國立中山大學中國與亞太區域研究所
碩士論文
Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies
National Sun Yat-sen University
Master Thesis
從統合主義，威脅感與儒家思想探究臺灣公民民主價值
An Investigation of Civilian Support for Democratic Values in
Taiwan: Corporatism, the Terror Threat, and Confucianism
研究生: 高燕迪
Andi Kao
指導教授: 顧長永 博士
Dr. Samuel C.Y. Ku
共同指導教授: 劉正山
Dr. Frank C.S. Liu
中國民國 102 年 6 月
June 2013
國立中山大學中國與亞太區域研究所
碩士論文
Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies
National Sun Yat-sen University
Master Thesis
從統合主義，威脅感與儒家思想探究臺灣公民民主價值
An Investigation of Civilian Support for Democratic Values in
Taiwan: Corporatism, the Terror Threat, and Confucianism
研究生: 高燕迪
Andi Kao
指導教授: 顧長永 博士
Dr. Samuel C.Y. Ku
共同指導教授: 劉正山
Dr. Frank C.S. Liu
中國民國 102 年 6 月
June 2013
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis committee members
Samuel C.Y. Ku, Chuei-Ling Shin, Frank C.S. Liu, and Chia-hao Hsu for their
support and guidance. I owe a debt of thanks to my advisor, Professor Samuel C.Y.
Ku, whose contribution to this work extends beyond his guidance through the thesis
writing process. Professor Chuei-ling Shin provided invaluable feedback and
constructive criticism that refined the content of this study. Her timely advice
significantly helped me clarify the logic of my arguments. I am deeply grateful to
Professor Frank C.S. Liu for taking the time to work with me on this project. His
ideas, suggestions and criticisms were essential to its completion. He deserves special
thanks. Professor Chia-hao Hsu has been extremely generous with his time and
insights. His encouragement and instruction greatly enriched my graduate experience
and continue to be an inspiration.
Many other professors at National Sun Yat-sen University aided in this thesis
and I would like to thank especially Wen-cheng Lin, Eugene Kuo, Ming-Hsuan Lee,
and Frank Ying for their helpful comments and suggestions. My classmates have
provided me with companionship and encouragement, and I am truly thankful for
their patience.
My family has been a wonderful support system over the years and I could not
have accomplished so much without their love and support.
i
Abstract
Since 1975 the number of state regimes categorized as ‘democratic’ has risen
dramatically. According to one analysis, 69 percent of countries of the world had
authoritarian regimes in that year, while only 24 percent could be described as liberal
democracies. By 1995 only 26 percent of countries in the world were authoritarian
and almost half had become liberal democracies.1 This tremendous expansion was
also notable for being remarkably indiscriminate in extent and background, with
countries in Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa having institutionalized
electoral competition, each proceeding from diverse political-economic circumstances
and societies.
In spite of this impressive proliferation, democratization has shown itself to be
a capricious process, with ambiguous victories, setbacks, and many legacies of
authoritarianism remaining intractable. At the same time, doubts have been raised
about the unequivocal commitment to civil rights and liberties of ‘established’
democracies. With these caveats in mind, this study will investigate the sources of
authoritarian tendencies as self-reported by Taiwanese citizens. Using data collected
by the Taiwan Social Change Survey in 2006, I will run a regression trying to locate
the source(s) of authoritarian beliefs using three hypotheses. The results will indicate
whether and how the development of corporatist economic institutions, sensitivity to a
national security threat, and traditional culture impact a citizens’ support for freedom
of association, and the rights to demonstrate and strike.
Keywords: Taiwan, corporatism, terror threat, Confucianism, democratic
consolidation
1
David Potter, David Goldblatt, Margaret Kiloh and Paul Lewis, Democratization (Cambridge, MA:
Policy Press, 1997).
ii
An Investigation of Civilian Support for Democratic Values in Taiwan:
Corporatism, the Terror Threat, and Confucianism
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
i
Abstract
ii
Table of Contents
iii
List of Charts
v
List of Tables
v
I. Introduction
1
a. Thesis Statement
1
b. Research Methodology
3
c. Structure of Thesis
5
II. Theoretical Framework
6
a. Corporatism
6
i. Corporatism and convergence theory
6
ii. State guidance under the KMT
10
iii. Comparison with South Korea
25
b. The Terror Threat
28
i. Post 9/11 re-emergence
28
ii. Evidence of the terror exception
30
iii. The Terror Threat in Taiwan
32
c. Confucianism
45
i. Confucian culture
45
iii
ii. Asian Values debate
50
iii. Trust in the ruler
52
III. Democratization and Democratic Consolidation
a. Democratization
54
54
i. The third wave
54
ii. Theories of democratization
55
iii. Democratic reversal
58
b. Legacies of One-Party Rule
63
i. National identity
69
ii. A middle-class society
74
iii. State-sponsored democratization
78
c. Civil Rights
85
i. Freedom of association
88
ii. Protest demonstrations
97
iii. Labor unions
119
IV. Regression Analysis
136
a. Variable Selection
136
b. Preliminary Results
142
c. Regression Results
145
V. Conclusion
154
a. Democracy with an Adjective
154
b. Democracy and Capitalism
161
c. Politicized Civil Rights
164
References
170
iv
Appendix
194
List of Charts:
Chart 3.1: Huntington’s waves of democratization and reversal
60
Chart 3.2: Party Preference
83
Chart 3.3: 2012 Legislative Yuan election results: Northern and Central Taiwan
72
Chart 3.4: 2012 Legislative Yuan election results: Southern Taiwan
72
List of Tables:
Table 3.1: Emerging social movements in Taiwan, 1989
105
Table 4.1: Support for allowing civil liberties
142
Table 4.2: Regression with 3 terror variables (signs on coefficients)
144
Table 4.3: Regression with 3 terror variables
144
Table 4.4: Summary of significant variables
146
Table 4.5: Regression analysis: Classification table
149
Table 4.6: Regression analysis: Variables in the equation
149
Table 4.7: Regression analysis: Omnibus tests of model coefficients
149
Table 4.8: Regression analysis: Model summary
149
Table 4.9: Regression analysis: Hosmer and Lemeshow test
150
Table 4.10: Regression analysis: Classification tablea
150
Table 4.11: Regression analysis: Contingency table for Hosmer and Lemeshow test
150
Table 4.12: Regression analysis: Variables in the equation (Demonstrations)
151
Table 4.13: Regression analysis: Variables in the equation (Public Meetings)
152
Table 4.14: Regression analysis: Variables in the equation (Nationwide Strikes)
153
v
I.
Introduction
a.
Thesis Statement
This thesis investigates the causal relationship of three variables, namely,
corporatism, the terror exception, and Confucianism, with extent of support for civil
rights in the Taiwanese context. Numerous studies have postulated the importance of
political culture and citizen beliefs on democratization.2 At the very nascence of
democratic consolidation, popular trust in political institutions is critical in lending
legitimacy to the democratization regime.3 Citizen attitudes about the proper
functions of government are a fundamental cog in developing civil society in a young
democracy such as Taiwan. The freedom of association and rights to demonstrate and
strike are basic civil liberties essential to the practice of liberal democracy. A high
level of support for civil rights among a country’s population acts as a buffer against
illiberal government policies in democratic countries. Conversely, widespread
ambivalence toward civil rights may tempt the leaders of a state to arrogate power at
the expense of its citizens. For years after a country has undergone a formal
democratic transition, neutral or favorable feelings toward authoritarian policies may
continue to exist among a portion of the population. This paper will therefore attempt
to measure the strength of any causal relationships between several social variables
and support for restricting civil rights. I test several hypotheses explaining the
sources of tolerance of authoritarian policies among the Taiwanese citizens, including
preference for government intervention in the free market, a sense of fear of terrorism,
2
Shelley Riggerr, From Opposition to Power: Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (Boulder, CO:
Lynne Rienner, 2001). (See also Pollack et. al., 2003; Stockton 2006; Paolino and Meernik 2008; Qi
and Shin 2011.)
3
Larry Diamond, Developing Democracy: Toward consolidation (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1999). (See also Diamond 2002; Johnston 2005; Luhiste 2006; Mishler and Rose
1997; Mishler and Rose 2000.)
1
and affinity for paternal governance attributed to the tradition of Confucianism shared
between several East Asian countries.
The first variable under study, corporatism, refers to a state-guided labor
relations system. Corporatist states are generally characterized by an acute degree of
institutionalization of society, whereby the negotiation process between capital and
labor occurs under the aegis of the state. The Kuomintang (KMT) party governed
Taiwan as an authoritarian regime with extensive control of labor relations for almost
four decades. The KMT has continued to be one of the two major political parties in
Taiwan and has maintained close ties with its labor union patrons. Corporatism as
practiced by the KMT was undergirded by martial law, which restricted civil liberties
and gave the state excessive powers. A citizen’s affinity for corporatism and its
attendant interplay of labor, capital and state interests may be associated with a
willingness to allow the government to restrict civil liberties.
The second variable, the terror exception, is a stratagem employed by
governments in which the threat or perceived threat of imminent attacks against the
state is manipulated to justify restricting civil rights. Employment of the terror
exception has been a dominant theme of international politics since the turn of the 21st
century. September 11th is the miasma from which the most recent incarnation of the
terror exception has been fabricated. In the US, the legislation that has since been
passed has eroded civil liberties, initially in the form of the Patriot Act during the
George W. Bush administration, and now continuing under the Obama presidency,
with the right to assassinate anybody in the world sans habeas corpus now granted to
the president.4 Taiwan has a well-armed adversary on the mainland, and the Chinese
4
Glenn Greenwald, "Who Is the Worst Civil Liberties President in US History?" The Guardian.
Guardian News and Media, 02 Nov. 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. See also Savage, Charlie. "Muslim
Cleric Aulaqi Is 1st U.S. Citizen on List of Those CIA Is Allowed to Kill." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 09 Oct. 2011. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.
2
Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing has frequently given veiled and direct warnings to
the Taiwanese lest they stray towards independence. Suspicion of the mainland’s
intentions may give citizens reason to entrust the government with extraconstitutional powers.
The final variable, Confucianism, has been passed down over 2,500 years and
is based on the writings of a Chinese scholar and his followers. The argument that
Confucianism is antagonistic to individual rights rests on the communitarian nature of
Confucianism, which proposes paternalism to be the foundation of good government.
Scholars argue that this tenet of Confucianism makes citizens of East Asian countries
more prone to sacrifice individual rights for just rule from above. Some scholars
credit Confucianism with playing an integral role in the development of East Asian
countries in the latter half of the 20th century. Such a view attributes the rapid
economic growth in East Asian countries to their citizens’ beliefs in the rectitude of a
paternalist state structure. Confucianism is another potential explanation for the
existence of a conservative strand of society who supports restricting social and labor
groups from advancing their interests. According to the three hypotheses formulated
above, the more that a citizen prefers a state structured by corporatist labor relations,
feels that terrorism is a bona fide and unique threat to state security, and is steeped in
the values of Confucianism, the lower their overall level of support for civil rights
should be.
b.
Research Methodology
The Taiwan Social Change Survey provides the data for this paper. In the
mid-1980s the National Science Council implemented a research project to track
Taiwan’s political, economic, social and cultural changes. Since 1985 the Academia
3
Sinica has been in charge of conducting this survey. The Survey is a long-term,
cross-sectional project that follows 5-year cycles which rotate selective modules.5
The 2006 version featured two themes, “Family,” and “Citizen and Role of
Government, ” which have provided the dataset for my research.
Choosing appropriate questions to capture the three variables is critical to the
validity of the results of this study. Therefore, the questions from the Survey that I
have chosen to approximate a citizen’s belief in the principles of corporatism, the
terror threat, and Confucianism are sensitive to this need. They circumscribe the
proposed hypotheses and are adequately discriminating from alternative explanations.
I describe the specific questions used to measure corporatism, the terror threat, and
Confucianism in Chapter II.
Using the selected data, I have run binary regression analyses with three
different response variables that indicate a citizen’s extent of support for civil liberties.
The questions from the survey ask the respondent if the government should allow:
public meetings, demonstrations and nationwide strikes. I code each variable 1 if the
respondent believes the government shouldn’t allow the particular form of protest,
and 0 if they believe the government should allow it.
The results of the binary regression analysis will indicate the validity of the
three hypotheses, namely, whether corporatism, the terror threat, and Confucianism
have a significant impact on the level of support for civil liberties in Taiwan. All
three of the explanatory variables are also dichotomous, with 1 indicating that: the
respondent believes the government should intervene in the free market; the
government should have the right to implement extra-constitutional measures during a
time of heightened security risks; and that a virtuous leader guarantees an ideal
5
See the following for more details about the Taiwan Social Change Survey, results from other years
(1985-2010), and themes for future surveys. "Taiwan Social Change Survey." Taiwan Social Change
Survey. Academia Sinica, 30 Nov. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
4
government. Besides these three hypotheses, I also include a number of control
variables in the regression model, including gender, age, education level, ethnicity,
political affiliation, and impression of the proportion of corrupt politicians in the
government.
c.
Structure of Thesis
The following chapter lays out the theoretical framework by discussing the
three variables, corporatism, the terror threat, and Confucianism as the terms have
developed in meaning, and their relevance to Taiwan. After detailing the history and
contemporary usages of the three variables under study, Chapter III then moves on to
a discussion of the ‘third wave of democratization,’ including a brief outline of
democratization theories, a description of the democratization process as it occurred
in Taiwan, and the development of the freedoms of association and assembly, and the
labor movement in Taiwan. Chapter IV introduces the data and provides the results
of the binary regression analysis run with SPSS software. Chapter V draws
conclusions.
5
II.
Theoretical Framework
a.
Corporatism
i. Corporatism and convergence theory
Wolfgang Streeck (2006) describes the development of the concept of
corporatism in the 1960s as an intellectual and theoretical response contradicting
‘American normalism.’6 The emergence of a body of work advancing corporatism as
a theory of political economy came largely from the impetus of European social
scientists. Their work was a direct challenge to an assumption in the literature
suggesting that the advanced industrial nations were converging on the US model.
The ‘convergence model’ took as precept that a linear path to modernization could be
followed by all countries. According to this model, the US was the most advanced of
the industrial societies and had achieved this position because of its politicaleconomic organization. Consequently, if European countries wanted to continue
modernizing, they should mimic the US model. A typical argument from this
perspective is presented in the work of Kerr et al. (1960).7
The events of the tumultuous years between the late 1960s and 1970s
cautioned social scientists against adopting an ‘end of theory’ mentality and shook
confidence in the US model. Backlash against the teleology of the convergence
model belief grew during this period. During this period, the United States was mired
in the war in Vietnam, and the subsequent economic recession precipitated strident
demands for change both within and without the US. European social scientists also
observed worker and student uprisings in Europe and the growth in organizational
strength of labor movements throughout the region. These latter developments in
6
Wolfgang Streeck, “The Study of Organized Interests: Before ‘The Century’ and after,” In Colin
Crouch and Wolfgang Streeck (eds.) The Diversity of Democracy: Corporatism, social order and
political conflict (Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 2006), p. 3.
7
Clark Kerr, John Dunlop, Frederick Harbison, and Charles Myers, Industrialism and Industrial Man
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1960).
6
Europe offered a distinct alternative to the US model, with scholars intrigued by the
potential institutionalization and assertive role that labor organizations might play in
the political economy.8 Part of the appeal of corporatism in the 1970s came from its
ability to explain phenomena that were simply missing from the liberal-pluralist and
Marxist frameworks. These new phenomena included the incorporation of interest
groups into the decision-making process of the state, social pacts to guarantee labor
peace involving unions, management, and government regulators, and industrial
policies mandating the participation by business and labor among others.9
With its increasing prominence in the literature, scholars began paying more
attention to the features of corporatism and comparing them with other theories of
social organization. Corporatism has been hypothesized as an alternative theory for
societal relations to both liberalist/pluralist and ‘Marxian-totalitarian’ thought. In his
seminal article on the subject, Dahl (1961) described pluralism in the western nations
as being based on ‘polyarchies’ built upon different and competing social interests
with no singularly acknowledged center of power binding their contest.10 Pluralism
assumes that socially constituted groups (labor organizations, business groups,
farmers’ groups, women’s organizations, religious groups, etc.) have equal status in
relation to the state. According to pluralism, power is evenly distributed throughout
society and all social groups with a good cause will get a chance to make their case.11
Marxism, in contrast, is founded upon the idea of class conflict rather than
class harmony. It takes as its starting point a government founded upon the interests
of the working class, insofar as the bourgeois elements are eviscerated from any
8
Streeck 2006, op. cit., p. 9-12.
Howard J. Wiarda, Corporatism and Comparative Politics: The other great “Ism” (New York, NY:
M.E. Sharpe, 1997), p. 42.
10
Robert A. Dahl, Who Governs? Democracy and Power in an American City (New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 1961).
11
Jean Grugel, Democratization: A critical introduction (New York, NY: Palgrave, 2002).
9
7
decision-making authority within the state-working class party apparatus.12 Marxism,
as it was practiced in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and other Marxist-Leninist
states, excluded all grassroots participation in decision-making, such as through
public opinion, elections, interest groups, etc. This totalitarian variant of Marxism
permitted no challenge from below to the leaders of the state.13
Corporatism can be described as lying somewhere in the middle of this
spectrum of governance. Labor relations within a corporatist state are guided by the
leaders, but are not explicitly totalitarian. The state performs the function of
regulating interest groups, while at the same time institutionalizing labor and capital
into the state structure. Policy is articulated from the product of negotiations between
labor, capital, and state representatives at the behest of the state. Such bargaining
does not operate under total control of the government (as in Marxist-Leninism) nor
as completely unfettered entities (as under liberal-pluralism). The two most
distinguishing features of corporatism are (1) a strong but not totalitarian state, (2)
structured and institutionalized interest groups that are usually limited in number and
functions.14
Before moving on, it is important to appreciate the lack of consensus on the
definition of corporatism, as it indicates the primacy of cultural and historical contexts.
In “Still the Century of Corporatism?” Schmitter (1974) emphasizes that the crux of
corporatism consists of bargaining between autonomous groups and the
government.15 Following Schmitter’s lead, scholars have offered different defining
12
Pierre Birnbaum “Universal Suffrage, the Vanguard Party and Mobilization in Marxism,”
Government and Opposition 20(1) 1985, pp. 53-69. For a discussion of the derivations of MarxismLeninism, see Peter Worsley, Marx and Marxism (London: Routledge, 1989).
