Editing Politics of Taiwan (section)

== Political history ==
{{main|History of Taiwan}}
===Taiwan under Qing rule===
{{main|Taiwan under Qing rule}}
After the conquest of the [[Kingdom of Tungning]] by [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] admiral [[Shi Lang]], Taiwan was brought under Qing rule from 1683 to 1895. The Qing dynasty was a [[Manchu people|Manchu]]-led [[absolute monarchy]] with the [[List of emperors of the Qing dynasty|emperor]] holding absolute authority.

===Taiwan under Japanese rule===
{{Main|Taiwan under Japanese rule}}
After the [[First Sino-Japanese War]], [[Qing dynasty|Qing China]] ceded Formosa and surrounding islands to [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]. Under Japanese rule, Taiwan had its [[Governor-General of Taiwan|governor general]] as its head of government under the [[constitutional monarchy]] led by the [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]]. Taiwanese citizens in Formosa and Pescadores were Japanese citizens until the end of [[World War II]] in 1945.

In the 1920s, activists led by the [[Taiwanese Cultural Association]] launched a [[Petition Movement for the Establishment of a Taiwanese Parliament|series of campaigns to petition for a Taiwanese parliament]].

===Republic of China (1945–present)===
{{update section|date=December 2016}}
[[Image:Presidential Building, Taiwan (0747).JPG|300px|thumb|The [[Presidential Office Building (Republic of China)|Presidential Office Building]] in [[Taipei]]. The Presidential Building has housed the Office of the President of the Republic of China since 1950. It is located in the Zhongzheng District of Taipei. It formerly housed the Office of the [[Governor-General of Taiwan]], during the period of Japanese rule.]]
Prior to the [[retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan]] in 1949, the [[Kuomintang]] (KMT) government of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] (ROC) took over administration of Taiwan from the Japanese. Escorted by [[George H. Kerr]], KMT official [[Chen Yi (Kuomintang)|Chen Yi]] officially accepted [[Surrender of Japan|Japan's surrender]] on 25 October 1945 and proclaimed that day to be [[Retrocession Day]].

In the early years of KMT rule of Taiwan, rampant corruption in the new administration headed by Chen caused high unemployment rates, widespread disease, and severe [[inflation]], which in turn led to widespread local discontent. These domestic problems culminated in the eruption of an [[February 28 incident|anti-government uprising]] in 1947. The government imposed military repression in what became one of the longest [[Martial law in Taiwan|imposition of martial law by any regime in the world]], lasting a total of 38 years.

After the death of [[Chiang Kai-shek]] in 1975, Vice President [[Yen Chia-kan]] briefly took over from 1975 to 1978, according to the Constitution, but the actual power was in the hands of Premier [[Chiang Ching-kuo]], who was KMT chairman and son of Chang Kai-shek. 

In 1977, Taiwan experienced its first mass political protest since the 1940s during the [[Zhongli incident|Zhongli Incident]].<ref name=":Cheng">{{Cite book |last=Cheng |first=Wendy |title=Island X: Taiwanese Student Migrants, Campus Spies, and Cold War Activism |date=2023 |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |isbn=9780295752051 |location=Seattle, WA}}</ref>{{Rp|page=75}} Protesting election fraud by the KMT, a crowd of ten thousand clashed with soldiers and burned down a police station.<ref name=":Cheng" />{{Rp|page=75}}

In December 1979, a mass demonstration for democracy led to the [[Kaohsiung Incident]] in which police suppressed the demonstrations with violence, arresting dozens including eight opposition leaders known as the [[The Kaohsiung Eight|Kaohsiung Eight]].<ref name=":Cheng" />{{Rp|page=44}}

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]] was formed and allowed to participate overtly in politics. After Chiang Ching-kuo died in 1988, Vice President [[Lee Teng-hui]] 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 [[1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis|missile tests]].

=== Transition to democracy ===

Changes in the political process were the result of the liberalizing trend that began in the 1980s under President [[Chiang Ching-kuo]]. 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]] 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]] 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]] and the mayors of [[Taipei]] and [[Kaohsiung]] Municipalities. These elections were held in December 1994, with the KMT winning the governor and Kaohsiung mayor posts, and the [[Democratic Progressive Party|DPP]] winning the Taipei mayor's position. In March 1996, [[Lee Teng-hui]] was elected president and Lien Chan vice president in the [[1996 ROC presidential election|first direct election]] by Taiwan's voters. In 1998, the KMT's [[Ma Ying-jeou]] wrestled back control of the mayorship of [[Taipei]] from the opposition DPP's most prominent figure [[Chen Shui-bian]]. In the same elections, however, the DPP's [[Frank Hsieh]] managed to defeat Kaoshiung's KMT incumbent.

The position of elected governor and many other elements of the [[Taiwan Provincial Government]] 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]]. 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]] candidate Chen Shui-bian became the first opposition party candidate to [[2000 ROC presidential election|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]] 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 (Republic of China)|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]], which advocated a more radical brand of [[Taiwan independence]] 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]] formed by the KMT, People First Party, and New Party and the [[Pan-Green Coalition]] formed by the Democratic Progressive Party and Taiwan Solidarity Union.

In the [[2001 ROC legislative election|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]] in 2004.

