Taiwan Today

Taiwan’s government has transformed from single-party rule into a mature democracy.
 

In 1996 a momentous event took place in Taiwan: after decades of colonial and authoritarian rule, the country held its first direct presidential election, triggered by constitutional amendments enacted two years prior. Instead of being authorized by the now disbanded National Assembly, the president and vice president have since been elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms, with a limit of two terms for the same office. In 2000 the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), established in 1986, won the presidential election and brought about the first shift in power after over 50 years of rule by the Kuomintang (KMT). Subsequent shifts between the two parties occurred in 2008 and 2016. The latest election in January saw the DPP continue to hold the Presidential Office.
 

The president represents the country internationally and is the commander in chief of the national armed forces. The head of state is entitled to appoint the premier as the leader of the Executive Yuan, one of the central government’s five branches. The premier heads the Cabinet, which oversees 14 ministries, eight councils and five commissions. Like the president’s choice of premier, the premier’s selection of ministers and other Cabinet members is not subject to legislative confirmation.
 

However, approval is required for presidential nominations for members and heads of the Judicial, Examination and Control Yuans. The three organizations respectively oversee the court system, manage the civil service and audit government agencies. For the last branch, the Legislative Yuan, 113 lawmakers are elected via popular vote and select a speaker from among their ranks. The premier reports regularly to the body, which enacts legislation, reviews the budget and examines government operations. Currently, the KMT possesses 52 legislative seats, the DPP 51 and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) eight, in addition to two independent seats.

Systemic Change

The Legislative Yuan’s composition was decided by Taiwan’s last round of constitutional amendments in 2005, which saw the number of lawmakers halved from 225 and their terms increased from three to four years. Under the new legislative election system, each of the 73 constituencies in Taiwan and its offshore islands elects just one seat rather than a number based on the district’s population. Each voter casts one ballot for the district and another for at-large seats, which are filled from lists of candidates nominated by participating political parties. Out of 16 parties in the January election, only the DPP, KMT and TPP, established in 2019, reached the 5 percent threshold to gain seats. Another six seats are reserved for Indigenous representatives, with three selected by groups in mountain districts and three in plains districts.
 

After martial law ended in 1987, Taiwan’s National Assembly passed seven rounds of constitutional revisions, including the one reforming the legislature. Since the body was decommissioned in 2005, constitutional amendments must be initiated by a Legislative Yuan proposal and then ratified by a referendum. Taiwan’s citizens have exercised their civil rights through referendums on more than 20 proposals from the central and local governments since the Referendum Act was promulgated in 2003.
 

To avoid voter fatigue, the Central Election Commission combined presidential and legislative elections in 2012, and elections for all local government positions took place simultaneously two years later, with each set to take place at four-year intervals. Known as the nine-in-one election, the local-level vote selects the council members and mayors, magistrates, chiefs or heads of Taiwan’s six special municipalities, the municipalities’ Indigenous districts, counties and county-level cities, county-administered cities, townships and villages.

Regional Roles

In total, Taiwan has 198 townships and township-level cities, as well as 170 city districts. These are in turn divided into 7,748 urban and rural communities nationwide. Among the special municipalities, counties and county-level cities, the KMT, DPP and TPP currently occupy 14, five and two top positions, respectively, while independents hold one. The highest administrative division below the central government, the special municipalities comprise Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan Cities in the north, the central city of Taichung, and Tainan and Kaohsiung Cities in the south. Taoyuan joined the ranks in 2014, when its population exceeded 1.25 million and it was deemed to wield significant political, economic and cultural influence as per criteria in the Local Government Act.
 

These metropolitan areas, which gain greater access to funding to expand their scope of governance, are crucial centers of regional development and play an important role in the national political landscape. Mayorship of a special municipality is often considered a steppingstone to the presidency, with former Presidents Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) all first serving as Taipei mayor. Paths to top leadership continue to emerge, as evidenced by the 2016 and 2020 victories of Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who was a legislator, vice premier and DPP chair before becoming the country’s first female president. With the inauguration of Lai Ching-te (賴清德), former Tainan mayor, premier and vice president, Taiwan enters yet another chapter in its ongoing political evolution.