Taiwan had no experience with democracy or elections during the Japanese period from 1895 to 1945. Nor was the Chinese mainland so much further ahead. The Republic of China's Founding Father, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, included Democracy as the second of his Three People's Principles. (The other Principles were Nationalism and the People's Livelihood, also known as Social Welfare.) But Dr. Sun was aware that democracy could not be magically called into being overnight. He established the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) to provide the political tutelage that would lead to democracy and pave the way for elected governments from the top down to the smallest grass roots.
Elections were held on the mainland in the late 1940s despite the Communist insurrection. Three national organs were directly or indirectly chosen by the people - the National Assembly, the Legislative Yuan and the Control Yuan. The mainland democratic experiment then came to an abrupt halt as the Communists usurped power and compelled the government of the Republic of China to move its seat to the island province of Taiwan.
President Chiang Kai-shek, who was first elected by the National Assembly in 1948, could easily have ruled by decree. He was given that power by amendment of the Constitution in 1948. He chose, instead, to continue the steps toward democracy that had been started on the mainland. The first concentration was on local elections. National bodies had already been chosen. The temporary closing off of the mainland made it difficult to hold elections at the national level even when the terms of incumbent Assemblymen, Legislators and Controllers ran out.
So the people began to choose their village chiefs and councilors and later their city mayors and county magistrates by direct election and secret ballot. Provincial Assemblymen were also elected, as well as the members of the Taipei City Council. The learning process proceeded rapidly and satisfactorily. Tutelage by the Kuomintang was no longer essential. Independents and members of minority parties were elected to office. Finally, in 1972, even national elections were resumed to fill vacancies and reflect the population growth of Taiwan province and the areas of Fukien province under control of the Central Government. Those chosen were not given tenure for duration of the emergency. Legislators were to serve for three years and Assemblymen for six years. In December, 1975, the people of Taiwan and of Kinmen and Matsu in Fukien province went to the polls in a second national election to fill 37 vacancies in the Legislative Yuan. The election and the campaign preceding it testified to the growing maturity of free Chinese democratic practices.
The voting turnout was 75.79 per cent, up from the 68.18 per cent of the 1972 election despite the steady drizzles of election day. Sixty-one candidates sought 37 seats. Of those elected, 35 were incumbents and 30 were members of the Kuomintang. The ruling party deliberately refrained from entering candidates in seven of the contests so as to assure independent and minority party representation. Thirty-four of the 37 were natives of Taiwan province.
Leaders of the Kuomintang hailed the results as a victory for the nation and another long step toward democracy. Nearly 8.5 million people cast their votes without serious incident or protest. Premier Chiang Ching-kuo, who is also chairman of the Kuomintang Central Committee, said: ''The election was a big success partly because the government has placed strong emphasis on fairness, justice and openness, and partly because the people were aware of the election's importance and tried to choose wise and able candidates."
The campaign had been a spirited one. Those who opposed KMT candidates spoke out frankly. The ruling party took its stand on national unity, a government of law, political responsibility and a maximum turnout of voters. Not all candidates credited the ruling party with having done its best. The ranks of the critics included some of those elected.
An election analysis showed that KMT incumbents won more votes than in the 1972 election, whereas non-KMT candidates tended to receive fewer votes than before. One example was that of Li Tung-hui, KMT, and Kang Ning-hsiang, a critic of the Kuomintang. Kang, an eloquent young man, received 83,085 votes in 1972 to rank second among Taipei area winners. Li, who is 52 years old and less charismatic than Kang, received 66,575 votes in 1972 to finish fifth in Taipei. In the 1975 voting, Kang's total was down to 76,299, whereas Li more than doubled his count to 156,642.
The platforms of Kuomintang candidates had - by necessity - to smack of "me tooism." Critics, on the other hand, could appeal to the self-interest of the voters. In 1972, Kang advocated a cut in defense spending and criticized many positions of the government. A KMT spokesman said that the voters apparently were less interested in such anti-government campaigning in 1975. The government's record was not perfect. But the country had come through the sorrow of President Chiang Kai-shek's passing and the shock of President Gerald Ford's visit to the Chinese mainland without any loss of strength and with renewed determination to persevere in the anti-Communist struggle. The people approved the government's record.
Kuo Yu-hsin, a member of the Provincial Assembly for 25 years and a prominent community leader of northern Taiwan, lost out in the First Election District, presumably because of his harsh criticisms of the government and the Kuomintang. He not only demanded a cut in defense spending, but also advocated formation of a new political party to challenge the KMT. He had to be content with 80,398 votes, less than half the number garnered by the top winner and 50,000 votes under the candidate elected with the lowest count.