13
Wiarda 1997, op. cit., p. 6.
14
Ibid p. 6-7. (See also Michael J. Brenner, “Functional Representation and Interest Group Theory:
Some notes on British practice,” Comparative Politics (October) 2(1) 1969, pp. 111-134 and Philippe
C. Schmitter, “Still the Century of Corporatism?” Review of Politics 85 January 1974, pp. 85-131.
15
Schmitter, 1974, op. cit. Schmitter’s article argued that there were no ‘one best-fits’ for either the
path to democracy, nor the best way to practice it.
8
characteristics of corporatism, as well as varying interpretations of the necessary
conditions for a government to be considered as operating under the corporatist
paradigm. Some emphasize that corporatism is a political-economic system in which
the state takes direct action in directing the economy. Others suggest that the main
feature of corporatism is the integration of major social groups within the state in
order to achieve coordinated guidance.16 Some scholars argue that the incorporation
of the working class into the state is the essence of the corporatist model, while others
stress the government’s demonstrated commitment to four principles: unity, order,
nationalism and success in the economic realm.17 Still others prefer procedural norms,
such as the location of initiative in policy implementation, the power of bureaucracies
to regulate organizations, and the methods of coercion available to the state in
classifying corporatist state regimes.18
Another stream of thought queries corporatism from an ontological basis. One
argument questions whether corporatism as it exists in democracies (so-called societal
corporatism) could even be considered a separate form of political system or if it
were merely an extension of the pluralist-liberal fold.19 A contrary view suggested
that all forms of corporatism are authoritarian in nature.20 Refuting this latter
suggestion, Leo Panitch (1977) argues that corporatism is a viable alternative in
liberal democracies, despite the common misperception of the affiliation between
16
Wiarda 1997, op. cit, p. 15-21.
Leo Panitch, “Recent Theorisations of Corporatism: Reflections on a growth industry,” British
Journal of Sociology 31(2) 1980, pp. 175 and J.T. Winkler, “Corporatism,” Archives of European
Sociology 17(1) 1976, pp. 100-36.
18
Ruth Berins Collier and David Collier, “Inducements versus Constraints: Disaggregating
corporatism,” American Political Science Review 73 December 1979, pp. 967-86.
Alfred Stepan, The State and Society: Peru in comparative perspective (Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1978).
19
Alan Cawson, Corporatism and political theory (New York, NY: Oxford Oxfordshire,1986). (See
also Martin 1983; Almond 1983.)
20
Amos Perlmutter, Modern Authoritarianism (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1981).
17
9
democracy and capitalism.21 Lehmbruch (1974) is careful in distinguishing liberal
corporatism from both its variant in pre-industrial Europe, as well as from
authoritarian corporatism.22 Surveying the corporatist literature, Hall (1986) proposed
that governments at different times exhibit corporatist tendencies, and argued for
research to be done into investigating the varieties of corporatism.23
Despite these differences over the nature and, in some cases, salience of
corporatism as a model, it is still a useful theoretical concept if applied judiciously.
Offe (1981) argues that corporatist states enhance the power of working-class groups
by liberalizing access to policy formation, while Crouch (1982) suggests that
corporatism has the potential of expanding democracy to the management of
industrial affairs.24 On the other hand, critics have argued that corporatism is
responsible for high levels of inequality, and that it increases alienation and apathy,
drives down participation and diminishes the quality of governance.25 Faced with
these semantic and interpretive issues when discussing corporatism, it becomes
incumbent on any specific analysis to expound the features of corporatism as they are
manifested in situ for the particular case under study.
iii.
State guidance under the KMT
The KMT’s adoption of corporatism antedated its arrival on Taiwan, as the
party implemented a similar strategy over the areas it controlled while on the
mainland. Through the KMT’s quasi-Leninist party structure, it aggressively co21
Leo Panitch, “The Development of Corporatism in Liberal Democracies,” Comparative Political
Studies, 10(1) April 1977, pp. 61-90
22
Gerhard Lehmbruch “Consociational Democracy, Class Conflict and the New Corporatism,” Paper
presented to the IPSA Round Table on Political Integration, Jerusalem, 1974, pp. 1-2.
23
Peter Hall, Governing the Economy (Oxford: Polity Press, 1986), p. 269.
24
Clause Offe, “The Attribution of Public Status to Interest Groups,” In S. Berger (ed.) Organising
Interest in Western Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981), pp. 153-54.
Colin Crouch, The Politics of Industrial Relations, 2nd edition (London: Fontana, 1982).
25
Gabriel Almond, “Corporatism, Pluralism and Professional Memory,” World Politics 35 1983, pp.
245-60.
10
opted society by controlling organizations and interests, and acting as the single
coordinator between various sectors.26 After retreating to Taiwan, the KMT’s desire
to infiltrate every aspect of societal life in Taiwan extended to labor-capital relations.
Only one legal representative, the Chinese Federation of Labor (CFL), existed as the
lone conduit through which Taiwanese labor could express their grievances. The CFL
leadership’s support base was similar to that of Legislative Yuan legislators in that
both were elected while still on the mainland and were not subject to regular elections
until after martial law was lifted in the late 1980s (Ho 2006). Through the CFL, the
KMT secured crucial working-class support. In practice, the CFL represented the
interests of the ruling party over those of the rank-and-file membership. The CFL’s
monopoly on the legitimate representation of workers wasn’t broken until 2000, when
Chen Shui-bian became the first president ever from the opposition Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP). Within the first year of his inauguration, President Chen
delivered on his campaign promise to legalize the Taiwan Confederation of Trade
Unions (TCTU) and end the CFL’s official monopoly on labor representation.27
Taiwan’s labor relations system was erected from the foundations of its party
structure. Influenced by its early Russian advisors, the KMT built an extensive
Leninist system of party organizations within factories in the 1950s.28 Taiwanese
greatly outnumbered the KMT mainlanders, so the latter relied on this system to
nurture a basis of support from the local population of the island. The party recruited
party cadres for management positions in charge of personnel, welfare and security
departments in factories and sent party apparatchiks to work closely with labor unions,
26
Mikael Mattlin, Politicized Society: The long shadow of Taiwan’s one-party legacy. Copenhagen,
(Denmark: NIAS Press, 2011), p. 29. (See also Kung 1995)
27
Ming-sho Ho, “Challenging State Corporatism: The politics of Taiwan’s labor federation Movement,”
The China Journal 56 July 2006, pp. 122. (See also Tat Yan Kong, “Labour and Neo-Liberal
Globalization in South Korea and Taiwan,” Modern Asian Studies 39(1) February 2005, pp. 168.
28
Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 35.
11
as well as farmers’ organizations and business organizations.29 Moreover, KMT
professionals offered a number of services, including vocational training, job
placement, free medical care, and technical help to farmers and business
organizations.30
Hsiao (1990) described three different periods of state relations in Taiwan
under the KMT’s authoritarian rule: ‘political forces in absolute command’ (19471962); ‘economic forces in relative command’ (1963-1978); and ‘social forces in
mobilization’ (1979-1990).31 In the first period, the party-military controlled all
aspects of public life as a matter of regime survival. Chiang Kai-shek and his
nationalist army had lost the mainland to the communists, and the generalissimo was
forced to retreat ignominiously to Taiwan. While Chiang and his acolytes were still
on the mainland, the situation in Taiwan turned volatile. The Japanese colonial
administration had departed from Taiwan upon Japan’s surrender and the ending of
hostilities in World War II. Shortly after their exodus, many Taiwanese became
discontent after coming to the conclusion that the Republic of China (ROC)
administration was going to treat Taiwan as conquered rather than liberated territory.
The administration appointed by Chiang Kai-shek to handle affairs on Taiwan was
concerned primarily with extracting resources from the island to bolster the nationalist
army in the Chinese civil war. Corruption and nepotism was rampant under the ROC
administration led by General Chen Yi.32 Taiwan’s economy also experienced
hyperinflation and high unemployment in its transition from a wartime economy.33
29
Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 108.
Harmon Zeigler, Pluralism, Corporatism, and Confucianism: Political association and conflict
regulation in the United States, Europe, and Taiwan (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press,
1988).
31
Michael Hsin-Huang Hsiao, “Emerging Social Movements and the Rise of a Demanding Civil
Society in Taiwan,” The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs 24 July 1990, pp. 164-5.
32
Denny Roy, Taiwan: A political history (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2003), p. 59.
33
Ibid, p. 92.
30
12
Adding an explosive element to the situation, over 160,000 young Taiwanese men
drafted by the Japanese for military service were repatriated to the island only to find
poor job prospects, a new foreign government, and a surfeit of carpetbaggers.
The tension soon erupted in violence when agents of the Taiwan Tobacco and
Wine Monopoly Bureau beat a widowed vendor and accidentally shot and killed a
local Taiwanese. An angry mob of local Taiwanese chased after the agents and, in the
confusion, another man was killed upon coming out of his home to investigate the
commotion outside.34 The Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau had already
been a target of denunciation by the Taiwanese, as had its director, Ren Wei-jun. The
Taiwanese despised the Monopoly Bureau for its draconian enforcement of the KMT
monopolies on tobacco and alcohol, goods that were sold at exorbitant prices to the
Taiwanese.35 The day after the incident, angry crowds of Taiwanese exacted revenge
for the beating and accidental death by beating to death two Monopoly Bureau agents
and sacking a branch office of the Monopoly Bureau. From the Monopoly Bureau
office, the crowd went to the Office of the Administrator General to petition for an
end to all monopolies. Before the crowd was able to enter the compound, a machine
gun opened fire without warning from within, killing at least four people and
dispersing the crowd.36
Violence on both sides continued in the ensuing days, while delegations of
citizens attempted to negotiate with the government. Among the Taiwanese demands
were immediate local elections, abolition of irresponsible police units and the Taiwan
Garrison Command, appointment of more native Taiwanese to higher positions, and
34
Chien-Chao Hung, A New History of Taiwan (Taipei: The Central News Agency, 2011), p. 326.
Christian Schafferer, The Power of the Ballot Box: Political development and election campaigning
in Taiwan (New York, NY: Lexington Books, 2003), p. 23.
36
Hung 2011, op. cit., p. 326-27.
35
13
an end to the economic monopolies the KMT government had established.37 General
Chen Yi quickly came to the conclusion that the Taiwanese demands were too radical,
and asked for reinforcements from the mainland.38 Meanwhile, Chiang Kai-shek was
under mounting pressure from the communist forces who were close to capturing
Changchun in northeast China. In January, the US mission led by General George C.
Marshall was withdrawn from China, an acknowledgement by the U.S. that nothing
short of full-scale involvement could prop Chiang Kai-shek’s KMT regime. In the
same month, communist forces under Lin Piao launched a major offensive in
Manchuria, what would be the first of five such maneuvers.39 This precarious
position solidified Chiang’s unaccommodating stance towards the unrest on Taiwan.40
Even while negotiations between General Chen Yi and a delegation of Taiwanese
citizens were ongoing, a contingent of nationalist soldiers were secretly deployed and
landed in Keelung Harbor.41 Beginning on March 9, the ROC forces and 10,000
troop reinforcements from the mainland engaged in indiscriminate killing. Manhunts
were conducted throughout the island and prominent leaders were sought and
executed in the streets. In the following weeks, several thousand Taiwanese were
killed, thousands went to jail, and three thousand citizens fled.42 In total, an estimated
18,000 to 28,000 people died in the violence directly attributable to the 2-28
Incident.43 Roy (2003) suggests that this tragedy also brought to an end the “home
rule movement” that had begun under the Japanese occupation and was still actively
37
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 65.
Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 34.
39
Suzanne Pepper, Civil War in China: The political struggle, 1945-1949 (Second Edition) (Lanham,
MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1999), p. xv
40
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 70.
41
Dafydd Fell, Party Politics in Taiwan: Party change and the democratic evolution of Taiwan, 19912004 (New York, NY: Routledge, 2005). (See also Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 67.)
42
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 66-70.
43
Caroline Gluck, "Anniversary of Deadly Taiwan Riot." BBC News. 27 Feb. 2007. Web. 9 Dec. 2012.
38
14
seeking independent Taiwanese governance until the brutal suppression of the 2-28
Incident and imposition of martial law.44
Needing to co-opt segments of the local population and allay the general
antagonism felt toward mainlanders by local Taiwanese after the 2-28 Incident,
Chiang implemented a popular and successful land reform program that redistributed
land from a small concentration of landowners to the tenant farmers who worked it.
The émigré regime didn’t have any personal alliances with the landowning class, and
the communists’ astonishing victory over the ROC had convinced Chiang of the value
of consolidating agrarian support. The landowners were pacified with shares in four
newly nationalized companies that were appropriated from the Japanese.45 All labor
unions were nationalized entities with compulsory membership, giving the
government extensive resources to mobilize votes during elections, as well as
considerable ideological control.46 The KMT banned protests, and industrial disputes
were settled by arbitration through the government. A gold standard based on the
millions of taels of gold that Chiang Kai-shek had pilfered from China also helped the
KMT government combat hyperinflation that had struck the Taiwanese economy in
the immediate post-war period.47
The second period of labor relations, ‘economic forces in relative command,’
began in the 1960s and featured a shift from a strategy of Import Substitution
Industrialization (ISI) to one of Export Oriented Industrialization (EOI). Instead of
44
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 72.
I-chou Liu, “The Development of the Opposition,” In Steven Tsang and Hung-mao Tien (eds.)
Democratization in Taiwan: Implications for China (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1999),
pp. 68. (See also Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 92; Marsh 2003.)
46
Chyi-herng Chang and Trevor Bain, “Employment Relations Across the Taiwan Strait: Globalization
and state corporatism,” Journal of Industrial Relations 48(1) 2006, pp. 101.
47
Shih-hui Li, “The Currency Conversion in Postwar Taiwan: Gold standard from 1949 to 1950,” The
Kyoto Economic Review 74(2) December 2005, pp. 191-203.
Chiang Kai-shek also brought China’s reserves of silver, foreign exchange, and valuable pieces of
artwork when he retreated to Taiwan. See also O’Neill. 2010. How Chiang Spirited China’s Gold Away
from the Reds. http://guanyu9.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/how-chiang-spirited-china’s-gold-awayfrom-the-reds/. June 06, 2010. January 7, 2013.
45
15
protecting local industries, the KMT relaxed its trade policies and allowed small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop markets overseas. As a result of these
policies, a class of both Mainlander and Taiwanese private capitalists emerged, the
number and profits of SMEs grew, and the numbers of urban middle class and
industrial workers increased dramatically. The change represented a new independent
focus on economic considerations rather than the subordination of economic growth
to efforts to retake the mainland, as was the case during the first period. By this time,
most honest assessments gave the KMT little chance of conquering the Mainland.
The United States was digging itself deeper into Vietnam, and its presence in the
region prevented any serious attempt by either side of the Taiwan Strait to change the
status quo by force. To cope with this reality, the KMT looked to establish deeper
roots in Taiwanese society. Although economic interests were given greater
consideration, the KMT still retained its paramount status in labor relations. The
KMT courted prominent economic actors during this period by giving them more
commercial opportunities in exchange for their support.48
An inflammatory crackdown on a Human Rights Day march sponsored by the
editors and staff of a magazine published by opposition activists marked the
beginning of the third period in December 1979. The editorial board of Formosa
Magazine included almost all of the leading figures of the opposition, including
Huang Hsin-chieh, Shih Ming-teh, Li Yi-hsiung, Yao Chia-wen, Chen Chu, Lu Hsiulien, Chang Chun-hung, and Lin Hung-hsuan. Formosa’s offices around the island
were essentially the organizational core of the opposition dangwai (literally, ‘outside
the party’) movement.49 Prohibited from formally establishing a political party, the
dangwai was a loose coalition of activists and politicians drawn from different
48
49
Hsiao 1990, op. cit., p. 164. (See also Ash and Greene 2007.)
Li 2005, op. cit. (See also Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 21.)
16
socioeconomic backgrounds but united in their demand for democratization. The
conviction and imprisonment of several prominent of the leaders of the dangwai for
organizing the peaceful march was a watershed moment in Taiwan’s democratization,
and the entire episode later came to be known as ‘The Kaohsiung Incident.’ Many of
those imprisoned would go on to become influential politicians within the DPP. The
suppression of the march and subsequent imprisonment of the staff of Formosa
redounded in unforeseen consequences for the KMT regime. Family members of the
jailed Kaohsiung Incident opposition and their lawyers won seats in the 1980
Legislative elections, with several finishing first in their districts. The felicitous
momentum continued for the opposition when several dangwai candidates won seats
in the 1981 Provincial Assembly and municipal executive elections.50
Pressure for political liberalization began mounting in the 1980s and resulted
in galvanizing civil society, particularly in the latter half of the decade. Social
movements centered on environmental protection, consumers’ rights, minority rights,
etc. quickly came into being.51 Chu (1992) showed that between 1983 and 1988 there
was a ratcheting up of the number of social movement activities, with the lifting of
martial law in 1986 sparking a new trend of large-scale demonstrations.52 Labor
activists likewise believed the environment to be favorable for organizing an
independent labor movement. Previously, the KMT government strictly censored
leftist literature and anyone found in possession of such materials risked
imprisonment or worse. The party also used propaganda to pacify workers, preaching
a “harmony culture” and entreating workers to treat their factories as they would their
50
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 24.
Ho 2010, op. cit., p. 7.
52
Yun-han Chu, 1992. Crafting Democracy in Taiwan (Taipei, Taiwan: Institute for National Policy
Research, 1992).
51
17
home or school.53 However, even had the party-state not enforced a zero tolerance
policy on labor incitement and produced such unctuous propaganda, whether or not a
broad-based leftist movement could have been sustained is dubious.54 Taiwan’s
economy experienced sustained growth and an impressively equal distribution of
wealth even as a potemkin “free China.” Taiwan’s experience under the KMT is a
notable exception to the hypothesis that economic growth and democratization are
positively correlated. Yap (2012) finds that it was an economic downturn, not growth
that impelled the KMT to democratize.55 Some have suggested that Taiwan’s
economic performance is one among the reasons the KMT was able to hold power for
so long.56 Other scholars, while granting the transformative capacity that impressive
economic growth had on Taiwanese society, question the definitive link between high
growth and democratization.57
Labor disputes also began occurring more frequently during this period and
sporadic efforts to organize workers emerged. However, it wasn’t until 1987, when
the issue of a year-end-bonus became a contentious issue between labor and
management, that there was any evidence of a large-scale, island-wide movement of
Taiwanese labor.58 Politicians also tried to build political parties based on labor
concerns in the late 1980s. Some members of the newly established Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) split off to form the Labor Party, followed by the creation of
a Worker’s Party led by a famous union leader. However, both of these parties soon
53
James W.Y. Wang, “The Political Economy of Collective Labour Legislation in Taiwan,” Journal of
Current Chinese Affairs 39(3) 2010, pp. 63.
