Editing Politics of Taiwan (section)

===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]].