and was once a political prisoner for 25-and-a-half years.
Arrested at the age of 21 in 1962 and charged with creating the " ...
which believes the president should resign. The KMT assets continue to be another major issue, as it was once the richest political party in the world. Nearing the end of 2006, KMT's chairman Ma Ying-jeou was also hit by corruption controversies, although he has since then been cleared of any wrong-doings by the courts. Since completing his second term as President, Chen Shui-bian has been charged with corruption and
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
.
The merger of the KMT and
People First Party (PFP) was thought to be certain, but a string of defections from the PFP to the KMT have increased tensions within the Pan-Blue camp.
In 2006, due to the
Pacific Sogo Department Store scandal, the pro-KMT
Pan-Blue Coalition
The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
moved to impeach the President but failed to obtain the requisite number of votes in the legislature. This failure led to a "
Down Ah-Bian" campaign, which sought to pressure the president to resign from office. The campaign began on 1 September 2006. Campaign organizers claimed that the first day of the strike attracted 300,000 people in Taipei, while the police estimated the number to be closer to 90,000. The "Down Ah-Bian" event was being led by activist and politician
Shih Ming-te
Shih Ming-teh (; born 15 January 1941) commonly known as Nori Shih, is a statesman and human rights defender in Taiwan and was once a political prisoner for 25-and-a-half years.
Arrested at the age of 21 in 1962 and charged with creating the " ...
(施明德) as a peaceful sit-in around the capital, besieging the presidential residence. While the protests have been largely peaceful, there have been isolated incidences of violence associated with the campaign, including fist fights between Pan-Blue and Pan-Green (pro-DPP) legislatures. The "Up Ah-Bian" event was organized to counteract the "Down Ah-Bian" campaign. On 13 October 2006, the
Pan-Blue Coalition
The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
attempted again to pass a recall motion against the ROC President Chen Shui-bian, which also failed to garner sufficient votes in the legislature.
On 3 November 2006, prosecutors in Taiwan stated that they have enough evidence to indict Chen's wife on corruption charges in connection with her handling of a secret diplomatic fund. According to the prosecutors, while Chen would not be indicted while in office, there is a possibility that he would be indicted after he leaves office.
National identity
Roughly 84% of Taiwan's population descends from Han Chinese who migrated from mainland China between 1661 and 1895. Another significant fraction descends from Han Chinese who immigrated from mainland China in the 1940s and 1950s. But between 1895 and the present, Taiwan and mainland China have shared a common government for only 4 years. The shared cultural origin combined with several hundred years of geographical separation, some hundred years of political separation and foreign influences, as well as hostility between the rival Taiwan and China have resulted in national identity being a contentious issue with political overtones. Since democratization and the lifting of martial law, a distinct Taiwanese identity (as opposed to Taiwanese identity as a subset of a Chinese identity) is often at the heart of political debates. Its acceptance makes the island distinct from mainland China, and therefore may be seen as a step towards forming a consensus for ''de jure'' Taiwan independence.
The
pan-green
The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (T ...
camp supports a distinct Taiwanese identity, while the
pan-blue
The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
camp supports a Chinese identity only.
The KMT has downplayed this stance in the recent years and now supports a Taiwanese identity as part of a Chinese identity.
According to a survey conducted in March 2009, 49% of the respondents consider themselves as Taiwanese only, and 44% of the respondents consider themselves as Taiwanese and Chinese. 3% consider themselves as only Chinese.
Another survey, conducted in Taiwan in July 2009, showed that 82.8% of respondents consider that Taiwan and China are two separate countries developing each on its own. A recent survey conducted in December 2009 showed that 62% of the respondents consider themselves as Taiwanese only, and 22% of the respondents consider themselves as both Taiwanese and Chinese. 8% consider themselves as only Chinese. The survey also shows that among 18- to 29-year-old respondents, 75% consider themselves as Taiwanese only.
Government
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
,
Tsai Ing-wen
Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...
,
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
, 20 May 2016
, -
,
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
,
Lai Ching-te
William Lai Ching-te (; born 6 October 1959) is a Taiwanese politician who has been the Vice President of the Republic of China, Vice President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2020. He served as a legislator in the Legislative Yuan from 19 ...
,
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
, 20 May 2016
, -
,
President of the Executive Yuan
The Premier of the Republic of China, officially the President of the Executive Yuan (Chinese: 行政院院長), is the head of the government of the Republic of China of Taiwan and leader of the Executive Yuan. The premier is nominally the p ...
,
Su Tseng-chang
Hope Su Tseng-chang (; born 28 July 1947) is a Taiwanese politician serving as premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2019, and previously from 2006 to 2007. He was the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party in 2005 and from 2012 ...
,
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
, 11 January 2019
, -
,
President of the Legislative Yuan
The president of the Legislative Yuan is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Legislative Yuan of the Taiwan, Republic of China. The incumbent president is Yu Shyi-kun, a Democratic Progressive Party legislator and the second DPP Pr ...