54
Naiteh Wu and Tun-jen Cheng, “Democratization as a Legitimacy Formula: The KMT and political
change in Taiwan,” In John Kane, Hui-Chieh Loy, and Haig Patapan (eds.). Political Legitimacy in
Asia: New leadership challenges (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), p. 250.
55
Fiona O. Yap, “A Strategic Model of Economic Performance and Democratization in South Korea
and Taiwan,” British Journal of Political Science 42(1) January 2012, pp. 213-239.
56
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 152. Roy suggests that strong economic growth enhanced the KMT’s prestige,
but at the same time created new threats to its status as the ruling party.
57
Wen H. Kuo, “Democratization and the Political Economy of Taiwan,” International Journal of
Politics, Culture, and Society 11(1): Fall 1997, pp. 5-24. (See also Clark and Clark 1993)
58
Hsiao 1990, op. cit., p. 171.
18
dissipated without much fanfare, foreshadowing the impuissant character of classbased interests in democratic Taiwan.59
Despite the difficulty in cultivating relationships upon class interests in
Taiwan, workers and intellectuals struggled valiantly to organize new unions or
replace existing ones controlled through the state-party apparatus. These activists
strove to build an independent labor movement that could challenge the KMT’s
monopoly over labor representation. Their greatest success was made within public
enterprises such as China Petroleum and Taiwan Power whose managers, themselves
public employees, were less apt to repress union activities and more willing to make
concessions to workers’ demands. These early efforts at establishing an independent
union movement soon succumbed to effective counter-organizing by public
enterprises. Similar to the fates of the Labor Party and Worker’s Party, the early
independent labor movement soon receded into irrelevance.60
If labor-based political parties and independent union organizing within public
enterprises were thoroughly demoralized, labor activists were able to find a niche in
politics by cooperating with the opposition DPP. Labor and the DPP created an
alliance formally for the first time in 1992, with the establishment of The Taiwan
Labor Front. Their cooperation was mutually beneficial; by the early 1990s, the DPP
had realized that it could not win general elections based on identity and
independence appeals alone and needed to expand its support base. Meanwhile,
factions of the DPP that had pro-labor sympathies were natural allies of the labor
movement.61 The DPP’s success in capturing local office was also considered a boon
to labor, since local administrations had the authority to distribute considerable
material advantages to labor unions under Taiwan’s de-centralized administrative
59
Wu and Cheng 2011, op. cit., p. 250.
Ibid, p. 251.
61
Wang 2010, op. cit., p. 62.
60
19
system.62 Forging an alliance with the DPP was hence both a strategic ploy to
undermine the CFL’s dominance of labor issues as an organ of the KMT and the
result of common ideology between activists and elements of the party. The 2000
election also marked a tangible shift from focusing on grassroots organizing to
bolstering labor’s influence on the legislative process.63
Cooperation between labor activists and the DPP continued in part due to the
KMT’s adamant refusal to accommodate autonomous labor federations. The KMT
realized that allowing an autonomous labor federation to exist legally would provide
the DPP with an organized support structure. At the time, the opposition faced a rigid
vote threshold and lacked a broad base of support, two features that threatened to keep
the DPP as a weak and minor party in national elections. Hence, the DPP and labor
had a shared interest and worked together to erode KMT control over the state and
labor relations. These efforts were bolstered by the DPP’s success in local elections
and effective labor organizing, even without official sanction. Labor activists
exploited a loophole in the Labor Union Law, which did not prohibit industrial unions
from establishing their own local federations. Local mayors and magistrates could
legalize a local faction, which eventually succeeded in dismantling the local structures
of state corporatism. When the TCTU was finally legalized by the incoming Chen
administration in 2000, there were already eight local federations of industrial unions,
of which six were in DPP-controlled administrative units.64
Labor and social movements were initially jubilant about the prospects of
progressive reform under a DPP administration. From the nascence of labor and
social movement organization in the 1980s, activists had felt antagonistic at best
toward the leader of the state and his party. With President Chen Shui-bian’s election
62
Kong 2005, op. cit., p. 169.
Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 123-4. (See also Han and Chiu 2000.)
64
Wang 2010 op. cit., p. 64. (See also Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 119.)
63
20
in 2000, a president came into office who promised to recognize independent labor
unions and whose party welcomed social activists into its membership. Chen aroused
optimism among reform advocates by appointing prominent social activists to
positions within his administration. Aligning itself with the DPP government,
however, did not guarantee either increased union membership or greater influence in
the shaping of legislation. The TCTU’s association with the DPP actually made it
harder both to attract existing industrial unions into its fold and to inaugurate new
local federations throughout the polarized Chen Shui-bian administration. Once the
TCTU became allied with the government, labor leaders spent less time organizing,
and the union’s popularity among Taiwan’s workers dwindled. The TCTU also began
to struggle financially, relying on government subsidies to stay afloat. The TCTU’s
alliance with the DPP exacerbated partisan struggles within the labor movement, as
some accused the union of sacrificing its political independence. Moreover, union
participation and the overall number of industrial unions fell into decline during the
Chen Shui-bian administration.65
Likewise, labor activists learned that simply helping elect a president from the
opposition DPP was nostrum neither for labor’s immediate objective of securing
legislative influence, nor for its ultimate objective of autonomous bargaining power
vis-à-vis management. Chen Shui-bian faced a hostile legislature controlled by the
KMT and its pan-blue coalition, leading to political gridlock and extreme
polarization.66 Chen also had to deal with an obstreperous rival in China. Undeterred
by its failed efforts to sway the election in its favor, Beijing developed a new strategy
to correspond with a new era in Taiwan under a DPP president. Rather than engage
with President Chen, Beijing wooed members of the KMT, People’s First Party (PFP,
65
66
Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 124-5.
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 8-9. (See also Wang 2008; Wang 2010, op. cit., p. 68.)
21
formed by James Soong after splitting from the KMT), and moderate DPP members,
and continued its policy of currying favor with influential Taiwanese businessmen.67
President Chen’s unresolvable political vulnerabilities were symbolized by his
appointment of Tang Fei, a KMT member, as his first premier. The DPP was
compelled during the Chen administration to take policy stances that vacillated
between pursuing reform and seeking political compromise and expediency.68
The KMT recaptured the presidency in 2008 after what has since been widely
panned as a dismal performance by Chen Shui-bian in office, marred by ineffectual
policies, corruption and a stagnant economy. Ma Ying-jeou took office at an
inauspicious time, as the sub-prime mortgage market crash in the United States
catalyzed a global recession and stymied international trade.69 Taiwan’s export-based
economy suffered from the contraction in international demand and put President Ma
in a difficult policy position; the KMT had courted labor unions during their time out
of office and now encountered countervailing demands. Their traditional business
ties urged greater labor market flexibility, while labor argued for greater protections
and rights.70
Confident that a mélange of policy measures would collectively reduce
unemployment and invigorate the Taiwanese economy, President Ma pursued
desultory policies aimed at combating interminably high unemployment and
languishing economic growth. On the one hand, the Ma administration froze
minimum wages for 2009 and introduced policies designed to give businesses greater
67
Vincent Wei-Cheng Wang, “The Chen Shui-bian Administration’s Mainland Policy: Toward a
modus vivendi or continued stalemate?” American Asian Review XX(3) 2002, pp. 91-124
68
Michael Hsin-Huang Hsiao and Ming-sho Ho, “Civil Society and Democracy-Making in Taiwan:
Reexamining the link,” In Yin-wah Chu and Siu-lun Wong (eds.). East Asia’s New Democracies:
Deepening, reversal, non-liberal alternatives (New York: Routledge, 2010), p.43-64.
(See Rigger 2001 for more on President Chen Shui-bian’s difficulties while in office, including on the
construction of the fourth nuclear power plant)
69
Yih-chyi Chuang, “What’s Wrong with Taiwan’s Economy? Impact of Globalization,” Taiwan
Development Perspectives (Taipei: National Policy Foundation, 2009).
70
Wang 2010, op. cit., p. 76.
22
control over foreign labor. On the other, the Legislative Yuan passed amendments to
the Labor Union Law, the Collective Bargaining Agreement Act, and the Settlement
of Disputes Law. These measures were designed to provide job security and prevent
employers from fleeing the country if they failed to give workers back pay, severance
pay, or wages. However in practice the revisions were ineffectual at best and, at
worst, privileged employers over their workers.71 The Taiwanese legislative body
also introduced various programs to contain unemployment, such as job re-training,
formalized recruitment by municipal governments, and expanded public works with
President Ma’s endorsement.72 A recent cause celebre provoked by a depiction of Ma
Ying-jeou as “an ineffectual bumbler” by The Economist exemplifies the popular
discontent felt by the public.73
Another legacy of KMT one-party rule in Taiwan is the unsatisfactory
handling of the ill-gotten assets obtained from party-owned enterprises (POEs).74
Through its control of these POEs, the KMT has become ‘the world’s richest political
party’75 and given the erstwhile authoritarian regime a tremendous advantage over the
opposition DPP. The party’s assets have come particularly from its involvement in
the highly regulated sectors of insurance, leasing, banking, brokerage, investment
trust, mass media, public utilities, and real estate. The KMT’s variant of corporatism
included generous government financing of state and party-owned enterprises.
71
Ibid, p. 78
Ibid. (See also Ma 2011). For further discussion, see "Taiwan," Asian Labour Update. Asia Monitor
Resource Centre, 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. http://www.amrc.org.hk/node/1079 for a discussion
on the amendments to the Labor Laws and also Hong-kou Wang and Hannah Liu, "New Labor Laws
Mark Milestone in Taiwan's History: President." The Central News Agency. 1 May 2011. Web. 9 Dec.
2012.
73
"Ma the Bumbler." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 17 Nov. 2012. Web. 08 Dec. 2012.
74
Yun-han Chu, “The Challenges of Democratic Consolidation,” In Steve Tsang and
Hung-mao Tien (eds.) Democratization in Taiwan: Implications for China (Hong Kong: Hong Kong
University Press, 1999), p. 152. (See also Matsumoto 2002.)
75
Mitsutoyo Matsumoto, “Political Democratization and KMT Party-Owned Enterprises in Taiwan,”
The Developing Economies (September) 40(3) 2002, pp. 360 (See also Rigger 2001, op. cit. p. 10; Fell
2005, op. cit., p. 11.) The KMT still owns one business, the Central Investment Holding Co. See Yuchung Wang and Jake Chung. "Ruling Spotlights KMT’s Hold on Assets." - Taipei Times. 04 Jan. 2012.
Web. 04 Jan. 2013.
72
23
During the 1950s and 1960s, funding provided to these enterprises composed 10-20
percent of the annual financial expenses of the government. That percentage rose to
20-30 percent in the 1970s and 1980s, as the KMT government implemented the
second phase of Import Substitution focused on energy-intensive projects. 76 Besides
the hefty operational support that the KMT government gave to POEs, these
enterprises also benefitted from a close relationship to the government’s strategic
economic development programs. 77
Marsh (2003) notes that corporatism characterized the predominant labor
regime of state/party-owned enterprises and export-processing zones.78 By
controlling both the management and operations of POEs, the KMT government also
regulated labor relations and intervened in labor affairs, instituting a corporatist labor
regime model. POEs were also a sinecure for KMT party loyalists, integral to the
system of rewards and retirements. Moreover, throughout the authoritarian period,
the extant and nature of the KMT’s business empire was kept hidden for political
reasons. 79 To the average Taiwanese citizen, corporatism was felt most acutely in the
government’s monopolization or overwhelming control of military, transportation,
electrical power, oil, copper, aluminum, steel, oil-chemistry, and chemical fertilizers
industries, the postal service, shipping, and marketing of cigarettes, liquor, chemical
fertilizer, and oil. 80
The question of how to deal with these assets continues to plague Taiwanese
politics and remains one of the more intransigent legacies of authoritarianism.
Opponents of the KMT believe that the assets continue to be a blemish on the record
76
Dianqing Xu, “The KMT Party’s Enterprises in Taiwan,” Modern Asian Studies 31(2) May 1997, pp.
402
77
Ibid, p. 406.
78
Robert M. Marsh, “How Important is Social Class Identification in Taiwan?” The Sociological
Quarterly 44(1) Winter 2003, pp. 37-59.
79
Ibid, p. 400.
80
Ibid, p. 402-3.
24
of Taiwan’s democratization to this day.81 With estimates for the amount in assets
that the party owns ranging from hundreds of billions to trillions of NT, 82 democracy
advocates have adamantly denounced the disparity in financial resources between the
former authoritarian party and the DPP as antithetical to the notion of liberal
democracy.
v.
Comparison with South Korea
South Korea has experienced a similar transformation from a corporatist
political economy and can be readily juxtaposed with Taiwan. The two countries
have had analogous experiences dating before the 20th century. Both Taiwan and
South Korea have historically fallen within China’s sphere of influence, South Korea
as a tributary state and Taiwan as an archetypal frontier region. Japanese imperialism
is also a shared feature between the two countries, although its variant in South Korea
was more conflict-ridden and bloodier than in Taiwan. In an accident of history, the
KMT regime likely owes its survival to the Korean War for inadvertently saving
Taiwan from invasion and a potential coup de grace by the red army. By drawing the
United States into the region, the Korean War prevented the communist army from
mounting an amphibious attack against the ROC on Taiwan.
Taiwan and South Korea are also regarded as successful cases of a transition
from authoritarian government to democracy. Both countries belong to the third wave
of democratization via the commencement of their formal democratization in the late
1980s. Powerful domestic opposition forces and international pressure forced both
governments to accept constitutional revisions. In Taiwan the party was at the apex
of the authoritarian regime, while South Korea’s leadership was centered upon the
81
82
Chris Wang, "KMT Assets Called 'root of Evil'." Taipei Times. 27 Aug. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2012.
Ibid
25
military. Although the democratization processes had many similarities, South
Korea’s variant of authoritarianism featured frequent and bloody internecine struggles,
a phenomenon which was absent from Taiwan. Politics in South Korea were also
largely split along regional affiliations, compared to national identity in the case of
Taiwan.83
Bruce Cumings (1984) described both Taiwan and South Korea before their
contemporaneous democratization process as “bureaucratic-authoritarian
industrializing regimes” and included them with Japan as making up a regional
economic bloc.84 South Korea and Taiwan have both experienced ‘miraculous’
economic growth that earned them the nickname, along with Hong Kong and
Singapore, of the “Four Tigers (Dragons).” Prior to democratization, under the
successive authoritarian regimes of General Park Chung-hee (1963-1979) and the
more liberal Chun Do-hwan (1980-1988), the South Korean state promoted
development via trade expansion. The state relied on increasing its trade volume to
facilitate its economic plans, and utilized financial and fiscal incentives to encourage
large-scale investments, specifically in export industries. However, unlike the
trajectory of export-oriented growth in Taiwan, which was driven by small and
medium enterprises, the South Korean government encouraged the growth of largescale conglomerates that reaped substantial benefits from the state’s policies.85
83
Sung-Joo Han, “South Korea in 1987: The Politics of Democratization,” Asian Survey 28(1) January
1988, pp. 52-61. (See also Pei 1998.)
84
Bruce Cumings, “The Origins and Development of the Northeast Asian Political Economy:
Industrial sectors, product cycles, and political consequences,” International Organization 38 Winter
1984, pp. 1-40.
85
Cheng-tian Kuo, “Taiwan’s Distorted Democracy in Comparative Perspective,” In Wei-Chin Lee
(ed.) Taiwan in Perspective (Boston, Mass: Brill, 2000).
26
South Korean labor has also been able to develop a powerful and independent
movement that has consistently been more influential than labor unions in Taiwan.86
At least part of the reason that South Korean labor movements have had an easier
time of organizing is due to the diverging legacies of authoritarian rule. The KMT
regime in Taiwan was much more cohesive and more deeply entrenched in society
than the exclusive and military-led leadership exhibited in South Korea under Park
and Chun.87 State guidance in the economic policies of both South Korea and Taiwan
had lasting implications for each country’s respective growth path. Both countries
adopted corporatist economies to encourage growth and control labor relations under
the aegis of the state.
This brief comparison with South Korea highlights the differences in practice
between corporatist regimes. For this reason, choosing a question that accurately
measures a respondent’s support for a corporatist political-economic structure
requires careful scrutiny. The question from the survey that I use to approximate the
respondent’s support for corporatism is sensitive to the history of POEs under the
KMT regime in Taiwan. It is also a reliable measure as pertains to the literature on
the features of corporatism, as it investigates the respondent’s opinion of government
intervention in the free market. As discussed above, the KMT has historically had a
strong hand in controlling the direction of economic development. Taiwan’s
economy was nurtured by the KMT by virtue of its control of labor relations, adoption
of a series of economic plans, and intervention through financing and monopolization.
The question I chose to represent support for corporatism focuses on government
intervention. Responding that the government should continue to intervene in the free
86
Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 126. (See also Minns and Tierney 2003.) Kong (2005) shows that the strength
of the labor movement in Korea gave the Korean government incentive to incorporate it in a tri-partite
regime of labor-capital-state.
87
Kuo 2000, op. cit. (See also Kong 2005, op. cit., p. 168-9.)
27
market is taken as an indication of a preference for corporatism as the foundation of
Taiwan’s political economy.
b.
The Terror Threat
i.
