FREE ESSAY ON DEMOCRATIZATION OF TAIWAN

DEMOCRATIZATION OF TAIWAN

Taiwan is an island country which is located off the southeast coast of China
between the Taiwan Strait and the Philippine Sea. It has a land area of about 32,000
square kilometers, and claims another 3,700 square kilometers of sea around it, giving
it
close to a total of 36,000 square kilometers for itself. The land of Taiwan consists
mainly
of mountainous terrain in the east while the west has flat plains which can be compared
to
the middle central part of the United States. The country has a population of about 22
million people in which 9.7 million of those people are part of the labor force. Some of
the groups that make up this population include native Taiwanese (which includes Hakka,
the originals of the land), mainland Chinese, and aborigines. Taiwan is one of the major
economic powers of East Asia. Taiwan is a truly capitalistic economy in an area where
"communism" has played a major role in the world over the last 50 years. The GDP has
been growing at a rate of about 8 percent per year over the last few years. Services
make
up more than half of Taiwan's GDP, while industry and agriculture combine to make up
the for the rest of the GDP. Manufacturing is mainly in electronics and machinery, which
are among Taiwan's major exports. (CIA World Factbook, 2000) 
Although Taiwan has been a major economic success, its political situation is still
more remarkable. Within the last 50 years, sweeping changes have embraced the political
arena. It was up until World War II that Taiwan was under the control of Japan, an
arrangement which resulted from the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895. (Rigger 34, 1999) 
However in 1945, at the end of the war, Taiwan was given back to China as part of
Japan's punishment. The Taiwanese, excited by the fact that once again they were to be
reunited in a way, with the mainland China. What had happened however was vastly
different from what was expected. The Kuomuntang (KMT) or the "Nationalist" party
had set foot in Taiwan for the Republic of China (ROC) in 1945, and viewed the
Taiwanese as traitors for being a part of the Japanese army, and for their lost ties to
traditional or mainland China. (Copper 35, 1999) It was during this time that corruption
and violence gripped Taiwan, which in essence was used mainly as a production facility
of
supplies for the Nationalists fight against Communism on the mainland. In 1949, the
Chinese Communist Party completely took over mainland China, resulting in the
Nationalist government removing itself from the mainland to take up residence in Taiwan.

This mass exodus from the mainland gave Taiwan a population that consisted of twenty
percent mainlanders. Because of their high influx of people from the mainland, the ROC
was able to stay in power, claiming to still be the ruling body over all of China. 
(Ferdinand 1996, Pg 5) 
In looking at Robert Dahl's criteria for a fully functional democracy, which include
free, fair, and frequent elections of officials rather than those imposed by the
government,
as well as freedom of expression, citizenship for all, ability to gather information free
of
the state, and what Dahl refers to as associational autonomy. (Dahl Pg 85). A majority
of
these traits have come about in aiding the evolution of democracies through the
formation
of a constitution that guarantees these specific ideas. It was during this time that the
leader of the KMT, Chiang Kai-Shek made some sweeping changes to how Taiwan was
being ruled by that time. To put an end to all the corruption that had occurred during
the
short time that Taiwan had been put back in control of China, he executed all those that
had been accused of corruption in the government and brought about a constitution from
the mainland which set up a system of political bodies to help recreate what the KMT
once
had. The political body which came about was full of provisions for checks and balances
to insure the separation of powers, truly resembling a federal system. (Copper 1999,
Pg94) The resulting five body government, or five-yaun (chamber) consisted of the
Legislative Yaun in which the National Assembly was considered a part, the Executive
Yaun, the Judicial Yaun, the Examination Yaun, and the Control Yaun. (Ferdinand 5,
1996) Each of these chambers had a specific duty, much like the different aspects of the
government of the United States. The Legislative Yaun was just that, a legislature which
consisted of elected officials from the different provinces of China, of which Taiwan
was
considered one out of thirty. The National Assembly was a body that acted as an
electoral
college, and could amend the constitution. The Executive Yaun, which was staffed by the
equivalent of the US Cabinet, had the ability to execute public policy. The Judicial
Yaun
was main court system for the ROC. The Examination Yaun was the government body
which granted licenses for business, while the Control Yaun was the government
watchdog for any type of corruption that could occur throughout the government. 
(Ferdinand 1996,Pg 5)
The Nationalists long believed that they would eventually be able to take back the
mainland, by which in the 1970's hope was all but given up. In 1948, with the war
against
Communism going on and internal dissent among the population, the constitution was
amended with the "Temporary Provisions," which gave the president complete control
over all aspects of the country. It was through this that in 1949 the president handed
down the decree of martial law, which would stay in place until 1987. When the decree
was handed down, Taiwan went to an authoritarian regime with a democratic constitution. 