,
Yu Shyi-kun
You Si-kun (; born 25 April 1948), also romanized Yu Shyi-kun, is a Taiwanese politician serving as a member and the president of the Legislative Yuan. He was one of the founding members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and is known ...
,
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
, 1 February 2020
, -
,
President of the Judicial Yuan
The Judicial Yuan () is the judicial branch of the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan.''See'' Constitution arts. 77-82, ''available at'' ''See'' Additional Articles of the Constitution art. 5, ''available at'' It runs a Constitution ...
,
Hsu Tzong-li
Hsu Tzong-li (; born 10 February 1956) is a Taiwanese judge who has served as the President of the Judicial Yuan since 2016.
Academic career
Hsu studied at National Taiwan University and later, in 1986, obtained his PhD in law (Dr.iur.) from t ...
, Independent
, 1 November 2016
, -
,
President of the Examination Yuan
The president of the Examination Yuan is the head of the constitutional branch in the Republic of China.
List
Pre-1947 Constitution
Post-1947 Constitution
Timeline
See also
* Constitution of the Republic of China
References
External ...
,
Huang Jong-tsun
Huang Jong-tsun (; born 30 March 1947) is a Taiwanese politician and psychologist who serves as the current President of the Examination Yuan. Prior to assuming his current role, Huang had served as President of China Medical University from 2 ...
, Independent
, 1 September 2020
, -
,
President of the Control Yuan
,
Chen Chu
Chen Chu or Kiku Chen (; born 10 June 1950) is the current President of the Control Yuan and Chair of the National Human Rights Commission. Before assuming her current post, Chen had served as Secretary-General to the President from 2018 t ...
,
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
, 1 August 2020
Presidency
The President is the
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
of the Republic of China and
commander-in-chief of the
armed forces
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
. The president has authority over the five administrative branches (Yuan): Executive, Legislative, Control, Judicial, and Examination.
National Assembly
The National Assembly of the Republic of China was elected in mainland China in 1947 to officially carry out the duties of choosing the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
, to amend the constitution, and to exercise the sovereignty of the citizens, but in actuality, the Assembly's role in Taipei seemed to reconfirm the executive powers of President Chang Kai-shek. The National Assembly was re-established on Taiwan when the government moved. Because it was impossible to hold subsequent elections to represent constituencies in mainland China, representatives elected in 1947–48 held these seats "indefinitely." In June 1990, however, the Council of Grand Justices mandated the retirement, effective December 1991, of all remaining "indefinitely" elected members of the National Assembly, Legislative Yuan, and other bodies.
The second National Assembly, elected in 1991, was composed of 325 members. The majority was elected directly; 100 were chosen from party slates in proportion to the popular vote. This National Assembly amended the constitution in 1994, paving the way for the direct election of the president and vice president that was held in March, 1996. The National Assembly retained the authority to amend the constitution, to recall or to impeach the president or vice president, and to ratify select senior-level presidential appointments. In April 2000, the members of the National Assembly voted to permit their terms of office to expire without holding new elections. They also determined that such an election would be called in the event the National Assembly is needed to decide a presidential recall or a constitutional amendment. In recent years, the National Assembly has handed most of its powers to the Legislative Yuan, including the power of impeachment. In 2005, the National Assembly permanently abolished itself by ratifying a constitution amendment passed by the Legislative Yuan.
Amending the ROC constitution now requires the approval of three-fourths of the quorum of members of the Legislative Yuan. This quorum requires at least three-fourths of all members of the Legislature. After passing by the legislature, the amendment needs ratification from at least fifty percent of all eligible voters of the ROC regardless of voter turnout.
Executive Yuan
The Executive Yuan comprises the premier, vice-premier, and the cabinet members who are responsible for policy and administration. The President of the Republic appoints the
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
, who is officially the President of the Executive Yuan.
Legislative Yuan
The main lawmaking body, the Legislative Yuan (LY), was originally elected in 1947. The first LY had 773 seats and was viewed as a "rubber stamp" institution. Like the National Assembly, representatives elected in 1947–48 held these seats "indefinitely" until the 1991 ruling. The second LY was elected in 1992. The third LY, elected in 1995, had 157 members serving 3-year terms. The fourth LY, elected in 1998, was expanded to 225 members. The LY has greatly enhanced its standing in relation to the Executive Yuan and has established itself as an important player on the central level. Along with increasing strength and size this body is beginning to reflect the recently liberalized political system. In the 1992 and 1995 elections, the main opposition partythe
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
(DPP)challenged the KMT dominance of the Legislature. In both elections the DPP won a significant share of the LY seats, and the KMT held only half the seats in the LY. In 1998, however, the KMT increased its LY majority from 50% to 55% and continued to play a dominant role in the legislature as the leading opposition party. In the 2001 election, the DPP became the largest party after large losses suffered by the KMT. Control of the Yuan swung back to the KMT after the 2008 elections, while in 2016 the DPP regained the status as the largest party and achieved a majority for the first time in history.