Both the government and the Kuomintang showed patience with extremist remarks of oppositionists. Candidates were supposed to stay within certain bounds of criticism. These bounds were exceeded by some of those seeking office, but there was no attempt to muffle anyone. In its position paper on the election, the Kuomintang declared: "The ultimate goal of the Party's Tsungli (president) Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Founding Father of the Republic of China, in creating the Three Principles of the People and initiating the National Revolution was to build a strong and prosperous new China and to realize the democratic ideal of a 'state owned by all the people, politics governed by all the people and interests shared by all the people.' "
Reviewing its 80-year history, the Kuomintang pointed to these accomplishments:
- Overthrow of the Ch'ing dynasty and establishment of the Republic.
- Defeat of the warlords and unification of the nation.
- Victory in the War of Resistance Against the Japanese.
- Continuing struggle to suppress the Communist rebels and save the nation and people.
"After the victory over Japan," the Party said, "at a time when the nation had yet to heal its wounds and everything had to be started anew, President Chiang Kai-shek followed the instructions of Dr. Sun to convene the first National Assembly meeting after abolishing all the unequal treaties with foreign powers. He did this to implement constitutional rule and fulfill the ideal of national sovereignty placed in the whole body of the citizenry."
Despite the Communist insurrection and the necessity of removing the seat of government to Taiwan, the Party has "always stuck to the implementation of democracy by holding elections at all levels so that virtuous and capable persons could join in state affairs and help promote national reconstruction projects. We have succeeded in building a strong defense force, a steadily prospering economy and a stable society where all the people lead a free and happy life. This has been achieved through the concerted efforts of the hard-working, law-abiding people and a government which is committed to the implementation of democracy."
The Kuomintang laid down these positions for the campaign and the election:
- Strengthening of national unity in the face of the "ever-changing international situation and the difficulties facing the country." It is necessary, the Party said, "to unite as one man with one goal, build up our strength and grasp opportunities to open up a bright future. We must further promote our spiritual unity, realizing that we are all in the same boat and that we must help each other to assure a smooth voyage."
- Promotion and support of the democratic system by everyone in the spirit of government by law. Candidates should be committed to democracy and uphold national interest and their personal honor.
- Emphasis of political responsibility. ''To become a candidate is one way of fulfilling political ideals, love of country and civic responsibility. A candidate's political ethics and moral principles are of the greatest importance. Every candidate must show himself to be straightforward, upright, honest and an enthusiastic servant of the people. Platforms should be positive and constructive."
- Maximum turnout of voters. Citizens fulfill their political obligations and receive their political rights by casting votes for virtuous and capable candidates.
- Renovation of election practices with the Party setting the example for candidates, election officials and voters.
"The goal of our national struggle for the short run," the Party said, "is to safeguard the bastion of national recovery on Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, implement the Three Principles of the People, engage in fundamental reconstruction and increase the national strength. As for our long-term goal of struggle, it is to recover the mainland and build a unified, free and prosperous Republic of China. The election of the added members of the Legislative Yuan is an important development in national reconstruction. To hold a successful election is a positive demonstration of our determination to carry out one of the last wishes of the late President Chiang - 'to adhere to the democratic camp.' We sincerely hope that every Chinese citizen will recognize his duty and fulfill it. Members of the Kuomintang are urged to recognize the difficulties facing the nation and to give all of the efforts to the struggle for implementation of the Three Principles of the People."
One aspect of free Chinese democracy which differs from the democracy of most Western countries is the special representation given farmers, fishermen and workers. Eight of the 37 Legislators chosen were specially elected by members of these occupational groups. About 300,000 farmers went to the polls, as did some 62,000 fishermen and nearly 267,000 workers. Aborigines also elected their own representative, and 114,000 of some 125,000 eligible voters turned out. In the Fukien areas of Kinmen and Matsu, the election brought out 29,744 of the 30,307 eligible voters. Taipei had the poorest record: about 579,000 of more than I million eligible voters cast their ballots. Democracy was strongest at the rural grass roots and, as on the offshore islands, where people felt their freedoms in danger.
The Republic of China was proud of its 1975 election and of its democratic progress. Many countries of free Asia - India, the Philippines and South Korea, to name three - have found it necessary to curtail the practice of elections, to dismiss legislatures or alter the nature of assemblies and to cancel or postpone elections. The governments of these states face difficult problems, but so does the government of the ROC. Free China has not found it necessary to slow down enlargement of the democratic process. Every election is more free than that which preceded it. Having coupled democracy with political stability and economic prosperity, the Republic of China believes it has reason to be proud of its record.