Post 9/11 re-emergence
Nearly 30 years after corporatist theory’s re-articulation in the 1960s as an
alternative to the convergence model and its eulogization of the United States, Samuel
Huntington (1993) raised the specter of inexorable warfare.88 Huntington proposed
that implacable differences between civilizations would inevitably lead to violence,
warning that the major fault line in global politics would lie between western and
non-western nations. For many, Huntington’s theory represented the replacement of
communism, heretofore the greatest threat to western liberal democracy, with cultural
dissonance. Huntington’s clash of civilizations thesis was a criticism of Francis
Fukuyama’s (1992) assertion that liberal democracies had triumphed over all other
forms of governance following the end of the Cold War.89 Huntington cautioned
against unbridled optimism of the West’s triumph and jejune neglect of security
concerns. In an article entitled The Clash of Civilizations (1993), Huntington
theorized a nebulous bête noir, citing irreconcilable differences between civilizations
as the origin of future warfare.90 Huntington believed that fundamental differences
exist between civilizations, most importantly of all, religion.
In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, the clash of civilizations trope
was used extensively to generate support for a particular agenda of escalating U.S.
88
Samuel P. Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations,” Foreign Affairs 72(3) Summer 1993, pp. 22-49.
Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man (New York, NY: Free Press, 1992).
90
Huntington 1993, op. cit.
89
28
military activities in the Middle East.91 The same rhetoric was simultaneously used to
instill a general sense of fear among the population. For whatever purpose, the terror
exception legitimized the US government’s abrogation of civil liberties for defense
against a stateless entity based on a priori prejudices. A fear of unrestrained civil
liberties is not uncommon to government elites, as it was present among even the
founders of France and the United States, considered to be the exemplars of modern
liberal government. Przeworski (2010) notes that regarding the freedom to express
opinions uninhibited by government censure, US founders were ambivalent at best,
while the French founders were intolerant of it.92 Both the selective upholding of
civil rights to harass and target certain segments of society and the outright denial of
them have been a recurring story of the United States from its inception.93
A diminution of civil liberties in the United States has frequently occurred
during war or when there is a widespread belief, often disseminated by the mass
media, of an imminent threat to national security. The U.S. congress passed its first
Sedition Act in 1798, making it illegal for anyone to criticize the president. At the
time, the legislation was rationalized as necessary protection from the influence of
radical revolutionaries such as the Jacobin movement in France. During the postWWII era of anti-communist hysterics, subversive elements were monitored without
regard for civil liberties, professors were forced to take loyalty oaths, and writers,
actors and directors were blacklisted.94 Rehnquist (1998) reviews the subordination
of civil liberties to security concerns during past wars in the United States, including
President Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War, the Sedition
91
Mark B. Salter, “The Clash of Civilisations and the War on Terror(ists): An imperialist discourse,”
Global Dialogue 5(1/2) Winter 2003, pp. 116-25.
92
Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Limits of Self-Government (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2010).
93
Richard Hofstadter, The Idea of a Party System: The rise of legitimate opposition in the United
States, 1780-1840 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969). (See also Stone 2004.)
94
Anthony Lewis, “Civil Liberties in a Time of Terror,” Wisconsin Law Review (2) 2003, pp. 265.
29
and Espionage Acts during World War I, and Japanese internment during World War
II.95 Although Rehnquist doesn’t propose a clear method for judging the basis for
curtailing civil liberties, he implies that a mechanism to prevent overreliance on
extrajudicial measures should exist. Other authors are even more emphatic in
suggesting that civil liberties should be an appurtenance to the power of the policing
arm of the state during times of war.96 The willingness of citizens to allow
governments to suspend their civil rights fits Kaplow and Shavell’s (2002)
observation that legal and civil rights have nowhere been absolute.97
ii.
Evidence of the terror exception
Threat can have a tangible effect on beliefs and behaviors on both an
individual and societal level. Research has indicated that threat increases intolerance,
prejudice, ethnocentrism, and xenophobia, regardless of whether the threat is real or
subjectively construed. When the threat exists at a national level, it can result in
policies that are pejorative to civil liberties. Studies by Cottam (1994) and Hermann
(1988) show that elites, under conditions of threat, tend to face a more rigid decisionmaking environment and are more likely to promote dogmatic policies.98 Sales (1973)
found that periods of societal threat are associated with higher aggregate measures of
authoritarianism.99 Of greater concern for countries with experience under military
dictatorship, McCann (1997, 1998) found that greater societal threat increases
95
William H. Rehnquist, All the Laws but One: Civil liberties in wartime (New York, NY: Alfred A.
Knopf, Inc, 1998).
96
Richard A. Posner, “Security Versus Civil Liberties,” Atlantic Monthly 288(5) December 2001, pp.
46-48.
97
Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell, Fairness versus Welfare (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 2002).
98
Martha Cottam, Images and Interventions: U.S. policies in Latin America (Pittsburgh, PA:
University of Pittsburgh, 1994).
Richard K. Herrmann, “The Empirical Challenge of the Cognitive Revolution: A strategy for drawing
inferences about perceptions,” International Studies Quarterly 32(2) 1988, pp. 175-203.
99
Stephen M. Sales, “Threat as a Factor in Authoritarianism: An analysis of archival data,” Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology 28(1) 1973, pp. 44-57. (See also Doty et al. 1991.)
30
aggregate support for political candidates viewed as powerful, forceful, strong and
active.100
Scare tactics such as the terror threat demonstrate the inclination of political,
economic, social and cultural elites to evade the requirement of accountability on the
part of the state and other institutions, abuse their powers, influence the public and
manipulate expressions of nationalism and other forms of shared identity for purposes
of self-interest.101 Terror is a common stratagem used by conservatives to arrogate
powers at the expense of civil liberties. The post-9/11 context provides a
contemporary example to examine the relationship between public opinion and antiterror policies.102 The findings of many of these studies confirm Sales’ (1973)
observation that threat is one of the basic causes of authoritarianism.103
A series of polls taken immediately after the September 11th attacks showed
that an average of nearly 70 percent of Americans agreed that it would be necessary to
give up some civil liberties and personal freedoms as part of the war on terror.104 The
same authors found that support for anti-terror surveillance measures ranged from 26
percent (government monitoring of personal telephone calls and email) to 63 percent
(government monitoring of Internet chat groups). Nearly half, 45 percent, of
respondents supported using military tribunals to try suspected terrorists, and 61
percent supported a national ID system. Davis and Silver (2004) found in late 2001
100
Stewart J.H. McCann, “Threatening Times, ‘Strong’ Presidential Popular Vote Winners, and the
Victory Margin,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 73(1) 1997, pp. 160-70. See also
Steward J.H. McCann, “The Extended American Social, Economic, and Political Threat Index (17881992),” Journal of Psychology 132(4) 1998, pp. 435-49.
101
Victor Perez-Diaz, “The Possibility of Civil Society: Traditions, character and challenges,” In John
A. Hall (ed.) Civil Society: Theory, history, comparison (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Polity Press,
1995), p. 80-109.
102
Leonie Huddy, Stanley Feldman, Charles Taber and Gallya Lahav, “Threat, Anxiety, and Support of
Antiterrorism Policies,” American Journal of Political Science 49(3) 2005, pp. 593-608. (See also
Davis 2007; Davis and Silver 2004; Huddy, Khatib, and Capelos 2002; Merolla and Zechmeister 2009.)
103
Sales 1973, op. cit. (See also Rokeach 1960; Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, & Sanford 1950.)
104
Leonie Huddy, Nadia Khatib and Theresa Capelos, “The Polls-Trends: Reactions to the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001,” Public Opinion Quarterly 66 2002, pp. 431.
31
and 2002 varying levels of support for extra-constitutional measures such as
warrantless searches of suspected terrorists (23 percent), indefinite detention of noncitizen suspected terrorists (47 percent), government monitoring of telephone and email communications (34 percent), and requiring national ID cards (54 percent) in late
2001 and 2002.105
These studies show that a person who is fearful of terrorism has a higher
tolerance threshold for authoritarian measures implemented by the government. From
these findings, it is safe to say that an unreasonably fearful citizenry is anathema to
the principles of liberal governance. Perez-Diaz (1995) worries that pluralism is
being threatened by absolutism, dogmatism and totalitarian tendencies as a result of
unremitting traditional and non-traditional security threats, including terrorism.106 A
high level of fear in a society may tempt the government of a young democracy to
exploit the opportunity to roll back the achievements of social and labor movements
and hinder their development.
iii.
The Terror Threat in Taiwan
Taiwan has had a long and varied experience with colonial masters and
external powers, the most prominent being a European power (the Dutch in the 17th
century), the first imperial power among Asian nations (Japan from 1895-1945), and
the KMT émigré regime (1947-?). Taiwan has been both fortuitous and cursed by its
position in the region, with the island being the setting of fierce violence and foreign
invasions until the early 20th century. Some Taiwanese still today express resentment
105
Darren W. Davis and Brian D. Silver, “Civil Liberties vs. Security: Public opinion in the context of
the terrorist attacks on America,” American Journal of Political Science 48 2004, pp. 28-46. (See also
Mondak and Hurwitz 2012.)
106
Perez-Diaz 1995, op. cit.
32
over the lack of independent sovereignty for the islanders in the past. 107 Prior to the
20th century, Taiwan attracted foreign traders who stopped on the island en route to or
from the mainland, as well as pirates and vigilantes. After the First Sino-Japanese
War, Taiwan came under the influence of the Japanese imperial court. Japan’s
leaders were intent on establishing a colonial empire, and integrated Taiwan into their
ambitions. Japan was forced to renounce its imperial ambitions following WWII, and
after Chiang Kai-shek’s removal to the island, Taiwan became an unofficial ally of
the United States. Many Taiwanese celebrated Japan’s defeat and departure, hopeful
of finally being granted self-autonomy. Tens of thousands lined the streets in
anticipation of the victorious Chinese Nationalist soldiers.108 Most expected that
mutual respect and comity would govern the relations between the liberated island
and Mainland China.109
The ROC government on Taiwan from the end of World War II until 1949
turned out to be an affront to the Taiwanese public. About forty-eight thousand
soldiers arrived from the mainland within the first year after the Japanese surrender.
To the Taiwanese, these soldiers were overwhelmingly uneducated, poorly disciplined
and slovenly.110 After being accustomed to the highly educated and well-trained
Japanese, the sight of the war heroes was a shock for many. The soldiers’ behavior
soon proved the worst of the islanders’ anxieties correct. Any area that hosted KMT
soldiers proliferated in carpet-bagging and outright theft. With the onset of inflation
after the war, it became impossible for a KMT soldier to survive on his pay alone.
Looting and plundering of the local population became de rigueur for the soldiers and
107
See Teh-fu Huang and Ching-hsin Yu, “Developing a party System and Democratic Consolidation,”
In Steve Tsang and Hung-mao Tien. Democratization in Taiwan: Implications for China (Hong Kong
University Press, 1999), p. 85-100 for a description of Taiwan’s ‘sweet potato culture.’
108
Hung 2011, op. cit.
109
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 5. (See also Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 58)
110
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 59.
33
officers of the ROC army, following the precedent set on the mainland. The looting
was initially confined to the homes of Japanese expatriates, but soon spread to
Taiwanese homes, schools, hospitals and temples.111 The appointed administration
under Chen Yi was soon despised for coming ostensibly to depredate the entire
island.112 At the end of 1945, the Japanese colonial administration owned about twothirds of all land on Taiwan. All of this was confiscated by the KMT, as well as some
500 Japanese factories, private houses, and companies engaged in primary or
secondary production, accounting for about 17 percent of Taiwan’s total GDP at the
time.113
From a Taiwanese perspective, this activity was reprehensible. However, the
ROC soldiers and officers involved in the spoliation believed that the Taiwanese
should be grateful to the soldiers for liberating the island from the imperialist
Japanese.114 Therein, the Taiwanese should gladly contribute to sustaining the ROC
soldiers on the island, rebuilding the mainland after the war, and supporting the KMT
in the Chinese civil war as a matter of patriotic duty. According to this perspective, if
the Taiwanese did not see things in this manner, it was due to invidious Japanese
sympathies. An estimated 90 percent of all economic enterprises on Taiwan (most of
them taken over directly from the Japanese) were appropriated by the Chen Yi
administration between 1945 and 1947.115
Regardless of the legitimate criticisms of Japanese colonial rule, the period
from 1895-1945 irrevocably set the island apart from its former claimant, the
mainland regime. Tokyo envisaged turning Taiwan into a model colony as proof to
the western imperial powers in the region of Japan’s qualification as a great power.
111
Ibid, p. 62-65.
Schaefferer 2003, op. cit., p. 23.
113
Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 35-6.
114
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 58.
115
Hung 2011, op. cit., p. 322.
112
34
Compared to the brutal tact taken in Korea, Taiwan was treated fairly well by the
Japanese. By the end of its period as a colony of the Japanese, Taiwan had become a
socially stable and urbanized society. Agriculture developed impressively under the
adept management of Japanese technocrats and the unrestricted importation of
Japanese expertise. The colonial administration also brought many diseases under
control, including malaria, dengue fever, typhus fever, and cholera.116 When the first
ROC soldiers came over following the end of WWII, Taiwan was probably more
developed economically than any province in China.117
After Chiang Kai-shek’s defeat by the communists, he fled to Taiwan where
ROC forces had been stationed since the end of the war. He hoped to occupy Taiwan
long enough to defend against an inevitable communist attack, regroup, and then
retake the mainland. Chiang faced deteriorating circumstances as the U.S. cut
military funding to the ROC and abandoned Chiang to his fate. Fortunately for the
Generalissimo, the Korean War broke out before the communists could deploy the
150,000 troops rumored to have been mobilized to attack the ROC on Taiwan, and the
KMT regime survived its inchoate period on Taiwan riding the coattails of United
States military support and nonmilitary aid amounting to $100 million annually from
1954-1964.118
Wu and Cheng (2011) suggest that the KMT regime had a more tenuous claim
to legitimacy than other authoritarian governments because of its emigration from the
mainland and of the enmity felt by local Taiwanese after the 2-28 Incident.119 Chiang
crushed organized opposition by pacifying, killing, or forcing into exile the leaders
most ardently against the KMT. The memory of martial law still draws considerable
116
Hung 2011, op. cit., p. 269
John Minns and Robert Tierney, “The Labour Movement in Taiwan,” Labour History 85 November
2003, pp. 103-28.
118
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 151.
119
Wu and Cheng, op. cit., p. 239-40.
117
35
Taiwanese rancor.120 The period known as the ‘white terror’ lasted from 1949 until
1987, and was based on four laws curtailing civil liberties and political rights: the
Martial Law, the Criminal Code, the National General Mobilization Law, and the
Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion.121
Martial law prohibited the establishment of political parties, and restricted the
freedoms of speech, assembly, association and communication.122 Article 100 of the
Criminal Code stipulated harsh punishment for any person who committed an overt
act with the intent to destroy the organization of the state, seize state territory, change
the constitution by illegal means, or overthrow the government. The National
General Mobilization Law granted the government the authority to restrict or prohibit
newspapers, press wire services, and the printing of articles and other materials
arbitrarily. In addition to these three laws, the KMT government promulgated the
Temporary Provisions in April 1948 to justify its repression of dissident voices on the
island. The articles in the Temporary Provisions granted extensive powers to the
president during the period of civil war with the communists, nullifying key
provisions of the ROC constitution.123 Even after the lifting of martial law in 1987,
the Temporary Provisions remained in effect until 1991 when both a unified
opposition and pressure from within Lee Teng-hui’s own party finally brought to an
120
The recent controversy over the sale of Want Want Media is just one example. Lak-sin Loa,
"Students Pan ‘Martial Law’ Rules." - Taipei Times. 8 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. And also Loksin Loa, Hsiu-chuan Shih, and Stacy Hsu, "Ma Meets Protests at Human Rights Event." - Taipei Times.
11 Dec. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
121
Schaefferer 2003, op. cit., p. 5-6.
122
Chyuan-jeng Shiau, “Civil Society and Democratization,” In Steve Tsang and
Hung-mao Tien (eds.) Democratization in Taiwan: Implications for China (Hong Kong: Hong Kong
University Press, 1999), pp. 105.
123
Schaefferer 2003, op. cit., p. 6.
36
end the Temporary Provisions and with it, the period of civil war as far as the ROC
was concerned.124
China was a constant presence in the terror threat ideology for the residents of
Taiwan during the period of martial law and has continued to be a cause for angst
among a considerable segment of Taiwanese.125 Throughout the post-war period, the
rival KMT and CCP regimes regarded each other as rebellious traitors and vowed to
extirpate one another. The KMT enacted the aforementioned laws making up the
legal framework of martial law ostensibly for the security of the state. While the peril
of violence has shrouded the relationship across the Taiwan Strait, the two sides have
refrained from escalating the discord into full-scale military conflict. The respective
militaries have rarely been mobilized in overt displays of aggression, with notable
exceptions being the 1954-55 and 1958 bombardment by the Chinese of several
offshore islands belonging to the KMT, and the 1995-96 Missile Crisis in retaliation
for Lee Teng-hui’s visit to Cornell.126
In the 1970s Taiwan’s claim to sovereignty over the mainland, as well as its
international prestige was severely damaged when the United States and China began
moving towards rapprochement. Taiwan relinquished its seat in the UN just prior to a
General Assembly vote granting the CCP regime in Beijing the seat belonging to
China. The diminution in the KMT’s international standing forced the party to
124
The official end of the civil war between the PRC and the ROC has proven elusive, as a peace pact
has yet to be signed. See "Taiwan-China Peace Accord 'Very Unlikely:' AIT Ex-Head."
WantChinaTimes.com. 11 Apr. 2013. Web. 06 May 2013.
125
Emerson Niou, “The China Factor in Taiwan’s Domestic Politics,” In Philip Paolino and James
Meernik (eds.) Democratization in Taiwan: Challenges in transformation (Burlington, VT: Ashgate,
2000), pp. 167.
126
For a detailed account of the 1954-55 Crisis, see Gordon H. Chang and He Di, “The Absence of
War in the U.S.-China Confrontation over Quemoy and Matsu in 1954-1955: Contingency, luck,
deterrence,” The American Historical Review 98(5) 1993, pp. 1500-1524. For more on the 1958 crisis,
see Marian D. Irish, “Public Opinion and American Foreign Policy: The Quemoy Crisis of 1958,” The
Political Quarterly 31(2) April 1960, pp. 151-162. For more on the 1995-96 Cross-Strait Crisis, see
Robert S. Ross, “The 1995-96 Taiwan Strait Confrontation: Coercion, credibility, and the use of force,”
International Security. 25(2) 2000, pp. 87-123.