Judicial Yuan
The Judicial Yuan (JY) administers the ROC's court system. It includes a 15-member Council of Grand Justices (COGJ) that interprets the constitution. Grand Justices are appointed by the President, with the consent of the Legislative Yuan, to 8-year terms.
Control Yuan
The
Control Yuan
The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Prior to constitutional reforms in the 1990s, the Control Yuan, along with National Assembly (electoral college) and the Legislative ...
(CY) was elected in 1947 by provincial legislatures. The current form since 1993 monitors the efficiency of public service and investigates instances of corruption. The 29 Control Yuan members are appointed by the president and approved by the Legislative Yuan; they serve 6-year terms. In recent years, the Control Yuan has become more active, and it has conducted several major investigations and impeachments. The current president of the Control Yuan is
Chang Po-ya
Chang Po-ya (; born 5 October 1942) is a Taiwanese politician who is the founder of the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, a political party in Taiwan.
Early life
Born in what is now Chiayi City to Hsu Shih-hsien and Chang Chin-tung, both physician ...
.
Examination Yuan
The Examination Yuan (ExY) functions as a civil service commission and includes two ministries: the Ministry of Examination, which recruits officials through competitive examination, and the Ministry of Personnel, which manages the civil service. The President appoints the Examination Yuan's President.
The current President of the Examination Yuan is
Wu Jin-lin
Wu Jin-lin (; born 6 October 1947) is a Taiwanese politician. He served as the President of the Examination Yuan from 2014 to 2020. He also briefly served as President of the Examination Yuan in 2008.
Education
Wu received his bachelor's and ma ...
.
Political parties and elections
Recent elections
Presidential elections
Legislative elections
Political parties
As of July 2015, there are 277 officially registered parties in Taiwan. The aftermath of the
2000 Presidential election and the
2001 legislative election left the Taiwan fragmented among several political parties. These parties can be divided into "blue" factions (
Pan-Blue Coalition
The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
) and "green" factions (
Pan-Green Coalition
The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (T ...
), with the "blue" faction tending toward unification and a national identity that is linked with China and the "green" faction leaning toward a national identity based on
Taiwan independence
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
which is separate from the Chinese national identity. The complex structure of the party system in Taiwan was also influenced by the voting system which uses
single non-transferable vote
Single non-transferable vote or SNTV is an electoral system used to elect multiple winners. It is a generalization of first-past-the-post, applied to multi-member districts with each voter casting just one vote. Unlike FPTP, which is a single-winn ...
for legislative elections and
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
for executive elections. Starting with the 2008 legislative elections, the SNTV system was discarded in favor of a mixed single member district (SMD) with proportional representation based on national party votes, similar to Japan.
The "blue" faction comes from the color of the KMT and includes the KMT, the
People First Party, and the
New Party. The "green" faction comes from the color of the
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
and includes the Democratic Progressive Party and the
Taiwan Statebuilding Party
The Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP; zh, t=台灣基進, p=Táiwān Jījìn, poj=Tâi-oân Ki-chìn) is a political party in Taiwan. The party was established in 2016 as Taiwan Radical Wings. The party is considered a close ally of the Democrat ...
.
;
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
After 1986, the KMT's hold on power was challenged by the emergence of competing political parties. Before 1986, candidates opposing the KMT ran in elections as independents or "nonpartisans." Before the 1986 island-wide elections many "nonpartisans" grouped together to create Taiwan's first opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Despite the official ban on forming new political parties, the government authorities did not prohibit the DPP from operating, and in the 1986 elections DPP and independent candidates captured more than 20% of the vote.
The Civic Organizations Law passed in 1989 allowed for the formation of new political parties, thereby legalizing the DPP, and its support and influence increased. In the 1992 Legislative Yuan elections, the DPP won 51 seats in the 161-seat body. While this was only half the number of KMT seats, it made the DPP's voice an important factor in legislative decisions. Winning the Taipei mayor's position in December 1994, significantly enhanced the DPP's image. The DPP continued its strong showing in the 1995 LY race, winning 45 of the 157 seats to the KMT's 81. The DPP for the first time succeeded in outpolling the KMT in the November 1997 local elections, gaining 12 of the 23 magistrate and mayoral seats as opposed to the KMT's 8 and winning 43% of the vote versus the KMT's 41%.
The DPP membership is made up largely of the
Hoklo people
The Hoklo people or Hokkien people () are a Han Chinese (also Han Taiwanese) subgroup who speak Hokkien, a Southern Min language, or trace their ancestry to Southeastern Fujian, China and known by various endonyms or other related terms such a ...