In [[2004 ROC presidential election|election]] 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 [[3-19 shooting incident|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 "[[2004 ROC referendum|peace referendum]]". Historically, the issue of referendums has been closely tied to the question of [[Taiwan independence]], 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]], former executive editor of ''[[The New York Times]]'' accused China of fostering an "apartheid" policy toward Taiwan.<ref>[[A.M. Rosenthal|Rosenthal, A.M.]] "China's 'Apartheid' Taiwan Policy." ''[[The New York Times]]'', 4 December 1995.</ref> 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.".<ref>Sun Chen, Tan. [http://www.mofa.gov.tw/webapp/public/Attachment/583116342171.pdf Joining the Global Village: Taiwan's Participation in the International Community] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926075124/http://www.mofa.gov.tw/webapp/public/Attachment/583116342171.pdf |date=26 September 2007 }}. Republic of China (Taiwan). Accessed 5 August 2007.</ref>

In 2000, [[Chen Shui-bian]] of the pro-independence [[Democratic Progressive Party]] (DPP) was [[2000 Republic of China presidential election|elected president]], marking the first peaceful democratic shift in governance  to an opposition party in ROC history and a decisive end to the KMT's governmenetal monopoly.<ref name="Opposition wins Taiwan presidency">{{cite news |title=Opposition wins Taiwan presidency |date=2000-03-18 |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/681599.stm |access-date=19 December 2006 |archive-date=2 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402132530/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/681599.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the [[2004 Taiwanese presidential election|2004 presidential election]], the day after [[3-19 shooting incident|being shot while campaigning]], Chen was reelected by a narrow margin of 0.2%.<ref>{{cite news |title=Taiwan split after vote |date=2004-03-20 |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3553195.stm |access-date=19 December 2006 |archive-date=22 September 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050922123629/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3553195.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 [[Taiwan independence|independence]]-leaning [[Pan-Green Coalition]] failed to secure a majority in the [[Legislative Yuan|legislature]], losing to the KMT and the pro-unification leaning [[Pan-Blue Coalition]]. This has led to many impasses; the president in the ROC system does not have the power of [[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 [[2008 Taiwanese legislative election|legislative election]]. President Chen Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost. In March 2008, [[Ma Ying-jeou]] of Kuomintang party was [[2008 Taiwanese presidential election|elected]] as president.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muyard |first1=Frank |title=Taiwan Elections 2008: Ma Ying-jeou's Victory and the KMT's Return to Power |journal=China Perspectives |date=1 January 2008 |volume=2008 |issue=1 |pages=79–94 |doi=10.4000/chinaperspectives.3423 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/3423 |language=en |issn=2070-3449 |doi-access=free |access-date=26 November 2021 |archive-date=26 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126233213/https://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/3423 |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2012, President [[Ma Ying-jeou]] was [[2012 Taiwanese presidential election|re-elected]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Taiwan Election 2012: Outcomes and Implications for US-Taiwan-China Ties {{!}} US-China Institute |url=https://china.usc.edu/taiwan-election-2012-outcomes-and-implications-us-taiwan-china-ties |website=china.usc.edu |language=en |access-date=26 November 2021 |archive-date=26 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126232805/https://china.usc.edu/taiwan-election-2012-outcomes-and-implications-us-taiwan-china-ties |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2016, Democratic Progressive Party candidate [[Tsai Ing-wen]] won [[2016 Taiwanese presidential election|presidential election]]. She became the first female president of Republic of China.<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16178545|title = Taiwan profile - Timeline|work = BBC News|date = February 2019|access-date = 23 March 2021|archive-date = 24 March 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210324203243/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16178545|url-status = live}}</ref> In January 2020, Tsai was [[2020 Taiwanese presidential election|re-elected]], and in the simultaneous [[2020 Taiwanese legislative election|legislative election]], President Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a majority, with 61 out of 113 seats. The Kuomintang (KMT) got 38 seats.<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51077553|title = Taiwan election: Tsai Ing-wen wins second presidential term|work = BBC News|date = 11 January 2020|access-date = 23 March 2021|archive-date = 27 October 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221027074352/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51077553|url-status = live}}</ref>

In the 21st century, Taiwan's political system has been moving towards [[digital democracy]] with increased participation from civil society and greater transparency from the government.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Newcomb |first1=Melissa |title=Can Taiwan Provide the Alternative to Digital Authoritarianism? |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/07/can-taiwan-provide-the-alternative-to-digital-authoritarianism/ |website=thediplomat.com |publisher=The Diplomat |access-date=4 July 2021 |archive-date=4 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704204647/https://thediplomat.com/2021/07/can-taiwan-provide-the-alternative-to-digital-authoritarianism/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2024, [[Lai Ching-te|William Lai Ching-te]] of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party won the [[2024 Taiwanese presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Photos: Taiwan holds closely watched presidential and parliamentary polls |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/1/13/taiwan-votes-in-closely-watched-presidential-and-parliamentary-elections |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> However, no party won a majority in the simultaneous Taiwan's [[2024 Taiwanese legislative election|legislative election]] for the first time since 2004, meaning 51 seats for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), 52 seats for the Kuomintang (KMT), and the [[Taiwan People's Party]] (TPP) secured eight seats.<ref>{{cite news |title=No party gets majority in Legislature; KMT wins most seats - Focus Taiwan |url=https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202401130014 |work=Focus Taiwan - CNA English News |date=13 January 2024}}</ref>