President Chaing Kai-Shek immediately nullified the term limit, banned the formation of
any political parties that might challenge the KMT, as well as set up organizations loyal
to
the government and appoint his own people to these posts. (Copper 1999, Pg95) The
KMT and the military each had high ranking officials inside each other for the fear of
the
spread of communism from the mainland into these two vital organizations. Any public
dissent, whether it was favoritism towards communism or criticism of the current
government, was swiftly and harshly suppressed. Many people were silenced by the
government for their political ideals, to which most of them remained anonymous. 
However, the rumors of these actions and the fear they caused were enough to keep the
local population in a state of obedience. In the years between 1960 to the mid 1970's,
there were many high profile cases which caught the attention of the public. In a period
of
4 years, one person was sent to prison for attempting to start a political party, while
another scholar was sent to prison for pro-independence ideals. (Rigger 1999, Pg71)
Another aspect of the current regime's authoritarian tactics was the control is
exerted over the mass media. It strictly controlled the number of licenses for
newspapers,
limited at thirty-one, of which the KMT had ownership of about a third. Many of the
papers were the mouthpieces for the government, praising the government and keeping
silent about the opposition. Many of the editors and owners of the larger newspaper
outlets had direct contact with members of the KMT, the purpose of which was to keep
the paper in line. Radio and television stations suffered more of the same control
issues
from the KMT. Television programming was limited to the Mandarin language, with very
little time allocated for programming in Taiwanese, as a way of bringing about the
demise
of the Taiwanese language in favor of the Mandarin language. However, as seen today,
the idea failed and Taiwan now a bilingual country. The programming that came across
the airwaves was strictly observed by the government, concentrating mainly on issues the
government chose for the public to be aware of, with very little information coming in
from outside of the country. (Rigger, 1999; 74).
However it was during the time under Chiang Kai-Shek that the slow but gradual
march toward democracy started taking place. From the moment that he stepped foot on
Taiwan, he immediately started making changes to improve both the political structure
and
the economy of the small province. Even though high ranking positions were still
dominated by the KMT party members, the lower levels of government were in need of
new people. It was here that Chiang Kai-Shek implemented organized elections on the
local level to get the local Taiwanese involved with politics, not just those of the KMT
who had come from the mainland. Through a strong party foundation, even under martial
law, the KMT was able to provide a basis for civil society which alleviated the
possibilities
of any serious political challenges while still giving the populace an opportunity for
participation. (Haggard 1995, Pg 280) 
Even though Taiwan was under an authoritarian regime, the economic success it
had during that time could be considered a factor in bringing about the democratization
of
Taiwan. One of its most well known economic improvements was its land reform policy. 
The land reform policy was made up of three major goals of which it accomplished. An
increase of overall agricultural production freed up workers for industrial jobs and
gave
the country a surplus of agricultural goods it could sell off. A second goal was to
equalize
the population in terms of wealth, status, and income. Through this equalization, the
KMT was able to keep the elites at bay, while strengthening it's own position, and
giving
to the greater good of the population. The third goal came as a result of the second,
the
support of the population. With the equalization of the population, those who were not
as
well off in the previous system, saw a vast improvement in their standing, thus giving
more
support to social and political activities. (Rigger 1999: 69) 
In the next four decades, Taiwan experienced a huge surge in economic growth. 
The driving force behind this growth was the industry sector coming about. The rate of
growth of the industry sector from 1950 to the 1970's was one of fastest ever recorded. 
The reasons for this surge of industry are attributed to many factors. As stated
earlier,
with increased agricultural productivity and output, more people were able to go get
jobs
in the industry field, thus creating a large workforce. With the increase in the
workforce
and an increase in jobs, productivity had a substantial increase as well. Another factor
in
explaining the growth of the industry was the aid Taiwan received from the United States.