, the largest ethnic group in Taiwan. The DPP maintains that Taiwan is an entity separate from mainland China and supports an independent "Republic of Taiwan" as part of its platform. The recent downplaying of Taiwan independence by the DPP as a party, however, led to the formation by hard-line advocates of a new political party called the Taiwan Independence Party in December 1996.
;
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
Until 1986, Taiwan's political system was effectively controlled by one party, the KMT, the leader of which also was the President. Many top political officials were members of the party. The party claimed over 2 million members, and its net assets were reputed to total more than NT $61.2 billion, making it the richest political party in the world.
;
New Power Party
The New Power Party (NPP) is a political party in Taiwan formed in early 2015. The party emerged from the Sunflower Student Movement in 2014, and advocates for universal human rights, civil and political liberties, as well as Taiwan independenc ...
The New Power Party was formed in early 2015. The party emerged from the
Sunflower Student Movement
The Sunflower Student Movement is associated with a protest movement driven by a coalition of students and civic groups that came to a head between March 18 and April 10, 2014, in the Legislative Yuan and, later, also the Executive Yuan of T ...
in 2014, and
advocates
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...
for
universal human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...
,
civil
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
* Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a membe ...
and
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
liberties, as well as
Taiwan independence
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
/
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
. The NPP currently had 3 members in the LY.
;
Taiwan Statebuilding Party
The Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP; zh, t=台灣基進, p=Táiwān Jījìn, poj=Tâi-oân Ki-chìn) is a political party in Taiwan. The party was established in 2016 as Taiwan Radical Wings. The party is considered a close ally of the Democrat ...
The Taiwan Statebuilding Party which advocates
Taiwan independence
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
and the party is considered a close ally of the
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
. The TSP was formed primarily because, as it took power, the DPP had to moderate its standing as regards to Taiwan independence, leaving a hole in the Taiwanese political spectrum.
;
People First Party
A new opposition party was formed in the wake of the March 2000 presidential election by the runner up, a KMT maverick candidate. The People's First Party is composed primarily of former KMT and NP members who supported former KMT Taiwan Provincial Governor
James Soong
James Soong Chu-yu (born 16 March 1942) is a Taiwanese politician. He is the founder and current Chairman of the People First Party.
Born to a Kuomintang military family of Hunanese origin, Soong began his political career as a secretary to ...
's presidential bid. The PFP currently had 17 members in the LY before the 2001 election, but increased its representation to over 40 in that election.
;
New Party
The New Party was formed in August 1993 by a group made up largely of second-generation
mainlander KMT members who were unhappy both with corruption in the KMT and with what they saw as the "
Taiwanization
Taiwanese nationalism () is a nationalist movement to identify the Taiwanese people as a distinct nation. Due to the complex political status of Taiwan, it is strongly linked to the Taiwan independence movement in seeking an identity separate ...
" of KMT ideology and leadership. The NP emphasizes "clean government" and the original KMT focus on unification with mainland China. NP influence remains modest and seems on the wane; it won 21 of the 164 LY seats in the 1995 elections but only 11 of 225 seats in 1998. The New Party was almost annihilated in the 2001 election as its members defected to the Peoples First Party.
;
Taiwan Solidarity Union
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) is a political party in Taiwan which advocates Taiwan independence, and is affiliated with the Taiwanese localization movement. It was officially founded on 12 August 2001 and is considered part of the Pan-Gr ...
In 2001, supporters of former President Lee founded the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU). Even though Lee did not join this party, he is named its spiritual leader and most believe he endorsed it. The TSU was formed primarily because, as it took power, the DPP had to moderate its standing as regards to Taiwan independence, leaving a hole in the Taiwanese political spectrum. In a bid to help the "green" side achieve control in the Legislative Yuan, the TSU was formed to attract the radical votes left over from DPP and the localist support for KMT. The TSU had often expressed that it wanted to be the "decisive minority".
Other parties than the parties listed above include:
*
Taiwan Number One Party
*
New Nation Association
*
Democratic Alliance
*
Natural Law Party
The Natural Law Party (NLP) is a transnational party founded in 1992 on "the principles of Transcendental Meditation", the laws of nature, and their application to all levels of government. At its peak, it was active in up to 74 countries; it con ...
*
Taiwan Independence Party
The Taiwan Independence Party (TAIP; ), also known as the Taiwan Nation Party, was a political party in Taiwan. It was usually associated with the Pan-Green Coalition and supported Taiwan independence.
History
Disappointed by the Democratic P ...
*
Green Party Taiwan
Green Party Taiwan is a political party in Taiwan established on 25 January 1996. Although the party is sympathetic to Taiwan nationalism and shares a number of centre-left positions with the Pan-Green Coalition, the party emphasizes campaign ...
*
Non-Party Alliance
An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Some politicians have political views th ...
*
Farmers' Party
*
Chinese Liberal Democratic Party
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
*
Labor Party
*
Third Society Party
The Third Society Party (TSP; ) is a Taiwanese political party headed by Jou Yi-Cheng (), a former DPP member.