37
reconsider its singular focus on the communist threat. As the KMT’s hopes of
reconquering the mainland dissipated, the justification for privileging the military in
economic affairs also lost credibility. The government began spending less on the
military and emphasized economic growth and development apart from the needs of
the armed forces. The loss of UN recognition was also a serious setback for the KMT
regime, as it challenged the raison d’être of martial law and basic legitimacy of the
government. Needing to restore some dignity to the regime and bolster its legitimacy
on the island itself, the KMT began in the mid-1970s to strengthen its ties with local
Taiwanese.127
The process of ‘Taiwanization’ was an attempt to mollify criticisms against
the KMT by cultivating local Taiwanese political talent. As a result, the proportion of
Taiwanese in the KMT grew steadily from the mid-1970s on. Taiwanization was
carried on more fervently after Chiang Kai-shek’s death in 1975 and the subsequent
ascent of his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, to the presidency in 1978.128 Despite the
younger Chiang’s conservative lineage and credentials (he served as supervisor of the
commissar system in the armed forces, head of the internal security network, founder
of a youth “anticommunist” organization, and defense minister), he demonstrated a
commitment to reforming the KMT. Among his priorities were expanding the efforts
of recruiting local Taiwanese into higher positions in the government, favoring
technocrats over traditional party-connected individuals, and actively exposing and
punishing government corruption.129
President Chiang Ching-kuo also pursued economic ties with other countries
and actively sought to expand Taiwan’s international trade and increase the volume of
127
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 6.
Vice president Yen Chia-kan served the rest of Chiang Kai-shek’s term in office, from 1975-1978.
See Roy (2003 op. cit., p. 156.)
129
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 157.
128
38
foreign direct investments coming into Taiwan. Although there was still mutual
discord between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the younger Chiang devoted a
greater proportion of economic resources to major infrastructure projects, subsidizing
research and development activities, and opening a high-tech industrial park, rather
than to the defense budget.130 During the Chiang Ching-kuo period the KMT
replaced “recovering the mainland and reunifying China” with “building up Taiwan”
and “shared affluence” as primary slogans.131
After Chiang Ching-kuo’s death in 1988, his vice president Lee Teng-hui
became the first native Taiwanese president, albeit elected by a vote within the KMT
party congress rather than via popular election. Conservative members of the KMT
resolutely opposed Lee’s nomination, fearing that their position in the party would
deteriorate rapidly under his leadership. Their opposition exacerbated the existing
disunity within the party between mainlander conservatives and reformers.132 Lee
Teng-hui lacked a loyal base within the KMT and faced a hostile faction of
conservative mainlanders who resolutely opposed further democratization and
Taiwanization of the party. However, the conservative faction’s standing in the party
had already been progressively diminishing. A growing middle-class of Taiwanese
supported gradual reform and stability, and political liberalization had further
solidified the reformers’ position vis-à-vis the conservative faction. The lifting of
martial law in 1988, and abrogation of the Temporary Provisions in 1991 paved the
way for national elections to the Legislative Yuan and National Assembly, the first
time that all of the members of both bodies were elected by the Taiwanese.133
130
Huang and Yu 1999, op. cit., p. 89.
Chu, Yun-han. 2012a. “The Taiwan Factor,” Journal of Democracy (January) 23(1): pp. 42-56, p.46.
132
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 170.
133
Schafferer 2003 op. cit., p. 62 (See also Chu 1998.)
131
39
Lee Teng-hui was also adroit at outmaneuvering his conservative rivals within
the party. The DPP’s strong performance in the 1992 Legislative Yuan elections
allowed Lee to skillfully position himself between the DPP and conservative KMT
faction, at times forming an alliance with the former to isolate the latter.134 With his
position at the pinnacle of the KMT affirmed, the conservative faction became
irreparably ostracized from the party, and split to form the Chinese New Party (later
to become known as the New Party, or NP). Lee continued to encourage further
‘Taiwanization’ of the government and endorsed stronger ties with the international
community and more ‘international space’ for Taiwan.135
The leadership in Beijing watched with apprehension as the momentum for
democratic reforms spread organically from a democratization movement led by the
dangwai to the KMT’s own championing of Taiwanization. President Lee Teng-hui
embraced both symbolic and substantive reforms designed to relinquish the KMT’s
claim over all of China. On April 30, 1991, Lee abrogated the Temporary Provisions,
bringing an official denouement to the civil war between the communists and
nationalists on the Taiwanese side. In his first year as president, Lee announced plans
to gradually reduce the number of military personnel and removed the restriction
against soldiers joining political parties other than the KMT.136 The CCP interpreted
President Lee’s actions as confirmation that the new leadership in Taiwan wished to
renounce its ties with the mainland and move towards independence.
If the reforms implemented by Lee Teng-hui drew Beijing’s ire, the DPP
platform was anathema to CCP leaders. The DPP had originated in the 1970s when
intellectuals and politicians began organizing with the hope of transforming politics
from outside of the party-state. The amorphous dangwai movement was generally
134
Hsiao and Ho 2010, op. cit., p. 50.
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 171.
136
Ibid. (See also Schaefferer 2003 op.cit., p. 9.)
135
40
split into two groups: politicians and activists. These groups had different but
complementary strategies for opposing the KMT’s authoritarian rule. The activists
were composed of intellectuals who published prolifically and made rudimentary
attempts to build a nationwide movement. Although certain subjects were taboo, such
as personal attacks on the Chiangs, favorable comments about the PRC, advocating
independence, or any challenge to the legitimacy of the Nationalist government, these
dissidents still had plenty of substantive pabulum from which to challenge the
authoritarian party.137
The dangwai politicians preoccupied themselves with nurturing support bases
to challenge the KMT through local elections.138 Initially, the opposition confined its
demands to political liberalization, including political neutrality on the part of the
military and security agencies, the judiciary and the civil service, equal media access,
and regulations on the KMT’s party-owned enterprises.139 Most of these issues were
addressed on the KMT’s own initiative in the 1980s, after the party had conceded that
the futility of violence against the opposition, economic growth, Taiwanization of the
KMT, and international recognition of China had made liberalization a fait accompli.
With these demands met, new cleavages came to the fore, disaggregating the
opposition movement into factions that still hinder the unity of the party today.140
Although the DPP formally abolished factions in 2006, spheres of influence
still exist and the New Tide faction has remained a major player in intra-party
137
Zeigler 1988, op. cit.
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 17.
139
Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 59.
140
After Tsai Ing-wen’s defeat in the 2012 presidential election, the New Tide faction has emerged as
the biggest winner within the DPP. See below. Frank Hsieh’s recent visit to China also illustrates the
continuing inability of the DPP to formulate a united position on its orientation toward China, thanks
primarily due to differences of opinion between the factions Enru Lin, "New Tide Takes Lion's Share
in DPP Poll." Www.ChinaPost.com.tw. 16 July 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
138
41
politics.141 New Tide Magazine was founded in 1984 by activists from the Writers
and Editors Alliance, and became the eponym for the faction containing its members
within the DPP. The New Tide faction was overtly pro-independence, and advocated
aggressive demonstrations to force democratic reforms. On the other hand, the
Formosa Faction generally followed a more centrist ideology and was based on
personalities more so than issues.142 Over time the issues at stake in the jostling
between factions have included cooperation or confrontation with the ruling KMT,
the ideological orientation of the party between moderation and radicalism, and the
party’s orientation toward Taiwan independence. Both factions have at times been
dominant within the DPP. Many pro-independence exiles returned to the island in
1990 and bolstered the New Tide’s position in the party. However, the 1991 National
Assembly elections were a devastating defeat for the New Tide faction, as voters
overwhelmingly rejected the DPP’s radical independence platform.143 After 1991, the
DPP de-emphasized independence and reformulated its position on independence,
suggesting that making a formal declaration of independence was superfluous,
equating the current status quo with Taiwanese independence.144
Notwithstanding the DPP’s shying away from explicitly demanding formal
independence, the KMT used the threat of Chinese invasion profusely in election
campaigns throughout the 1990s. Attacking the DPP for ignorantly inviting an attack
from the mainland became an inveterate part of the KMT’s election strategy. During
the 1991 National Assembly elections, some KMT advertisements used imagery of
the Tiananmen massacre and the PRC invading India and Vietnam and warned that
the DPP’s proposal for rewriting the constitution would result in war. During the
141
Enru Lin, "New Tide Takes Lion's Share in DPP Poll." Www.ChinaPost.com.tw. 16 July 2012. Web.
06 May 2013.
142
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 25-34.
143
Ibid, p. 31.
144
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 91.
42
1995 Legislative Yuan elections the KMT used the slogan, ‘Giving the DPP a chance
is giving Taiwan independence a chance, even more it is giving the CCP a chance to
militarily attack Taiwan.’ The trend continued in the 1997 and 1998 executive
elections, with slogans proclaiming ‘DPP = Taiwan independence = war.’145
Advertisements admonishing that, ‘The DPP only dares to shout about the Taiwan
Independence Clause to Taiwan independence fanatics, when faced with the stability
loving middle class it puts on the mask of happiness and hope’ appeared in these later
elections, marking a subtle shift in the foundation of its attacks.146 Campaign ads of
this kind targeted Chen Shui-bian, who the KMT derided as a prototypical vacillating,
self-interested politician. During the 2000 presidential elections, one particularly
poignant TV ad was the ‘Off to war ad,’ which showed young Taiwanese singing
“I’m off to war, I’m off to war, because of Abian’s [Chen Shui-bian’s] one sentence
‘Long Live Taiwan independence’ Taiwan will be engulfed in the fires of war and 85
percent of Taiwan’s 20-29-year olds will immediately go to the battlefield.” The
ending of the ad showed the Taiwanese youth waving goodbye with the slogan,
‘Abian shouts Taiwan independence, war starts in the Taiwan Strait.’147
The mainstream KMT led by Lee Teng-hui has also used similar tactics in
jockeying against the non-mainstream, conservative faction of its own party. After
1991, Lee Teng-hui further consolidated his support within the KMT. The foremost
conservative KMT rival of Lee, Premier Hau Pei-tsun, retired in 1993, and in the
same year, conservative mainlanders split from the KMT.148 The defection of the
conservative wing allowed the KMT to find a comfortable niche, vilifying both the
NP and DPP as extremists on the unification-independence spectrum, while
145
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 106.
Ibid, p. 106.
147
Ibid. p. 108
148
Ibid, p. 16-17. (See also Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 73.)
146
43
presenting itself as the party of stability. For example, one slogan stated, ‘Refuse the
Taiwan independence, violent and drug selling DPP, refuse the power seeking, profit
seeking and rapid unification NP.’ During the 1994 provincial governor and city
mayor elections (the first in which the NP took part), the KMT lambasted the NP for
promoting ‘rapid unification,’ and obeisance to the CCP. One ad concluded, ‘The NP
shouts loudly protect the ROC, and actually it is forcing Taiwan to be annexed by the
CCP.’ The KMT recycled the China threat in the 1996 presidential elections against
the NP. One of the KMT’s ads mimicked a New Party slogan by adding an extra
word to each keyword. It read, ‘New leadership = Jiang Zemin, New Order =
People’s Liberation Army, New Hope = Unified.’149
The China threat has been a recurring theme of Taiwanese politics. The CCP
in Beijing is a hostile neighbor that has never renounced the use of force against
Taiwan and has in the past made threatening public statements directed towards
Taiwanese politicians and citizens. Moreover, politicians in Taiwan are quick to
manipulate the China issue for political gain. Threat is therefore a conspicuous part
of the political theater in Taiwan. As previous studies have shown, this enduring
threat may heighten a citizen’s sensitivity to the terror exception, with the
consequence that Taiwanese are generally more willing to exchange civil liberties for
protection. The question in the survey used to measure a respondent’s internalization
of terrorism as a realistic threat is posed as, “Suppose the government suspected that a
terrorist act was about to happen. Do you think the authorities should have the right
to…[1] detain people for as long as they want without putting them on trial; [2] tap
people’s telephone conversations; [3] stop and search people in the street at random.”
Each item asks the respondent to mark their level of agreement or disagreement with
149
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 104.
44
the options, “Definitely should have right,” “Probably should have right,” “Probably
should not have right,” “Definitely should not have right,” and “Can’t choose.” The
results of the regression analysis will show the extent of the relationship between
societal fear and support for civil rights in Taiwan.
c.
Confucianism
i.
Confucian culture
East Asia features some of the world’s most ethnically homogenous countries,
led by the notorious case of Japan.150 Taiwan isn’t exceptional, with 98 percent of its
population descendent from Han Chinese. Of that population, 70 percent are from
southern Fujian Province, 15 percent are of Hakka origin, and 12 percent are
‘Mainlander’ (immigrants after WWII).151 Within the region, China, Taiwan, South
Korea, Japan and Vietnam are referred to as Confucian-dominant cultures. Taiwan’s
ethnic homogeneity and the influence of Confucianism may lead to a higher tolerance
for authoritarian policies among its citizens. Some scholars believe that participatory
democracy is incongruous with East Asian countries because of the reach of
paternalism in these Confucian-dominated societies.152
Confucianism developed in the rice-agriculture societies of East Asia and has
been credited with imbuing in those countries a strong sense of kinship and collective
ideals emphasizing the welfare of the village community over the individual.153 As a
result, these societies lacked any concept of universal public good or public rights,
150
Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner, Democracy in East Asia (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1998).
151
"Society: Ethnic groups." Taiwanese Cultural Society. Web. 30 Nov. 2012.
<http://taiwanese.stanford.edu/taiwan-society>.
152
Lucian W. Pye, Asian Power and Politics (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press,
1985).
153
Yasusuke Murakami, “Le Society as a Pattern of Civilization,” Journal of Japanese Studies 10(2)
Summer 1984, pp. 279-363.
45
such as assembly, participation, or protest.154 Subjects were expected to appeal to
paternalistic authorities rather than act separately from the collective, either as an
individual, or as a smaller group within the community. For thousands of years
Confucian thought was embedded in the state institutions and structure of Chinese
society. After WWII, Confucian state structures and schools as a formal part of state
institutions basically disappeared. The associated norms of propriety, education, selfcultivation, and social order, however, have remained influential in popular culture, as
well as behavior.155
Confucius lived twenty-five hundred years ago during a time when the Zhou
Dynasty was dissolving. Nostalgic for the perceived order and prosperity of the Zhou
at the height of its power, Confucius devoted much of his writings to the method of
restoring proper governance to the people. He grew up in a family of modest means,
even though he was a descendent of the former Yin dynasty aristocracy.156 Confucius
has had an ineffable impact on East Asian countries, perhaps most directly in the case
of China. Slingerland (2008) points out that from 1313 until 1910, memorizing the
core of the Confucian teachings was required of every single educated Chinese.157
Much of what is considered to be Confucian thought is unlikely to have been
taken directly from the master’s own writings, but filtered through his many disciples.
Regardless of their sources, the Four Books [including two books, Lunyu (The
154
Edward Shils, “Reflections on Civil Society and Civility in the Chinese Intellectual Tradition,” In
Tu Wei-ming (ed.) Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard
University Press, 1996), pp. 71.
155
Jeffrey Broadbent Vicky Brockman, East Asian Social Movements: Power, protest and change in a
dynamic region (New York: Spring Science and Business Media, LLC, 2011).
For example, the recent controversy over a student’s impertinent remarks to the Minister of Education
sheds light on beliefs about respect for social position and appropriate behavior towards people in
positions of authority. See Mei-hsiu Hung and Jennifer Huang. "Professors Back Petition against
School Apology." - Taipei Times. 7 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
156
Kung-chuan Hsiao, A History of Chinese Political Thought, Volume One: From the beginnings to
the sixth century A.D. (trans. F.W. Mote) (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979).
157
Edward Slingerland, “Classical Confucianism (I): Confucius and the Lun-Yu,” In Bo Mou (ed.).
Routledge History of Chinese Philosophy (New York, NY: Routledge, 2008).
46
Analects) and Mengzi (Mencius), and two articles Daxue (Great Learning) and
Zhongyong (The Doctrine of the Mean), adopted from the book Liji (The Book of
Rites)] are the foundation from which Confucian culture is derived. The questions
contemplated in these writings are the essence of man and community, becoming a
complete man in the community, and the methods and goals of state management.158
The Analects is considered the most authentic of the classic texts and is a
reflection of Confucius’ thoughts on the essence of man. Benevolence and reciprocity
are two of the integral ideas elucidated. Of the Four Books, Mencius says the most
about community and administration of the state. To win over the people of the
nation, the sovereign should always regard the interests of the people first.
Confucians believe that the value of the community and the value of the self are
supplementary to one another. The relationship between these two values is
contained in chengren (complete others) and chengji (complete self). The Doctrine of
the Mean supplies the ontological foundation for this ideal of mutually benefitting
man and community, suggesting that man achieves metaphysical actualization when
he completes himself and others. Confucian thought on social governance is
developed in the last of the Four Books, the Great Learning. In this work, Confucius
proposes the “three creeds” of illustrating virtue, reforming the people, and attaining
excellence as principles and stratagems for managing the state.159 The Great
Learning teaches the method in which one can behave morally, regulate the family,
govern the state, and stabilize the world.160
Confucianism has been described as an ideology, religion and belief system on
which East Asian society is based. Its content includes moral, social, political and
158
Weixi Hu, “On Confucian communitarianism,” Frontiers of Philosophy in China 2(4) October 2007,
pp. 475-487.
159
Zhongde Liu and Luo Zhiye (eds.), The Chinese / English Four Books (trans. Legge J). Changsha:
Hunan Chubanshe, 1992), pp. 541.
160
Hu 2007, op. cit.
47
religious expositions. In the political realm, Confucianism supposes that an ideal civil
society is submissive, with each actor behaving according to his/her position in a
hierarchy. According to Confucianism, the social order consists of five cardinal
relationships: rulers and subjects, husbands and wives, parents and children, siblings,
and friends.161 Strict observance of not only law, but also customs and mores is
necessary to maintain such a rigid social structure. Besides behaving appropriately to
one’s place in society, virtue is esteemed and each individual, and particularly the
sovereign, is expected to cultivate oneself and educate others.162 Regarding the
interaction between society and state, Confucianism teaches that the state should be
an extension of the family. It envisions a paternalist government as the paragon of the
state-society relationship.163 Uniformity in thought and an emphasis on the good of
the state rather than the good of the individual are requisites for a perfect society.164
Holding the state together is a virtuous leader who takes care of his people, akin to
Plato’s “philosopher king.”165
In Confucian thought, the moral quality of the leader is therefore the most
consequential aspect for the vitality of a state. A healthy society and state rely upon a
moral leader to “rule by virtue” rather than through “rule by laws.” According to this
reasoning, the leader simply needs to be virtuous and internalize the moral character
of a “gentleman,” and the people will follow. Although the moral fiber of rulers in
East Asia during the Cold War is equivocal, authoritarian rulers in the region
161
Samuel Yamashita, “Confucianism and the Modern Japanese State 1904-1945,” In Tu Wei-ming
(ed.) Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity: Moral education and economy and culture in
Japan and the four mini-dragons (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1996), pp. 153.
