Taiwan Today

For years, ROC government officials have given public speeches and press interviews extolling Taiwan's “quiet revolution,” that is, its transformation in less than a decade from a single-party, authori­tarian state to what a Washington Post Service reporter recently called “a colorful, boisterous, kinetic democracy.”

This thoroughly recast political envi­ronment has decades-old roots, including substantial local-level political experience. Yet the impetus for much of the change has come from the top. The final years of President Chiang Ching-kuo—son of President and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek—were characterized by increasing tolerance of political diversity. Before passing away in January 1988, Chiang allowed a de facto opposition party to form, lifted martial law, and eliminated most of the restrictions on newspapers, pub­lic assemblies and demonstrations, and travel to Mainland China. These were ex­traordinary accomplishments, pushed through in very short order. But at the time of his death there was considerable concern that the reforms, although well under way, might not remain in place, let alone continue. Vice President Lee Teng-hui, who was sworn in as president on the day Chiang Ching-kuo died, was in many respects an unknown political quantity. Despite an im­pressive record in academe, administration, and politics, could he harness the forces still aligned against further reforms, let alone push ahead with democratization?
Lee Teng-hui’s election as the first popularly elected head of state in 5,000 years of Chinese history—and 400 years of Taiwan history, for that matter—answers the question. Since Lee took office to fill out Chiang's term, he has compiled a long record of reforms. Taiwan is already a far different place from what perhaps even Chiang Ching-kuo could have imag­ined. These changes have been brought under the spotlight by the presidential elec­ tion—which Hong Kong Democratic Party legislator Martin Lee said “com­pletely exploded the myth that democracy is somehow unsuitable for Chinese peo­ple”—and by the PRC's war games, mis­sile tests, and propaganda barrages.

Although the international press gave all these events extensive coverage, a rela­tive sense of quiet has now emerged here as news elsewhere captures the headlines. Yet there is much in Taiwan's democratic development to demand continued attention. Three broad areas worth monitoring:

·Possible amendments to the ROC Constitution. The constitution is still un­clear about division-of-power issues. The balance of powers between the five branches of government is not well de­fined, and the same is true of the powers of president and premier—it isn't clear whether the state is to function under a presidential or cabinet system. Clarifica­tion of these issues will influence decisions on how the national agenda and the ROC's international profile are determined.

·Executive and legislative interaction. Because no party has a strong majority in the legislature, multiparty cooperation and com­promise will be necessary throughout gov­ernment in order to pass the many laws needed to implement such important policy goals as turning Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific regional operations center, gaining entrance to the World Trade Organization, complet­ing Six-Year Development Plan project expanding Southeast Asia investment, improving cross-straits relations, reducing overlapping responsibilities between minis­tries and other government agencies (pub­lic construction is one example), and stamping out “money politics,” a general term for corruption and mismanagement.

·Pace and quality of legislation. Will the legislature finally bury its image as a boxing ring and bring informed research and debate to bear on high-priority issues? Part of the answer lies in improving the quality of hearings, committee delibera­tions, and floor action; another part lies in better research backup on specific issues from legislative aides, the legislative library, lobby group, and non-government organizations.

President Lee Teng-hui has pre­sided over Taiwan's transition from strongman authoritarian rule to demo­cratic rule derived from a popular man­date. No one can fail to be impressed with the president's considerable political skills, from the time he took office in January 1988 to the present. And now, everyone is waiting to see not only how he applies his talents to the many domestic and international problems at hand, but also how well all political ac­tors combine to consolidate Taiwan's quiet democratic revolution.