Policies
The TSP declared that it will not support any of the candidates fielded by the Pan-Greens or the Pan-Blues in the president ...
Although some friction between 1949 Chinese immigrants and native Taiwanese still exists, it has abated with time, and there has been a gradual melding of the two communities. In 1972, then-Premier
Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China after its retreat to Taiwan. The eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government ...
began a concentrated effort to bring Taiwanese into more senior position in the central administration and the KMT. Upon his accession to the presidency in January 1988,
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He was the fir ...
, who is a native Taiwanese, continued this process. Steps by the government to redress past wrongs such as setting up a memorial to the victims of the
February 28 Incident have contributed to this process.
Political conditions
Changes in the political process were the result of the liberalizing trend that began in the 1980s under President
Chiang Ching-kuo
Chiang Ching-kuo (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China after its retreat to Taiwan. The eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government ...
. In 1987, he lifted the emergency decree, which had been in place since 1948 and which had granted virtually unlimited powers to the president for use in the anti-communist campaign. This decree provided the basis for nearly four decades of
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
under which individuals and groups expressing dissenting views were dealt with harshly. Expressing views contrary to the authorities' claim to represent all of China or supporting independent
Taiwan independence
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
was treated as sedition. Vice-President Lee Teng-hui succeeded Chiang Ching-kuo as president when Chiang died on 13 January 1988. Lee was elected by the National Assembly to a 6-year term in 1990, marking the final time a president was elected by the National Assembly.
Since ending martial law, the Republic of China has taken dramatic steps to improve respect for human rights and create a democratic political system. Most restrictions on the press have ended, restrictions on personal freedoms have been relaxed, and the prohibition against organizing new political parties has been lifted.
As the National Assembly took action in 1994 to allow for the popular election of the president, the LY in 1994 passed legislation to allow for the direct election of the governor of
Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ, PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a nominal Administrative divisions of Taiwan, administrative division of the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC). Its definition has remained part of the Constit ...
and the mayors of
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
and
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
Municipalities. These elections were held in December 1994, with the KMT winning the governor and Kaohsiung mayor posts, and the
DPP
DPP may stand for:
Business
*Digital Production Partnership, of UK public service broadcasters
* Direct Participation Program, a financial security
* Discounted payback period
Photography
* Digital Photo Professional, Canon software
Law en ...
winning the Taipei mayor's position. In March 1996,
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He was the fir ...
was elected president and Lien Chan vice president in the
first direct election by Taiwan's voters. In 1998, the KMT's
Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from ...
wrestled back control of the mayorship of
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
from the opposition DPP's most prominent figure
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...
. In the same elections, however, the DPP's
Frank Hsieh
Frank Hsieh Chang-ting (; born May 18, 1946) is a Taiwanese politician and former defense attorney. A cofounder of the Democratic Progressive Party, he has served on the Taipei City Council, the Legislative Yuan, as the mayor of Kaohsiung City ...
managed to defeat Kaoshiung's KMT incumbent.
The position of elected governor and many other elements of the
Taiwan Provincial Government
The Taiwan Provincial Government was the government that governed Taiwan Province of the Republic of China. Its functions have been transferred to the National Development Council and other ministries of the Executive Yuan.
History
At the ...
were eliminated at the end of 1998. The stated purpose of this was to streamline administrative efficiency, but some commentators have argued that this was also intended to weaken the power base of Governor
James Soong
James Soong Chu-yu (born 16 March 1942) is a Taiwanese politician. He is the founder and current Chairman of the People First Party.
Born to a Kuomintang military family of Hunanese origin, Soong began his political career as a secretary to ...
. In November 1997 local elections, the DPP won 12 of the 23 county magistrate and city mayor contests to the KMT's 8, outpolling the KMT for the first time in a major election.
In March 2000,
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
candidate Chen Shui-bian became the first opposition party candidate to
win the presidency. His victory resulted in the first-ever transition of the presidential office from one political party to another in the ROC. The election also had the effect of splitting the KMT's support base. James Soong launched an independent bid for the presidency after failing to be nominated by the party. In response the KMT expelled Soong and his supporters. Soong and his supporters blamed then-KMT Chairman
Lee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He was the fir ...
of harboring pro-independence sentiments and purposely trying to aid Chen Shui-bian by splitting the KMT's vote by running the less charismatic Lien Chan along with Soong. After losing the vote narrowly to Chen and ahead of Lien, Soong established the
People First Party. Lee Teng-hui was soon forced out of the KMT Chairmanship amid popular protests and riots demanding he take responsibility for the KMT's defeat.
In the months following the 2000 presidential election, Lee Teng-hui's supporters established the
Taiwan Solidarity Union
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) is a political party in Taiwan which advocates Taiwan independence, and is affiliated with the Taiwanese localization movement. It was officially founded on 12 August 2001 and is considered part of the Pan-Gr ...