162
Wm. Theodore De Bary, East Asian Civilizations: A dialogue in five stages (Cambridge, Mass:
Harvard University Press, 1988).
163
Broadbent and Brockman 2011, op. cit.
164
Hu 2007, op. cit.
165
Hsiao 1979 op. cit., p. 88.
48
generally escaped accountability to citizens and international criticism over their
illiberal practices by virtue of having powerful benefactors.166
Scholars who use the lens of Confucianism to investigate East Asian societies
have attributed a panoply of social, political, economic and psychological/behavioral
phenomena to Confucian beliefs. One study implicates Confucian thought in
diminishing women’s participation in leisure activities in Taiwan.167 Another stream
of literature investigates Confucianism’s orientation vis-à-vis liberal western
democratic practice. Shi and Lu (2010) focus specifically on the compatibility of
minwei bangben (the people alone are the basis of the state) with democracy in China
and Taiwan. They assert that the precept of minben is the wellspring of paternalism
in Confucianism, as it prioritizes the welfare of the people to maintain the rulers in
power, rather than extending political rights to the subjects.168 The authors found that
minben did, in fact, have a measurable impact on both Chinese and Taiwanese
citizens’ views of democracy. Conversely, Chaibong (2004) warns that
Confucianism’s incongruence with liberal democracy should not be taken for granted.
Rather than linger on authoritarian rulers’ use of Confucianism, he believes that we
should remain cognizant of the potential for a “free at last” Confucianism that will be
renewed and reinvigorated once East Asian countries have become fully consolidated
democracies.169 Jung (1999) offers a pointed critique of Huntington’s (1991)
dismissal of Confucianism as incompatible with liberal democracy, arguing instead
that Confucian thought clearly contains elements contrary to authoritarianism, such as
166
Muthia Alagappa, Civil Society and Political Change in Asia: Expanding and contracting
democratic space (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004). See also Gold 1996; Yamashita
1996.)
167
Chiung-Tzu Lucetta Tsai, “The Influence of Confucianism on Women’s Leisure in Taiwan,”
Leisure Studies 25(4) November 2006, pp. 469-476.
168
Tianjian Shi and Jie Lu, “The Shadow of Confucianism,” Journal of Democracy 21(4) October .
2010, pp. 125.
169
Hahm Chaibong, “The Ironies of Confucianism,” Journal of Democracy 15(3) 2004, pp. 106.
49
an immanent suspicion of absolute knowledge and transcendental beings.170 He goes
further in averring that, Confucianism has actually shown less of a predilection for
totalitarianism, religious fanaticism, and terrorism than either Christianity or Islam.171
ii.
Asian values debate
Between the 1970s and 1980s the “Four Asian Tigers”- Singapore, Hong
Kong, South Korea and Taiwan- began receiving international attention for their high
economic growth and rapid industrialization. This phenomenon inspired a
Singaporean Prime Minister to hypothesize about the salutary effects that Asian
Values might have on economic performance. Along with the Asian Tigers, Japan’s
remarkable post-war re-industrialization and ascension to the world’s second largest
economy further instantiated the claims of Asian Values adherents. More recently,
China’s double-digit annual growth rate and sustained positive performance through
the 2008 financial crisis have further piqued interest in the mystique of Asian Values
and its core Confucian culture.172
At the zenith of enthusiasm for the emerging economic success of Asian
nations in the 1980s, Lee Kuan Yew, suggested more stridently that Asian Values
were a unifying regional ideology. He argued that Asian countries shared particular
cultural characteristics that should serve as the foundation for political economies
adapted for the region. Asian Values derives from the paternalist beliefs of
Confucianism. Scholars who argue from this perspective believe that Confucianism’s
170
Kang Jung, “Confucianism and Democracy in East Asia: A critique of Samuel P. Huntington’s third
wave,” Korea Journal 39(3) 1999, pp. 322.
171
Jung emphasizes Confucianism’s religious aspects to compare it with Christianity and Islam. The
question of the extent to which Confucianism can be likened to a religion will continue without
resolution.
172
See David H.D. Truong, “Striving Towards ‘Doi Moi’ II,” Southeast Asian Affairs (Singapore:
Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, 1998), p. 328-39 for more on Vietnam’s economic growth after
liberalization.
50
privileging of the leader over the individual has a salubrious effect on economic
growth.173 According to Confucian thought, aggrandizing the state and maintaining
its health is the apotheosis of political relations. Some scholars go so far as to
deprecate western liberalism as ill-suited for the East Asian Confucian states.174
Reminiscent of the criticisms made against convergence theory, Asian Values have
also been used as an equipoise to liberalism’s preponderance. Asian Values were
especially useful to Lee Kuan Yew for deflecting criticisms of Singapore’s paternalist
and illiberal form of rule, and to absolve it of responsibility for numerous human
rights violations.175
There is some debate over the origins of Asian Values, with the earliest
proposed formulation deriving from personal statements Yew made in the 1950s.176
Irrespective of its origin, various actors have used the Asian Values paradigm for
contradictory purposes. During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the same cultural
foundation that had hitherto been credited for engendering economic growth was now
derided for its deleterious effects. Several articles indicted specific aspects of Asian
culture such as the importance of personal relationships in staffing, the indifference to
widespread corruption and bribery, suspect corporate management, and connections
between politicians and businessmen as precipitating the economic crisis. World
leaders made disparaging remarks directly accusing Asian values of culpability in the
Asian Financial Crisis.177 The contumely was tinged with criticism of Confucianism
as an inappropriate belief system from which state and economy should be structured.
173
Richard H. Franke, Geert Hofstede, and Michael H. Bond, “Cultural Roots of Economic
Performance: A research note,” Strategic Management Journal 12(S1): Summer 1991, pp. 165-73.
174
Pye 1985, op. cit. (See also Kausikan 1997; Tatsuo 1999; Bell and Hahm 2003.)
175
Fukuyama 1992, op. cit., p. 23. (See also (Barr 2000; Ojendal and Antlov 1998, p. 527.)
176
Michael D. Barr, “Lee Kuan Yew and the ‘Asian Values’ Debate,” Asian Studies Review 24(3)
September 2000, pp. 309-34.
177
Seung-hwan Lee, “The Significance of ‘Asian Values’ and Discursive Space,” Korean Journal 41(3)
Autumn 2001, pp. 198-212.
51
iii.
Trust in the ruler
In addition to the Asian Values debate, scholarly attention on China has
crescendoed in the past thirty years. The scope of this voluminous literature touches
on the social, cultural, economic and political dimensions of ancient Chinese
civilization. With China’s growing economic clout, scholars have shown an interest
in investigating the potential impact of Chinese culture on global affairs. Chinese
political scientists at Tsinghua University led by Yan Xue-tong and Daniel Bell have
inspired philosophical rumination over the influence Confucianism and ancient
Chinese political thought may have on the field of international relations.178
Proponents of this school argue that Confucianism compares favorably to
contemporary western liberalism and its erroneous worldview organized by nationstates. Instead of the “individual, community and nation-state,” Chinese political
thought is structured upon “Tianxia [all-under-heaven], state, and family.”179 Critics
of this approach ridicule this explication of Confucianism as a feeble attempt at
moralizing the authoritarian features of China and Confucian countries in East Asia.
Callahan (2008) suggests that the emphasis on Confucianism as the foundation of
China’s political outlook comes from the argument’s plausible engagement with
common temporal ideas, such as nationalism, globalization, socialism, world peace,
etc.180 The core of Confucian thought has hence been foisted into IR theory
comfortably as a foil to western liberalism.
178
Feng Zhang, “Debating the ‘Chinese Theory of International Relations’: Toward a new stage in
China’s international studies,” In Fred Dallmayr and Zhao Tingyan (eds.) Contemporary Chinese
Political Thought: Debates and perspectives (Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2012), p.
80.
179
Tingyang Zhao, “Rethinking Empire from a Chinese Concept ‘All-under-Heaven’ (Tian-xia),”
Social Identities 12(1) 2006, pp. 29-41. Quoted in William A. Callahan, “Chinese Visions of World
Order: Post-hegemonic or a New Hegemony?” International Studies Review 10(4) December 2008, pp.
749-761.
180
Callahan 2008 op. cit., p. 759.
52
The crux of the link between paternalism and trust in a virtuous leader is that
primary agency belongs to the leader or head of the hierarchy. Civil society exists as
a subordinate to the decision-making prerogative of the leadership under this
paradigm. To measure the extent to which a respondent believes in the advantages of
a paternalist government, I use the question, “To what extent do you agree or disagree
with the following: as long as our leader has high ethics and morals, we can trust
him/her to do anything for our county.” The respondents are asked to select from a
range including “Strongly agree,” “Agree,” “Neither agree nor disagree,” “Disagree,”
“Disagree strongly,” and “Can’t choose.” Averring stronger agreement with the
statement is taken as a deeper commitment to paternalist government, and therefore,
to the tradition of Confucianism.
53
III.
Democratization and Democratic Consolidation
a.
Democratization
i. The third wave
The phenomenon known as the third wave of democratization is
acknowledged as having begun in Portugal in 1974. Since that time, liberal norms
and practices have transplanted authoritarian governance in countries from Latin
America, Africa, Asia, and East-Central Europe. At the conception of the third wave,
at least 68 percent of countries in the world were authoritarian; by 1995 that number
had dropped drastically to 26 percent. Those countries that had adopted liberal
reforms and moved out of the ranks of authoritarian governments had accommodated
some admixture of competitive elections and guarantees for political and civil
rights.181
Francis Fukuyama (1992) aroused debate when he exalted the triumph of
western liberal democracy following the collapse of the Soviet Union. At that time
both South Korea and Taiwan were already five years removed from historic changes
on their paths toward democratization.182 Fukuyama claimed that communism’s
failure elucidated the inadequacy of all forms of governance other than those
dedicated to liberalism. Consequently, the third wave of democratization would
continue uninhibited by erroneous beliefs and flawed models. Hughes (2012) offers a
pointed criticism of Fukuyama for, among other reasons, failing to “establish a logical
coherence and notion of universal progression to events.”183 Similarly, other scholars
have gone beyond Fukuyama’s one-size-fits-all assertion and investigated the process
181
Potter et al. 1997, op. cit.
Fukuyama 1992, op. cit. In 1987 South Korea elected a new president by direct election for the first
time in twenty-six years (See Sung-Joo Han, “South Korea in 1987: The politics of democratization,”
Asian Survey 28(1) January 1988, pp. 52-61.) Martial law was lifted in Taiwan in the same year.
183
Chris Hughes, Liberal Democracy as the End of History: Fukuyama and postmodern challenges.
(New York, NY: Routledge, 2012), p. 39.
182
54
in which authoritarian regimes can transform into liberal democracies. The results of
their inquiries have generated numerous theories on why and how authoritarian
governments undergo democratization. Most fall within the frameworks of three
general theoretical approaches: the modernization approach; the transition approach;
and the structural approach. Theories within these three frameworks have shared
ideas and analytical procedures that are categorically different from those of the other
approaches. The three categories of theories also operate from disparate loci of
democratization.184 The following section will give a brief description of these
general theories of democratization and the phenomenon of democratic reversal
before examining the democratization process in Taiwan.
ii.
Theories of democratization
According to modernization theories, a number of social and economic
circumstances must be extant before democratization can take root. Lipset’s (1960)
seminal work, Political Man, is the classic text describing the modernization
approach.185 Based on evidence from Europe, North America, Australia, and Latin
America, Lipset found that countries with sturdier foundations of democracy
consistently possessed higher levels of socioeconomic development.186 The
evolutionary theory is paradigmatic of the modernization approach and assumes that
social change is unidirectional, progressive, and gradual, resembling the assumptions
underpinning Fukuyama’s (1992) theory.187 Hence, according to modernization
theories, countries have progressed from a primitive state to varying levels of
184
Potter et al., 1991, op. cit. p. 10.
Seymour Martin Lipset, Political Man: The social bases of politics (London: Heinemann, 1960).
186
Ibid, p. 31. (See also Lipset 1959.)
187
Fukuyama 1992, op. cit.
185
55
advancement on a straight path of development.188 Walt Rostow (1960, 1964)
theorized five different stages in the evolution of societies and suggested that the most
efficient path toward democratization was to follow that of the already developed
democratic states.189 A second element associated with the modernization approach
is functionalist theory, whose adherents believe that all political systems perform the
same set of functions. While these functions may be performed by different
structures conditional to each society, each state’s purpose for existence is the same.
Each state will prioritize further movement along the route to modernization.
Movement forward occurs as an outcome of internal factors such as the forms of
differentiation, secularization, urbanization, industrialization, and participation of
society.190
The transition approach is exemplified by Rustow’s (1970) work, which
criticized Lipset’s thesis and the modernization approach for failing to address how a
democracy is created in the first instance.191 Scholars using the transition approach
to democratization focus on the political processes and elite initiatives and choices
that result in democratization.192 Rustow’s model includes three phases and a
‘background condition,’ national unity, which requires belonging to a single political
community and sharing a correspondent commitment to a recognized political
identity.193 After national unity has been established, the three phrases of
188
Renske Doorenspleet, Democratic Transitions: Exploring the structural sources of the fourth wave
(Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2005), p. 56.
189
Walt Whitman Rostow, The Stages of Economic Growth: A non-commmunist manifesto (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1960). See also Walt Whitman Rostow, “The Takeoff into Self-Sustained
Growth,” In Amitai Etzioni and Eva Etzioni (eds.). Social Change: Sources, patterns, and
consequences (New York: Basic Books, 1964), p. 285-300.
190
Doorenspleet 2005, op. cit., p. 57.
191
Dankwart Rustow, “Transitions to democracy,” Comparative Politics 2(3) April 1970, pp. 337-63.
See also Potter et al. 1991, op. cit., p. 13.
192
Potter et al. 1991, op. cit., p. 10. (See also O’Donnell et al., 1986; Mainwaring et al., 1992; Shain
and Linz 1995; Gill 2000, p. 43-80.)
193
Graeme Gill, The Dynamics of Democratization: Elites, civil society and the transition process
(New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2000), p. 43.
56
democratization are: a ‘preparatory phase’ consisting of major conflict between the
opposition and the entrenched status quo forces; a ‘decision phase,’ or a ‘historical
moment’ where compromise occurs; and finally, the ‘habituation phase’ where a new
generation of elites sincerely believes in the democratic rules that were negotiated
during the ‘decision phase.’194 Individual agency is crucial to this explanatory
framework. Shain and Linz (1995), for example, believe that who rules and how
during the period of interim government determine the extent that democratic
practices can be institutionalized.195
Both the transition and structural approaches are concerned with long-term
processes of historical change.196 However, in contrast to the transition approach, the
structural approach is premised on the particular interrelationships of power
structures within a state, specifically those in the economic, social and political
domains.197 Barrington Moore (1966) created the framework for the structural
approach.198 Moore’s research explored why, between the seventeenth and twentieth
centuries, when agrarian societies were transforming into industrial states, some
political regimes became democratic, some fascist, and others communist.199 Moore
found a general pattern of dynamic relationships between peasants, lords, urban
bourgeoisie and the state, which resulted in liberal democracy. Moore famously
pronounced, ‘no bourgeoisie, no democracy’ based on the findings of his research.200
A new branch of modernization theory emerged in the tumult of the 1960s.
As elaborated in the previous section concerning corporatism and convergence theory
194
Potter et al. 1991, op. cit., p. 14.
Yossi Shain and Juan Linz (eds.). Between States: Interim governments and democratic transitions
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 21.
196
Potter et al. 1991, op. cit., p. 18.
197
Anthony Giddens, Sociology (2nd edn) (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1993). (See also Rueschemeyer et
al., 1992.)
198
Barrington Moore, Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and peasant in the making
of the modern world (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1966).
199
Doorenspleet 2005, op. cit., p. 74.
200
Potter et al. 1991, op. cit., p. 19. (See also Harriss et al. 2004.)
195
57
the 1960s were a time of upheaval in the arena of political theory. Cataclysmic events
around the world proved that the optimism characterizing the post-war period was
illusory. Daniel Chirot described the period as follows:
The American debacle in Vietnam and the eruption of major racial troubles in the mid
1960s, followed by chronic inflation, the devaluation of the American dollar, and the
general loss of America’s self-confidence in the early 1970s, ended the moral
conviction on which modernization theory had come to base itself. A new type of
theory became popular among younger sociologists, one that reversed all of the old
axioms. America became the very model of evil, and capitalism, which had been seen
as the cause of social progress, became a sinister exploiter and the main agent of
poverty in most of the world. Imperialism, not backwardness and the lack of
modernity, was the new enemy.201
In part due to this pessimism, a new branch within the modernization approach
emerged, whose proponents focused on dependency and democratization. These
scholars, using the experience of Latin America as a model, attributed the absence of
democratization in those countries not to poor performance as measured by socioeconomic indicators, but as a direct result of the history of colonization and
exploitation perpetrated precisely by those heretofore eulogized advanced economies.
In turning modernization theory on its head, the dependency theorists proposed that
states with high levels of dependency are more likely to have unequal distributions of
income, low levels of economic development, and authoritarian political systems.202
iii.
Democratic reversal
Much to the chagrin of scholars and citizens of third wave countries
anticipating a smooth transition to democracy, both the processes and outcomes of
democratization have been ambiguous at best. Some countries have reverted back to
authoritarian government, while others are beleaguered by corruption, violations of
201
Daniel Chirot, “Changing Fashions in the Study of the Social Causes of Economic and Political
Change,” In J.F. Short (ed.). The State of Sociology: Problems and prospects (London: Sage
Publications, 1981). Quoted in Doorenspleet 2005, op. cit.