The US gave millions of dollars to Taiwan up in the mid-1960's, which by that time had
given enough for Taiwan to start growing on its own. When the government took
control of all industries in the 1940's, it did so under the assumption that it was
needed for
the success of the country. However by the 1960's, much of the industry was being sold
off by the government and sold to the public, thus stimulating the want of the public to
become involved in ownership and industry related activities. (Copper, 1999: 133)
Compared to many authoritarian regimes, the success of Taiwan in terms of
economic standing was "a startling success." Ironically, it was this same success that
brought about the issue of democratization. (Sorensen, 1998: 38). When taking a look at
Taiwan, many people criticize the KMT for its authoritarian regime and its martial law,
claiming it only impeded the road toward democratization. Then there are those that say
the martial law and authoritarian regime that it functioned under was a necessity,
claiming
that it gave Taiwan the time it needed to bring about the social and economic stability
needed for a democracy to stand on and be able to function on. (Copper 1999: 95) It
wasn't until the middle of the 1980's, that Taiwan took it's first stride in decades
toward
full democratization with the abolishment of the Temporary Provisions. This could be
considered the turning point for the government of Taiwan. With the lifting of the
martial
law, different groups that had amassed many assets which were put to use in voicing
concerns toward the political arena, now that the fear of reprisal was quelled. It also
brought about the an opposition to the KMT that was recognized, the DDP or Democratic
Progressive Party. It also was brought about the first of many personnel changes in the
government, now that the emergency decree (threat of communism) had passed. The
national elections took place in 1989, which was the first time a multiparty election
had
ever taken place in Taiwan. (Diamond 1999: 190) Three out of the five chambers were
decided that year, in which new representatives were put into power in the National
Assembly, Control Yaun, and the Legislative Yaun. By 1996, the first direct presidential
election took place, in which Lee Teng-hui, who was head of the KMT following the
death of former president, walked away with the presidency with a victory over the DDP
and various independent parties with about 54 percent of the popular vote. Much of the
support Lee received could be attributed to his continuing stride toward bringing about
a
more democratic nature in Taiwan, as well as bringing about a plethora of diplomatic
activities with other nations. This election also was a message from the Taiwanese
voters
to the mainland China. China was against the democratic election that took place and to
show it's displeasure with Taiwan, conducted military tests off the shores of Taiwan
during the days leading up to and of the election. However, the effect was the reverse
of
what China intended, it strengthen the voters support for a more democratic Taiwan and a
further step away from the mainland. (Dickson, 1997: 214)
So is Taiwan a democracy in the present time? If set to Dahl's requirements,
would Taiwan be considered a large scale democracy? The first requirement is that of
elected officials throughout the country. Thanks to the presidential election of 1996,
Taiwan has had completely elected officials, as per its constitution, and continues to do
so. 
The second requirement is that of whether or not the elections that take place are free,
fair
and frequent. Since the lifting of the martial law in 1987, the rise of secondary
political
parties to run against the nationalists, has provided a sound basis for free and fair
elections. These elections are held at the appropriate times for each body of the
government as spelled out by the constitution. The freedom of expression, another
requirement for Dahl's definition, has truly come about since the lifting of the martial
law. 
While under the "temporary provisions", much of the population was forbidden to speak
out against the government or in favor of another government without the fear of
punishment from the government. With the rise of political parties, free media, and new
found liberties granted by the constitution since the lifting, the people of Taiwan have
found their voice to be heard not only in their country but also in the foreign
community.
"Taiwan has one of the freest media environments in Asia," (Freedom House,
2000: 3). So it is thought to be understood that Taiwan follows the guideline set by
Dahl
for the availability of alternative sources of information. However, many of the
television
media outlets are still owned in conjunction with the government, to be used as a
mouthpiece for the purpose of the state. This is not the same for the rest of the media
in
Taiwan, to which part most of it is a part of the private sector. Inclusive citizenship
is
another aspect of a large scale democracy in Dahl's definition in which suffrage is
universal to those age 20 and above in Taiwan, thus meeting another requirement of
Dahl's. Finally the topic of association autonomy is examined. For the most part much
the people of Taiwan have the ability to join groups, unions, and political parties at
their
own leisure. There are a few drawbacks in this area, the constitution only allow for one
labor federation in the country, in which it is run by the KMT. However there are over
3000 registered unions in the country that have an membership of about 31 percent of the
population. (Freedom House 2000: 2)
So the question remains, is Taiwan a democracy. If we look at Dahl's definition of
democracy, a case could be made for the most part it is a working democracy, striding
toward full-fledged democratization as the years go on. One aspect that is not to be
over-looked is that of it's relationship with China. For years the government of Taiwan
claimed to be the true leaders of China under the Republic of China banner. Since China
became recognized under the communist regime, the ROC in Taiwan became somewhat of
an afterthought. A look at feelings today towards reunification with the mainland brings
about a negative response. However, much of the international community regard Taiwan
as a state of China, an image that is being shed little by little as it takes on more and
more
democratic traits. With its increasing support for the democratic way of governing,
Taiwan is receiving more support from the international community toward declaring full
independence, a move which may be coming soon as Taiwan sets itself to once again
attempt to become an international power.
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