, which advocated a more radical brand of
Taiwan independence
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
than the DPP. For this, Lee was expelled from the KMT and the KMT gradually moved itself to a more conservative and pro-unification position. This permitted the formation of two rival coalitions that have since dominated Taiwanese politics: the
Pan-Blue Coalition
The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
formed by the KMT, People First Party, and New Party and the
Pan-Green Coalition
The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (T ...
formed by the Democratic Progressive Party and Taiwan Solidarity Union.
In the
2001 LY elections, the DPP won a plurality of seats for the first time. However, the Pan-Blue Coalition held a small majority over the Pan-Green Coalition, causing much of President Chen's agenda to be derailed. This also gave independents in the legislature more power, some of whom founded the
Non-Partisan Solidarity Union
The Non-Partisan Solidarity Union is a political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was established on 16 June 2004, led by founding Chairwoman Chang Po-ya and emerged a major player in the national political scene during the 2004 Le ...
in 2004.
In a hotly contested
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
on 20 March 2004, President Chen Shui-bian was re-elected by 50.1% of the popular vote to a second term. The election was marred by a
shooting incident the day before the election during which President Chen and his running mate Vice President Annette Lu were slightly wounded. While the opposition contested the results and suggested the shooting was staged to win sympathy (as President Chen had previously been slated to lose narrowly), it was the first time that the DPP has won an outright majority in an island-wide election.
The March election also included a "
peace referendum". Historically, the issue of referendums has been closely tied to the question of
Taiwan independence
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
, and thus has been a sensitive issue in cross Strait relations. There were two referendums before the voters on 20 March 2004. The first asked in light of the PRC missile threat whether the ROC should purchase anti-missile systems. The second asked whether Taiwan should adopt a "peace framework" for addressing cross Strait differences with the PRC. However both referendums failed to obtain support from over 50% of registered voters, as required to be valid. The Pan-Blue Coalition campaigned against the referendum as unnecessary and urged voters to boycott it.
President Chen Shui-bian has called for major constitutional reforms by 2006 aimed at further reducing layers of government, and making other structural changes aimed at improving governance. The People's Republic of China has accused Chen of using the constitution issue to move Taiwan towards independence. He expressed opposition, however, in his 20 May 2004 inaugural address to using constitutional reform to alter the constitution's definition of Taiwan sovereignty.
The Legislative Yuan passed a set of constitutional amendments on 23 August 2004 that halve the number of LY seats and create single-member districts. The revisions also eliminate the role of the National Assembly and permit the public to confirm or reject future revisions passed by the LY. These constitutional amendments were ratified by the National Assembly in 2005.
Prior to the 11 December 2004 elections to the Legislative Yuan, signs indicated that the DPP would for the first time dominate the Legislative Yuan. Polls projected a huge pan-green victory, and the DPP's election tactics were based on them. This over-reliance on polls resulted in a huge setback. The pan-blue opposition managed to maintain their majority status within the Legislative Yuan, winning 114 seats out of the 225 seats. The Pan-Green only managed to win 101 seats. The remaining 10 seats were won by the independent candidates. Although the Pan-Green coalition increased their seats by one and the DPP remained the largest party, because of raised hopes the election was viewed as a disaster, and President Chen resigned his post as Chairman of DPP as a result.
On 3 December 2005, the KMT made major gains in municipal elections, taking 14 of 23 mayor or county magistrate seats, while the DPP retained only six seats of their previous 10. The pan-blue People First Party and New Party each took one seat, and an independent won one seat. The pan-green TSU was completely shut out. DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang had promised to resign to take responsibility for the defeat. This dramatic setback for the DPP and pan-greens was seen as a reaction to recent corruption scandals, and public disapproval of Chen Shui-Bian's apparent refusal to improve cross-strait relations.
A. M. Rosenthal
Abraham Michael Rosenthal (May 2, 1922 – May 10, 2006) was an American journalist who served as ''The New York Times'' executive editor from 1977 to 1986. Previously he was the newspaper's city editor and managing editor. Near the end of his tenu ...
, former executive editor of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' accused China of fostering an "apartheid" policy toward Taiwan. Dr Tan Sun Chen, Taiwan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, asserts that China's obstruction in the international community has led to a "political apartheid" which "harms the human rights, interests, and dignity of Taiwan's people.".
ROC and PRC
Despite the differences between
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
and
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
, contact between the two sides of the
Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide.
The Taiwan Strait is itself a s ...
has grown significantly over the past decade. The ROC has continued to relax restrictions on unofficial contacts with the PRC, and cross-Strait interaction has mushroomed. Since 1987, when the ban on travel to mainland China was lifted, Taiwan residents have made more than 10 million trips to mainland China. The ROC Bureau of Foreign Trade estimates that indirect trade with mainland China reached about US$61.639 billion, or 18% of the total trade of the ROC, in 2004. This indirect trade runs heavily in Taiwan's favor, providing another outlet for the island's booming economy. In an attempt to facilitate trade, in 1995 the Executive Yuan approved the construction of an offshore transshipment center at the port of Kaohsiung through which direct shipping with the mainland would be permitted. In April 1997 the first sanctioned direct cross-Strait shipping began between selected mainland China ports and Kaohsiung for cargo being transshipped through Taiwan.