202
Doorenspleet 2005, op. cit., p. 64. (See also Kaufman et al. 1975, p. 306-309; Frank 1967, 1969.)
58
constitutionally guaranteed checks and balances, poor human rights records, political
gridlock, ineffective administration, and failure to promote distributive justice.203
Descriptions of ‘illiberal democracies’ appear frequently in the democratization
literature.204 Moreover, even those countries that are ostensibly democratic may in
fact operate in ways very different from the imagined ideal.205
Andreas Schedler (1998) described processes in which democracies “break
down” or suffer from “erosion.” In the case of the former, Schedler believes that
“unbounded uncertainties” may persist in democratizing regimes that threaten to
reverse the achievements of democratic actors. Similarly, erosion may result in the
‘slow death’ of a young democracy insofar as a progressive diminution of civil
society and democratic guarantees encroaches on the state. Among the features that
Schedler suggests are indicative of democratic decay are: subversion of the rule of
law by the state, the rise of hegemonic parties that violate the principle of competitive
elections, the loss of legitimacy of electoral institutions, unfair advantages accrued to
incumbent politicians’ access to state resources and the mass media, and exclusionary
citizenship laws.206
Samuel Huntington himself was aware of the potential for setbacks in newly
democratized countries. He proposed that waves of democratization were often
accompanied by a reverse wave, in which some of the rudimentary democratic
systems would shift toward more authoritarian government (see Chart 3.1).207 The
first wave of reversal accelerated during the economic-induced distress of the 1930s,
203
Yin-wah Chu and Siu-lun Wong (eds.). East Asia’s New Democracies: Deepening, reversal, nonliberal alternatives (New York, NY: Routledge, 2010).
204
Huntington 1993, op. cit. (See also Collier and Levitsky 1997; Zakaria 1997; Fox 1997; Bell et al.
1995, p. 1-16, 36-40; Grugel 2002.)
205
Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 10.
206
Andreas Schedler, “What is Democratic Consolidation?” Journal of Democracy 9(2) 1998, pp. 9497.
207
Samuel P. Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the late twentieth century (Norman,
OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991), p. 16.
59
while the second wave followed the post World War II economic crises, the rise of
subversive parties, and slippages in democratic efficiency and authenticity.208
Huntington (1997) observed the same trend continuing for the third wave, remarking
that most of the newly democratized countries were only nominally democratic, or
democratic in its electoral sense only, while leaders still acted arbitrarily and
individual rights were suppressed in the name of the state.209 Echoing Huntington’s
lament, Collier and Levitsky (1997) suggest using “democracy with an adjective,” e.g.
hybrid-democracy, semi-democracy, illiberal democracy, elite democracy, etc., to
categorize many of the third wave democracies.210
Chart 3.1: Huntington’s waves of democratization and reversal
Waves
Years
First long wave of democratization
1828-1926
First wave of reversal
1922-1942
Second, short wave of democratization
1943-1962
Second wave of reversal
1958-1975
Third wave of democratization
1974-
Noting the precedence of democratic reversals from past waves of
democratization, Larry Diamond (1996) questioned whether the third wave of
democratization had exhausted its potential shortly before the turn of the new
millennium.211 Other scholars have examined the possibility that a ‘reverse wave’ has
208
Stockton 2006, op. cit.
Samuel P. Huntington, “After Twenty Years: The future of the third wave,” Journal of Democracy
8(4) 1997, pp. 3-12.
210
David Collier and Steven Levitsky, “Democracy with Adjectives: Conceptual innovation in
comparative research,” World Politics 49(3) 1997, pp. 430-51. (See also Zakaria 1997.)
211
Larry Diamond, “Is the Third Wave Over?” Journal of Democracy 7(3) 1996, pp. 20-37.
209
60
already begun to erode democratic achievements in third wave democracies.212 A
quick scan of the democratization literature, particularly since 2007, shows that
pessimism over the fate of third wave democracies is intensifying.213
Even in putatively established democracies, authoritarian policies can replace
liberal practices. The post-9/11 United States is one of the oft-cited examples of a
mature democracy suspending civil liberties and imposing draconian measures on its
citizens.214 Similarly, there has been a dramatic surge in the membership and
activities of fascist and right-wing groups in the wake of the anguish caused by the
2008 ‘Great Recession.’215 Finally, the uncovering of numerous banking and
financial scandals has also created new uncertainties about the rights of citizens in a
globalized era, specifically the extent to which citizens can or should be protected
from malfeasance and predation by international institutions.
The complications of democratization and democratic consolidation have been
the topic of a voluminous amount of research. Within this literature, theories about
the path to democratization have generally been organized according to their
explanatory concerns (transition, consolidation, quality) and levels of analysis (macro,
meso, micro).216 Tilly (2007) elaborates on these explanatory concerns, noting that
their substance largely explains the level of procedural democracy in a given
polity.217 Pateman (1970) emphasized that procedural norms are an insufficient
212
Olena Nikolayenko, “Press Freedom during the 1994 and 1999 Presidential Elections in Ukraine: A
reverse wave?” Europe-Asia Studies 56(5) July 2004, pp. 661-686. (See also Nathan 2003; Levitsky
and Way 2002.)
213
Wolfgang Merkel, “Are Dictatorships Returning? Revisiting the ‘Democratic Rollback’
Hypothesis,” Contemporary Politics 16(1) March 2010, pp. 17-31.
214
Glenn Greenwald, "Washington Gets Explicit: Its 'War on Terror' is permanent." The Guardian.
Guardian News and Media, 17 May 2013. Web. 20 May 2013.
215
Peter Walker and Matthew Taylor, "Far Right on the Rise in Europe, Says Report." The Guardian.
Guardian News and Media, 11 June 2011. Web. 20 May 2013.
216
Chu and Wong 2010, op. cit.
217
Charles Tilly, Democracy (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2007).
61
valuation of democracy, and that citizens’ participation in governance, rather than
representation, is sine qua non to a comprehensive democratic theory.218
Democratic deepening has proven much more elusive if viewed through this
alternative framework. In fact, despite the spread and extension of relatively free and
fair elections, as well as the introduction of democratic institutions across large
swaths of the world, several of the assumptions about the benefits of democratization
have been proven fallible.219 Birdsall (1998) bemoans empirical evidence that the
spread of democracy has seemingly been accompanied with rising global and national
levels of income inequality.220 Many forms of participatory democracy are also
underdeveloped and discouraged in the third wave democracies. Transformative
social reform has also been slow to emerge in newly democratized countries, and
optimism for redistributive policies and elimination of social inequality in new
democracies has generally been unrequited in genuine change.221
Scholars are cognizant of the enigma of democratic institutionalization sans
democratic deepening. A substantial body of research has been done on the causal
relationships between economic and political liberalization and democratization on
the one hand, and social equality and political inclusiveness on the other.222
Przeworski (2010) identifies four pervasive challenges that continue to hamper
democratization and spread dissatisfaction with the democratization process,
including, “ (1) the incapacity to generate equality in the socioeconomic realm, (2) the
incapacity to make people feel that their political participation is effective, (3) the
218
Carole Pateman, Participation and Democratic Theory (New York, NY: Cambridge University
Press, 1970), p. 21. (See also Macpherson 1977; Grugel 2002.)
219
Joseph Wong, “Adapting to Democracy: Societal mobilization and social policy in Taiwan and
South Korea,” Studies in Comparative International Development 40(3) Fall 2005, pp. 88.
220
Nancy Birdsall, “Life is Unfair: Inequality in the world,” Foreign Policy 111 Summer 1998, pp. 77.
221
Ibid, p. 78.
222
Wong 2005, op. cit. (See also Weyland 1996; Kapstein and Mandelbaum 1997; Goodman et al.,
1998; Encarnacion 2001; Chuang 2004; Loh 2008.)
62
incapacity to ensure that governments do what they are supposed to do and not do
what they are not mandated to do, and (4) the incapacity to balance order and
noninterference.”223 Any fair assessment of democratic consolidation should
therefore engage with a comprehensive set of observations including, but not limited
to the procedural aspects of democratic transition. Additionally, a careful study of the
democratization process also requires a longitudinal approach to trace the course of
liberal practices. Having reviewed the potential hindrances to the democratization
process, the next section scrutinizes Taiwan’s track record of carrying out liberal
governance.
b.
Legacies of One-Party Rule
Reflecting on the experiences of other third wave democratizers, observers
might well conclude that Taiwan has prima facie had a smooth transition from an
authoritarian government to a liberal democracy. Taiwan’s nearly violence-free and
competitive electoral politics at both the local and national levels have duly received
plaudit from the international community. The transformation from an authoritarian
state governing under the aegis of suspended constitutional rights to a full electoral
democracy with universal suffrage occurred rapidly after the repeal of martial law. At
that time, Taiwan held the record for the longest period of martial law in history.
Since then, Taiwan has settled into a competitive two-party political system, and the
island has passed the ‘two turnover test,’ as the presidency was peacefully transferred
from the KMT to the DPP in 2000 and subsequently regained by the former in 2008.
223
Przeworski 2010, op. cit., p. 1-2.
63
Taiwan has undergone seven rounds of constitutional amendments since
1986.224 Scholars have criticized the constitutional amendments for perceived flaws
in both the procedure and outcome of the seven rounds of revision. At times, the
process of amending the constitution has seemed to be more of an imposition by the
ruling KMT rather than a negotiation between political parties. Furthermore, political
expediency and short-term political compromise provided the incentive for
constitutional reform rather than a detailed and coherent vision.225 Both the DPP and
the NP have in the past boycotted the constitutional reform process altogether.
Despite the numerous rounds of constitutional amendments, the basic five-branch
structure, made up by the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Control
Yuan and Examination Yuan, has remained intact.226 Dafydd Fell (2005) presciently
reasoned that Taiwan would become a two-party polity after the 2000 constitutional
amendments.227 Since then, independent candidates who are often backed by either
KMT or DPP (affiliated) factional support have in fact outperformed third party
candidates.228
In 2004 a new National Assembly, after being disbanded since 2000, was
elected and called into session to pass the seventh and putatively final round of
constitutional amendments. The new revisions de facto concluded the period of
Taiwan’s constitutional reforms based on a new clause requiring the support of threefourths of parliament and approval of fifty percent of eligible voters in a referendum
224
June Tsai, "Forum Scrutinizes Constitutional Reform Under DPP." Taiwantoday.tw. 9 Mar. 2007.
Web. 08 May 2013.
225
Chu 1999, op. cit.
226
Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 54.
227
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 145. (See also Stockton, Hans. 2012. “Identity is Dead, Long Love Identity:
The relative influences of ethnicity, future status, and partisan identification on voting in presidential
elections on Taiwan 2004-2012,” Paper presented at The Maturing of Taiwan Democracy: Findings
and insights from the 2012 TEDS survey conference. November 3-4, 2012. Taipei, Taiwan; Wu 2008;
Gobel 2012.)
228
Shelley Rigger, Electoral Reform, Issue Cleavages and the Consolidation of a Two-Party System in
Taiwan (2011). APSA 2011 Annual Meeting Paper. Available at SSRN:
<http://ssrn.com/abstract=1902872>
64
for any new amendment.229 At the procedural level then, Taiwan’s democratic
consolidation process can be considered an exemplar of success compared with the
examples of other third wave democracies, especially those of Latin America and
Eastern Europe.230
However, as the previous section argued, merely assessing successful
democratization on the standard of procedural democracy is insufficient and
derogatory to the spirit of liberalism. The procedural qualities of democracy such as
exercising free and fair elections with a multi-party system provide only a superficial
assessment of the practice of liberal governance. It may be an important indicator of
the health of the body politic, however its value as the definitive basis for judgment of
democratic consolidation per se is tenuous. Holden (1993) concurs that neither the
creation of political parties nor the holding of elections predestine the granting of
democratic freedoms and rights.231 Some scholars insist that true democratization
entails a significant and institutionalized redistribution of power.232
Even the procedural features of Taiwan’s democracy are liable to criticism.
Some analysts are skeptical of whether the constitutional issue has truly been settled,
or if open conflict is just in abeyance.233 Chen Shui-bian drew the ire of KMT
members by turning constitutional reform into a political ploy in late 2006 while he
was embroiled in scandal and popular support for his party was disintegrating.
President Chen proposed discarding the existing constitution and initiating a process
229
Stockton 2010, op. cit., p. 22. See also Hille, Kathrin. "Taiwan Approves Constitutional Reform."
Financial Times: 10. Jun 08 2005. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.
230
Joseph Wong, “Deepening Democracy in Taiwan,” Pacific Affairs 76(2) Summer 2003, pp. 235-56.
(See also Matsumoto 2002, p. 359.)
231
Barry Holden, Understanding Liberal Democracy (New York, NY: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1993).
232
Jean Grugel, Democratization: A critical introduction (New York, NY: Palgrave, 2002). (See also
Beetham 1992; Tornquist 2001.)
233
Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 55.
65
to draft a new constitution.234 Although Chen’s proposal fizzled out under escalating
pressure on his administration, Lee Teng-hui rekindled the debate in 2011 by making
remarks that Taiwan should replace the ROC Constitution with a new one that
reflected modern realities.235 Stockton (2010) argues that the last round of
constitutional reforms haven’t settled whether the KMT will become a party
government under the new electoral system or a dominant party with few checks on
its power.236
Taiwan’s polity also retains several legacies of one-party rule that have
survived a quarter century after the lifting of martial law. Meanwhile, other antidemocratic tendencies have materialized in the evolution of Taiwan’s democracy. A
peculiar aspect of Taiwan’s democratization process is that immanent characteristics
of the Taiwanese state have both aided the democratization process and produced
features that are anomalous to liberal democratic principles. This irony is
demonstrated by the interesting fact that former president Lee Teng-hui, who ruled for
eight years without an electoral mandate from Taiwanese citizens, is known as “Mr.
Democracy” to the public. Mattlin (2011) warns that Taiwan’s political transition has
shown signs of being frozen in a state that isn’t quite liberal, yet resolutely isn’t
authoritarian.237
Among the remaining challenges for democratic consolidation is the legacy of
an extensive local patronage network between KMT and local politicians, which has
allowed local factions to continue playing a vital and controversial role in elections.
Local factions were pivotal in providing organized support bases to Taiwanese
234
Edward Cody and Anthony Faiola, “Chen Plans Debate On Taiwan Charter." Washington Post. The
Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2006. Web. 06 Feb. 2013.
235
Shu-ling Ko, "Lee Calls for Constitution to Be Scrapped." 20110322 Lee Calls for Constitution to
Be Scrapped. Taipei Times, 22 Mar. 2011. Web. 08 May 2013.
236
Stockton 2010, op. cit., p. 40.
237
Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 27.
66
politicians, especially after the 1970s when the KMT promoted local Taiwanese to
higher positions within the government. Their continued role in politics after
democratization has been more controversial. Constitutional amendments were
passed in 2005 that would purportedly limit the influence of factions in Taiwanese
politics and negate many of the ills that tarnished Taiwan’s democracy, including
extremism, lowered inter-party competition, heightened intra-party competition,
candidate-centered politics, vote-buying, clientelism and organized crime.238 These
amendments replaced the SNTV system with a majority system, halving the number
of legislators from 225 to 113, with elections to the Legislative Yuan occurring every
four years beginning from 2008, with 73 legislators elected from single-member
districts, 34 legislators from an open party-list ballot, and 6 legislators from the
aboriginal population.239 Similar reforms in Japan, Korea, and the Philippines have
been shown to reduce factionalism in politics.240 However, the results of Taiwan’s
reforms have been mixed, as factionalism has obstinately continued influence
Taiwanese politics.241 Stockton (2010) simulated the results of the 2008 Legislative
Yuan elections and surprisingly found that the new system strengthened the KMT,
transformed Taiwan into a two-party system, and increased the disproportionality of
the vote:seat ratio.242
238
Teh-fu Huang, “Party Systems in Taiwan and South Korea,” In Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner,
Yun-han Chu, Hung-mao Tien (eds.) Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies: Themes and
perspectives (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997), p. 144-47. (See also (Cox 1996;
Cox and Niou 1994; Cox and Thies 1998; Hsieh 1996, 1999; Wang 1996; Lin 1996.)
239
Stockton 2010, op. cit., p. 24 (See also Lin 2006; Jou 2009.)
240
Ibid 2010, op. cit., p. 22.
241
Christian Gobel, “The Impact of Electoral System Reform on Taiwan’s Local Factions,” Journal of
Current Chinese Affairs 41(3) 2012, pp. 88.
242
John Fuh-sheng Hsieh, “Is the Kuomintang Invincible?” In Wei-Chin Lee. Taiwan’s Politics in the
21st Century: Changes and challenges (Singapore: World Scientific, 2010), p. 37. (See also We 2008.)
67
Waffling support for democratic ideals among Taiwanese citizens has also
proven a difficult obstacle to overcome for Taiwan’s consolidating democracy.243
Scholars have shown that popular trust in political institutions is an integral
component of democratic consolidation.244 Trust is an essential socio-psychological
concept that forms the foundation of social and political life. A high level of trust
between a polity and its citizenry can enhance social well-being, prosperity, and the
health of democracy.245 One study found that Taiwanese voters have a surprisingly
low satisfaction and commitment to democracy and that there is a moderate but
measurable alienation from government.246 Other scholars have found recent
evidence that popular trust in political institutions declined in Taiwan between 2001
and 2006.247 The level of satisfaction with democracy among Taiwanese also seems
to be contingent on election results. Chu (2012b) observed that 96.3 percent of KMT
supporters believed that the 2012 elections (in which a KMT candidate won) were
free and fair, compared with 50.5 percent of DPP voters.248
In addition to these domestic concerns, Taiwan must also confront an external
threat from a CPP government whose territory includes the ancestral homeland of
98% of Taiwan’s population. The China factor in Taiwanese politics introduces an
existential Gordian knot to the congeries of issues relevant to democratization. Ethnic
identity and national identity are thereby both contentious and fluid, complicating
243
Rigger (2001) describes the vote-buying, corruption (‘black gold,’ heijin) and gangster politics that
continued to plague Taiwanese politics, even after political liberalization.
244
Diamond 1999, op. cit. (See also Diamond 2002; Johnson 2005; Luhiste 2006; Mishler and Rose
1997, 2000.)
