The Devolution of Taiwan's Democracy during the Chen Shui-bian Era

When Chen Shui-bian won the presidency in 2000 and the Democratic Progressive Party became the 'ruling party', many observers said Taiwan experienced democratic consolidation. Nevertheless Chen and his supporters continued to talk of democratization in the ensuing years. But political refo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of contemporary China 2009-06, Vol.18 (60), p.463-478
Main Author: Copper, John F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chen Shui-bian
Civil liberties
Corruption
Corruption in government
Decentralization
Democracy
Democratic consolidation
Democratization
Devolution
Failure
Freedoms
Leadership
Management
Money
Political behavior
Political change
Political conditions
Political leadership
Political Parties
Political support
Politics
Presidency
Presidents
Public Opinion
Reforms
Taiwan
Values
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Summary:When Chen Shui-bian won the presidency in 2000 and the Democratic Progressive Party became the 'ruling party', many observers said Taiwan experienced democratic consolidation. Nevertheless Chen and his supporters continued to talk of democratization in the ensuing years. But political reform, advances in civil liberties, and ridding the system of corruption must be considered essential to that process. Reform failed due to the fact that Chen's party did not have a majority in the legislature and the president showed poor leadership. Civil liberties deteriorated owing to Chen playing ethnic politics as well as his administration's lack of respect for democratic values. The view that money ruled in politics and the prevalence of personal greed caused corruption to worsen. These three factors suggest the devolution of Taiwan's democracy during the Chen era rather than its consolidation and explain the new administration's loss of public support.
ISSN:1067-0564
1469-9400
DOI:10.1080/10670560902770651