Beijing has expressed a mixed view of these developments. PRC leaders are pleased at the development of economic ties and exchanges, which they believe helps their cause of unification. However, the increase in contacts, combined with domestic political liberalization on Taiwan, also has resulted in more open discussion in Taiwan of the future of Taiwan, including the option of independence, to which Beijing is strongly opposed.
When Lee Teng-hui visited his alma mater in the US in 1995, this caused harsh criticism from the PRC, which ultimately led to the
Third Taiwan Strait Crisis
The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was the effect of a series of missile tests conducted by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the waters surrounding Taiwan ...
. Lee Teng-hui's characterization in 1999 of relations between the ROC and mainland China as "between two states" was denounced by the Chinese government; Lee partially changed his earlier statement and referred to the
1992 consensus
The 1992 Consensus is a political term referring to the alleged outcome of a meeting in 1992 between the semiofficial representatives of the People's Republic of China (PRC) of mainland China and the Republic of China (ROC) of Taiwan. They are of ...
between the ROC and the PRC.
Taiwan business representatives have concerns about issues such as safety, corruption, and contract disputes, which have led to increased caution and a search for alternative investment venues but not to pulling out from mainland China altogether. President Chen has yet to revise the previous administration's "no haste, be patient" policy regarding Taiwan-mainland China investment to prevent over-dependence on the PRC. As a result of this policy the ROC placed restrictions on large-scale infrastructure investments on mainland China in 1997.
The development of semi official cross-Strait relations has been incremental. Prior to April 1993, when talks were held in Singapore between the heads of two private intermediary organizationsTaiwan's
Straits Exchange Foundation
The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF; ; often abbreviated as 海基會) is a semiofficial organization set up by the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to handle technical and/or business matters with the People's Republic of China (P ...
(SEF) and the PRC's
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits
The Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS; ; often abbreviated as 海协会 / 海協會) is an organization set up by the People's Republic of China for handling technical and business matters with the Republic of ...
(ARATS)there had been some lower-level exchanges between the two sides of the Strait. The April 1993 SEF-ARATS talks primarily addressed technical issues relating to cross-Strait interactions. Lower-level talks continued on a fairly regular basis until they were suspended by Beijing in 1995 after President Lee's U.S. visit. Unofficial exchanges resumed in 1997 through informal meetings between personnel of the two sides' unofficial representative organizations. Direct SEF-ARATS contacts resumed in April 1998, and the SEF Chairman visited mainland China in October 1998. A planned visit by ARATS Chairman
Wang Daohan
Wang Daohan (), (27 March 1915 – 24 December 2005) was a Chinese politician who was president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) from 1991 to 2005.
Biography
Wang was born in Jiashan County (present day Minggua ...
to Taiwan in the fall, however, was postponed following statements made by then-President Lee Teng-hui that relations between mainland China and Taiwan should be conducted as "state-to-state" or at least as "special state-to-state relations." Since his 20 May 2000 inauguration, President Chen has called for resuming the cross-Strait dialogue without any preconditions. President Chen has stated that such talks should be conducted on the basis of the "spirit of 1992," a reference to the agreement to hold the 1993 Singapore talks. The PRC, however, has insisted that President Chen must recognize the
one China principle
The term One China may refer to one of the following:
* The One China principle is the position held by the People's Republic of China (PRC) that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, with the PRC serving as the sole legit ...
before talks can be held.
Administrative divisions
The Republic of China currently administers the
island of Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, News media, press and Western literature, literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of ...
(Formosa),
Penghu
The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
(Pescadores),
Kinmen
Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separate ...
(Quemoy) and
Matsu Islands
The Matsu Islands ( or , ; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū liĕk-dō̤), officially Lienchiang County (, ; Foochow Romanized: Lièng-gŏng-gâing), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of China ( ...
. The whole country is divided into two streamlined provinces (
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
and
Fukien) and six
special municipalities. Since the provinces are streamlined and the de facto dissolution of the provincial governments, the
cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
are directly governed by the
central government
A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...
, namely
Executive Yuan
The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan.
...
. The central governed administrative divisions are listed below
* Six
special municipalities (直轄市 zhíxiáshì):
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
,
New Taipei
New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest s ...
,
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
,
Tainan
Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...
,
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
, and
Taoyuan.
* Two non-functioning
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
:
Fukien and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
** Three
provincial cities (市 shì):
Chiayi
Chiayi (, Taigi POJ: ''Ka-gī''; ), officially known as Chiayi City, is a city located in the plains of southwestern Taiwan. Formerly called ''Kagee'' during the late Qing dynasty and ''Kagi'' during the Japanese era (), its historical name i ...
,
Keelung
Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Taipe ...
,
Hsinchu
Hsinchu (, Chinese: 新竹, Pinyin: ''Xīnzhú'', Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan Province not among the special municipalities, with estimated 450,655 inhabi ...
.
** 13
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
(縣 xiàn):
Changhua
Changhua (Hokkien POJ: ''Chiong-hòa'' or ''Chiang-hòa''), officially known as Changhua City, is a county-administered city and the county seat of Changhua County in Taiwan Province of the Republic of China. For many centuries the site was h ...
,
Chiayi
Chiayi (, Taigi POJ: ''Ka-gī''; ), officially known as Chiayi City, is a city located in the plains of southwestern Taiwan. Formerly called ''Kagee'' during the late Qing dynasty and ''Kagi'' during the Japanese era (), its historical name i ...
,
Hsinchu
Hsinchu (, Chinese: 新竹, Pinyin: ''Xīnzhú'', Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan Province not among the special municipalities, with estimated 450,655 inhabi ...
,
Hualien,
Kinmen
Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separate ...
,
Lienchiang
The Matsu Islands ( or , ; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū liĕk-dō̤), officially Lienchiang County (, ; Foochow Romanized: Lièng-gŏng-gâing), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of Chi ...
,
Miaoli
Miaoli City (Wade–Giles: ''Miao²-li⁴''; Hakka PFS: ''Mèu-li̍t-sṳ''; Hokkien POJ: ''Biâu-le̍k-chhī'' or ''Miâu-le̍k-chhī'') is a county-administered city and the county seat of Miaoli County, Taiwan. Miaoli has a relatively hi ...
,
Nantou Nantou may refer to:
* Nantou County (南投縣), a county in central Taiwan (Republic of China)
* Nantou City (南投市), seat of Nantou County, Taiwan
* Nantou (historical town) (南头), a historic town and former administrative center of Xin' ...
,
Penghu
The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...
,
Pingtung,
Taitung,
Yilan
Yilan may refer to:
China
*Yilan County, Heilongjiang (依兰县), county of central Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China
*Yilan Town, Heilongjiang (依兰镇), seat of Yilan County
* Yilan, Jilin (依兰镇), town in Yanji
Taiwan
*Y ...
and
Yunlin
Yunlin County ( Mandarin pinyin: ''Yúnlín Xiàn''; Taigi POJ: ''Hûn-lîm-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Yùn-lìm-yen'') is a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County t ...
.
See also
*
Elections in Taiwan
There are eleven types of elections in Taiwan which, since 2012, have been unified into general and local elections, each held every four years, typically in January and November respectively. There may also be by-elections. Electoral systems incl ...
*
Foreign relations of Taiwan
The Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan, has full diplomatic relations with 13 of the 193 United Nations member states and with the Holy See (Vatican City). In addition to these relations, the ROC also maintains unofficial re ...
*
List of political parties in Taiwan
This article lists the political parties in the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 7 December 1949.
The organization of political parties in Taiwan is governed by the Political Parties Act, enacted on 6 December 2017. The Political Parties Act de ...
*
Conservatism in Taiwan
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a Chinese political party that ruled mainland China from 1927 to 1949 prior to its relocation to Taiwan as a result of the Chinese Civil War. The name of the party translates as "China's National People's Party" and was ...
*
Politics of China
The People's Republic of China is run by a single party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), headed by the CCP General Secretary who tends to be the paramount leader of China. China is among few contemporary party-led dictatorships to not hold ...
*
Black gold (politics)
Black gold () is a term used in the Republic of China (Taiwan) to refer to political corruption, organized crime, underworld politics and political violence. The term refers to the obtaining of money (the "gold") through a dark, secretive, and c ...
*
Iron vote
The "iron vote" is a political term for a voter that can be reliably counted on to vote for one party or another. This phrase was most notably used beginning as early as a decade ago in Asian democratic elections, specifically Taiwan: Taiwanese ...
*
Legislative violence
Legislative violence broadly refers to any violent clashes between members of a legislature, often physically, inside the legislature and triggered by divisive issues and tight votes. Such clashes have occurred in many countries across time, a ...
*
History of Taiwan
The history of the island of Taiwan dates back tens of thousands of years to the earliest known evidence of human habitation. The sudden appearance of a culture based on agriculture around 3000 BC is believed to reflect the arrival of the ances ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* Steve Tsang, ''The Cold War's Odd Couple: The Unintended Partnership between the Republic of China and the UK''. I.B. Tauris, 2006. .
* Steve Tsang (ed.), ''If China Attacks Taiwan: Military strategy, politics and economics''. Routledge, 2006. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics of the Republic of China
Politics of the Republic of China
Political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...