245
Francis Fukuyama, Trust: The social virtues and the creation of prosperity (New York, NY: Free
Press, 1995). See also (Bianco 1994; Cook 2001; Hardin 2006; Putnam 1993; Warren 1999.)
246
Stockton 2006, op. cit.
247
Huo-yan Shyu, “Trust in Institutions and the Democratic Consolidation in Taiwan,” In Wei-Chin
Lee. Taiwan’s Politics in the 21st Century: Changes and challenges (Singapore: World Scientific,
2010), p. 92.
248
Yun-han Chu, “Empirical Indicators Showing the Maturing of Taiwan Democracy,” Paper
presented at The Maturing of Taiwan Democracy: Findings and insights from the 2012 TEDS survey
conference. November 3-4, 2012. Taipei, Taiwan.
68
even further the democratization process.249 The following sections describe the
processes and idiosyncrasies of Taiwan that have spurred democratization as well as
discomfited its consolidation.
i.
National identity
Prior to the 1990s, ethnic identity was more salient than national identity in
determining political orientation. As mentioned earlier, the 2-28 Incident, albeit
rarely spoken of during the period of martial law, still fomented indignation from an
older generation of Taiwanese who had witnessed the wanton violence of the KMT
regime. Ethnic discrimination was also conspicuous in the unfair treatment of local
Taiwanese, including the overwhelming control of government positions held by the
minority mainlanders, who accounted for only 15 percent of the population in
Taiwan.250 Until the 1990s, ethnic justice and democratization made up the entirety
of the DPP and its predecessor, the dangwai’s political platform. Indeed, going
beyond these issues would have been detrimental to the opposition, as the movement
was made up of disparate groups with oftentimes contradictory economic demands.251
After Chiang Ching-kuo’s death, Lee Teng-hui accelerated the Taiwanization
of the KMT and successfully isolated the conservative mainlander faction within the
party. The DPP rapidly lost its unifying cause and was forced to experiment with new
issues to attract voters. Rigger (2001) finds that by the mid-1990s, the DPP’s original
reform agenda had been accomplished, conducted even before Lee Teng-hui and the
249
Paolino and Meernik 2008, op. cit. Przeworski (1995, p.21) argues that if ethnic identity is a
divisive and prominent issue in a society, “it is more likely a consequence of institutional failure rather
than a cause of it.” The premise that ethnic identity is correlated with institutional failure is enough for
the present purpose.
250
John Fuh-sheng Hsieh, “Democracy in a Mildly Divided Society,” In Philip Paolino and James D.
Meernik (eds.) Democratization in Taiwan: Challenges in transformation (Burlington, VT: Ashgate,
2008) p. 11-12.
251
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 7.
69
KMT faced a direct presidential election. The first issue that the newly formed DPP
attempted to rally voters around was Taiwanese independence. At its 1991 National
Party Congress before the National Assembly election the DPP inserted a plank in its
platform calling for a new constitution and the creation of a new “Republic of
Taiwan,” explicitly endorsing Taiwanese independence.252
However, it had not been a foregone conclusion either that the DPP would
advocate Taiwanese independence, or that it would employ national identity in
formulating its policies. The DPP’s emphasis of Taiwanese independence was a
result of intraparty struggle, when the radical New Tide Faction briefly triumphed
over the moderate Formosa Faction. DPP candidates performed anemically in the
elections, as the KMT won well over 67 percent of the vote and almost 77 percent of
the new seats.253 Political commentators attributed the DPP’s resounding defeat in the
1991 National Assembly to its adoption of the independence plank. The results of the
election rebuffed the pro-independence wing of the party and prompted the party to
subsequently adopt a more moderate stance on the independence issue.254
Following the disastrous 1991 National Assembly elections, the DPP turned to
the issue of UN membership as an ersatz party plank for Taiwanese independence.
The issue was popular and innocuous enough that the KMT co-opted it.255 This
pattern of KMT co-optation of an idea originating with the DPP has been repeated
frequently in Taiwanese politics post-democratization. During the period of
authoritarian rule, the KMT was an ideologically flexible party devoted to
maintaining control of the island ante omnia rather than any shared ideological
252
Ibid, p. 151.
Chu 1999, op. cit., p. 150
254
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 32. (See also Sutter 1992; Fell 2005, op. cit., 100.)
255
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 39. (See also Diamond and Plattner 1998, op. cit.)
253
70
conviction.256 On issues such as national health care coverage and UN membership,
the KMT showed itself amenable to reform, belying the image of it as a rigid exauthoritarian regime.257
While the KMT has been able to convince voters that it has transformed itself
from an authoritarian regime into a competitive democratic party, the DPP has been
burdened by its lack of intraparty consensus on the national identity issue.258
Although the DPP has shed its most radical pro-independence supporters, it has not
lost a vocal base of supporters who hold tenaciously to pro-Taiwan sentiments. The
party’s reputation as fecklessly provocative is embodied in the ‘independence plank’
that still remains in the DPP charter.
The DPP has generally found success in national elections to be enigmatic,
although the 2012 Legislative Yuan elections showed that the pan-green camp is able
to mobilize its support base, primarily in the south, to win positions in the island’s
legislative body.259 Still, the DPP has struggled to penetrate the KMT’s stranglehold
on north and central Taiwan. In the 2012 Legislative Yuan elections, voters in those
regions elected 39 KMT legislators to the DPP’s 9, and the pan-green coalition
remained the minority in the legislature, holding only 43 seats overall to the panblue’s 69 (See charts 3.1 and 3.2 below).260
256
Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 32.
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 151.
258
The most recent controversy was over former Premier Frank Hsieh’s trip to Mainland China. See
for example Rich Chang, "DPP Struggles to Form China Policy." - Taipei Times. 25 Nov. 2012. Web.
22 Dec. 2012.
259
Jacques deLisle, Shelley Rigger, Vincent Wei-Cheng Wang, M. Terry Cooke (discussants).
“Taiwan’s Presidential and Legislative Election: Implications for cross-strait relations, U.S. policy and
domestic politics.” Foreign Policy Research Institute. Friday, January 20, 2012.
260
See "2012 LEGISLATIVE ELECTION RESULTS." - Taipei Times. 15 Jan. 2012. Web. 23 Dec.
2012. I consider the following to be in northern Taiwan: Keelung City, New Taipei City, Taipei City,
Taoyuan County, Yilan County, Hsinchu County, Hsinchu City, Greater Taichung, Yilan County,
Hualien County, Changhua County, Nantou County, and Miaoli County. I consider the following to be
in southern Taiwan: Chiayi County, Chiayi City, Greater Tainan, Greater Kaohsiung, Pingtung County,
Taitung County.
257
71
Chart 3.3: 2012 Legislative Yuan election results: Northern and Central Taiwan
District
KMT
DPP
People First Party
Keelung City
1
0
0
New Taipei City
10
2
0
Taipei City
7
1
0
Taoyuan County
6
0
0
Hsinchu County
1
0
0
Hsinchu City
1
0
0
Yilan County
0
1
0
Miaoli County
2
0
0
Greater Taichung
4
3
1
Changhua County
3
1
0
Nantou County
2
0
0
Yunlin County
1
1
0
Hualien County
1
0
0
Total
39
9
1
Chart 3.4: 2012 Legislative Yuan election results: Southern Taiwan
District
KMT
DPP
PFP
Chiayi County
1
1
0
Chiayi City
0
1
0
Greater Tainan
0
5
0
Greater Kaohsiung
2
7
0
Pingtung County
1
2
0
Taitung County
0
1
0
Total
4
17
0
The nature of Taiwan’s relationship with China is the most important social
issue separating political camps. However, opinions on the national identity issue are
72
not one-dimensional, but depend on a number of external factors, such as the threat of
military intervention by China, the commitment of the US to Taiwan’s security, and
democratization and liberalization in China.261 Niou (2008) found that a plurality of
Taiwanese respondents (38 percent) would accept either unification or independence,
conditioned on whether or not peace across the Strait was maintained.262
These voters are wary of what they view as an extreme and irrational proTaiwan sentiment of some elements within the DPP. China’s omnipresent threat to
use force if it deems it necessary to protect its core interests, and the ineluctable
development of economic relationships between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait
have dissuaded enough voters, particularly in the north, from voting for the pan-green
coalition. The KMT has consistently been able to, if not obtain a majority in the
legislature, at least prevent the DPP from forming one itself. The DPP’s unenviable
position was evident during the first term of the Chen Shui-bian administration, when
President Chen’s overtures to the mainland were cold-shouldered by Beijing, despite
taking, “the most accommodating explicit campaign position toward China at that
time,” including appointing several members of the KMT to his cabinet.263
China’s presence across the Taiwan Strait is a major hindrance to the election
of a second DPP president. Taiwanese voters are aware of the outstanding threat that
China poses to Taiwan’s national security. A considerable number of Taiwanese
voters therefore approach the national identity rationally, and would support either
peaceful unification with a democratic China or peaceful independence. The national
identity issue is fraught with difficulties for the DPP because of its reputation for
being obstinately pro-Taiwanese, despite the existence of more accommodating
261
T.Y. Wang, “National Identity and Democratization in Taiwan: An introduction,” Journal of Asian
and African Studies 40(1-2) April 2005, pp. 8.
262
Niou 2008, op. cit., p. 171.
263
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 188. (See also Clark, Cal. 2000. The 2000 Presidential Elections. New
York, NY: Asia Society, p. 15.)
73
members within its fold. A recent survey underscores the DPP’s imbroglio; when
asked whether or not they understood what the DPP’s China policy entails, a mere
15.8 percent of respondents said they understood, while 62.5 percent were unaware of
the contents of the policy.264 Until the DPP can settle its schizophrenic orientation
towards cross-strait policy, the Taiwanese electorate will likely remain skeptical of
the party’s ability to handle the presidential mandate.
ii.
A middle-class society
Taiwan is unique among third wave democracies in the level and breadth of
economic prosperity from which democratization evolved.265 Between 1960 and
1985, the average annual economic growth rate was 8.8%, while the GDP per capita
during that time grew from $164 to $3,290, a twentyfold increase. The gross national
product (GNP) rose from US$1.67 billion in 1952 to about US$77.3 billion in
1986.266 Moreover, this remarkable economic growth did not produce high levels of
income inequality. Between 1950 and 1980, the overall Gini coefficient fell from
about .56 to .28, while the poverty rate also declined dramatically during this time.267
This remarkable economic growth occurred prior to the annulment of martial law and
commencement of democratization. More surprisingly for disciples of neo-liberalism,
it occurred under a state guided economy before substantial economic liberalization
was implemented.
Among the policies that contributed to strong and equitable economic growth
were land reform, Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) in the 1950s, export-
264
Chris Wang, "DPP Scores Poorly in Public Poll." - Taipei Times. 20 May. 2013. Web. 10 June.
2013.
265
Paolino and Meernik 2008, op. cit.
266
Hsiao and Cheng 1999, op. cit., p. 110.
267
Wu and Tun-jen Cheng 2011, op. cit. (See also Kuo 2000; Fell 2005; Ash and Greene 2007.)
74
oriented industrialization (EOI) in the 1960s, and a return to ISI in the 1970s.268
Rapid industrial growth and land reform combined to restructure Taiwanese society.
Land reform in the 1950s separated the former landowner class from its source of
power, while simultaneously creating a small landowner class. It also generated
support for the KMT from individual farm families, increased agricultural
productivity and stimulated grassroots democracy in Taiwan.269 The KMT’s land
reform program has been touted as its most successful political and economic policy.
It culminated in the granting of property rights to more than 2 million Taiwanese and
a wide redistribution of wealth away from the traditional landed gentry class. Many
of the former landowners sold the stock they had received as compensation to
Taiwanese outside of the traditional elite, greatly reducing income inequality
throughout Taiwanese society.270
Meanwhile, the KMT state’s policy of ISI was designed to meet domestic
economic needs and build local industrial capabilities. The main beneficiaries of ISI
were the erstwhile Taiwanese landlords who became the first indigenous industrial
capitalists by holding onto their shares in the four nationalized industries, partyowned enterprises, mainlanders who owned industries, and local entrepreneurs. The
next phase of industrialization policy, EOI, was essential to the rapid growth of the
Taiwanese economy in the 1960s-1970s. Its modus operandi was the promotion of
exports through the development of labor-intensive industries. Measured by
percentage of GDP, Taiwan’s industrial sectors overtook its agricultural sectors for
the first time in 1963.271 As a consequence of the shift from ISI to EOI, private
268
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 148-50. (See also Hsiao and Cheng 1999, p. 110; Marsh 2003, p. 40.)
Rigger 2001, op. cit. (See also Tsai 1967; Yang 1970; Schafferer 2003.)
270
Michael Hsin-Huang Hsiao and Hsiao-shih Cheng, “Taiwan,” In Ian Marsh, Jean Blondel, Takashi
Inoguchi (eds.) Democracy, Governance, and Economic Performance: East and Southeast Asia (New
York, NY: United Nations University Press, 1999), p. 115. (See also Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 92.)
271
Ibid, p. 116-17.
269
75
capitalists, both mainlanders and Taiwanese, small and medium-sized enterprises, a
newly-created urban middle class, and the industrial working class all grew in number
and economic activity.272 The second phase of ISI began in the 1970s and was
designed to restructure the economy to feature energy-intensive and capital-intensive
industries, and to develop large-scale infrastructure projects, called the “Great Ten
Constructions.”273
The KMT’s land reform and industrial policies created a large class of wage
earners, a group of industrial capitalists, and a prominent Taiwanese middle class.274
Between the mid-1950s and mid-1980s, Taiwan’s working class increased from less
than 15 percent to more than 40 percent of the total population, while Taiwan’s
middle class rose from about 20 percent to more than 30 percent, with a concurrent
decline in the farming population.275 The United States provided a generous amount
of nonmilitary aid, amounting to $100 million, or about 40% of Taiwan’s capital
formation for nearly 20 years, finally ending in 1965. Part of the aid went toward
infrastructure projects, while some went toward training technical specialists. Almost
all of the aid, 80%, came in the form of unrequited grants to Taiwan; American aid
accounted for over one-third of Taiwan’s total investment and 74 percent of all
investment in agriculture.276 The KMT was remarkably successful in the economic
realm and transformed Taiwan into a middle-class society during its period of
authoritarian one-party rule.277 The impressive economic growth cum repressive state
272
Hsiao 1990, op. cit., p. 165.
Hsiao and Cheng 1999, op. cit., p. 119.
274
Marsh 2003, op. cit., p. 41.
275
Once making up more than 90 percent of the population, Taiwan’s farmers made up only 9 percent
of the work force in 2003 (See Schafferer 2003; Roy 2003 op. cit., p. 25.)
276
Roy 2001, op. cit., p. 90.
277
Cal Clark Janet Clark, “The Political Economy of Rapid Development in Taiwan,” Journal of
Developing Societies. 9 1993, pp. 197-211.
273
76
control precluded the development of class-based organization and mobilization in
Taiwanese politics.
Prior to democratization, class politics were secondary to ethnic identification.
As a result of the unique confluence of class, ethnicity, and the distribution of
political and economic resources in Taiwan, ethnic identity served as a suitable
avenue through which class-related grievances could be articulated.278 However,
clearly defined class awareness is essential to developing an understanding of how
society works and about the processes that shape citizens’ lives in society.279 Identity
politics has continued to constitute the dominant discourse in Taiwan in the guise of
national identity post-democratization. In the post-2000 political milieu, social class
doesn’t fit as neatly into a political schema centered on identity politics. Class-based
concerns have hence been limited in salience and ability to instigate energetic popular
mobilization within Taiwanese politics.
According to Gates (1987), Taiwanese are aware of wealth and educational
distinctions, yet social class is not a significant source of political identity.280
Taiwan’s political spectrum lacks a Left/Right division that is a feature of many
industrial and post-industrial countries. Research has shown that even Taiwanese
who self-report themselves as being members of the working class tend to support
cooperation rather than conflict in labor-management relations.281 Despite the fact
that previous studies have shown that class politics have a salubrious effect on
democratic reform, transition and consolidation, Taiwan has managed to achieve
278
David D. Yang, “Classing Ethnicity: Class, ethnicity, and the mass politics of Taiwan’s democratic
transition,” World Politics 59(4) July 2007, pp. 537.
279
Martha E. Gimenez, “With a Little Class: A critique of identity politics,” Ethnicities 6(3) September
2006, pp. 424
280
Hill Gates, Chinese Working Class Lives (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1987). (See also
Winckler and Greenhalgh 1988, p. 35-36; Rigger 2001; Wu and Cheng 2011, op. cit., p. 251.)
281
Robert M. Marsh and Cheng-kuang Hsu, “White-Collar Proletarianization? The Case of Taiwan,”
Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 13 1994, pp. 43-69.
77
democratization with a near-complete absence of class-based discourse in mainstream
political debate.282 This deficiency remains an obstacle to Taiwanese citizens’
general understanding of social relations both on Taiwan and between Taiwanese
across the Taiwan Strait.
iii.
State-sponsored democratization
A watershed moment in Taiwan’s state-facilitated democratization process
occurred when the KMT tolerated the establishment of a political party on September
28, 1986 by dangwai politicians and activists. Since that historic breakthrough, the
pertinent issues and alignment of political groups along those issues has included
continuities as well as transmutations. Ever since the 2-28 Incident, the designation
of mainlander and “other” (generally centered on the idea of “local Taiwanese,” but
also including Hakka and Aborigines) has tinctured political debate. As a
consequence, Taiwanese politics continue to be dominated by an admixture of
national and ethnic identity, and political parties founded on class-based issues have
been marginal to the political process. On the other hand, the issues salient to
Taiwanese politics have included independence, crime, corruption, stability in crossstrait relations and economic concerns.
Taiwan’s relatively peaceful transition to a successful procedural democracy
has delivered more triumphant than tragic moments, including the holding of direct
presidential elections in 1996, the first ever in the island’s history. Since then more
laudatory events have followed in the process of democratic consolidation. In 2000
the opposition DPP candidate Chen Shui-bian won the presidency, leading to the first
peaceful turnover of power by democratic process in Taiwan’s history. Then, in 2008,
282
Streeck 2006, op. cit., p.15 (See also Castles 1987; Navarro 1991; Rueschemeyer et al., 1992, p. 97;
Linz and Stepan 1996 op. cit., p. 11-15; Chu and Wong 2010.)
78
the KMT won back the presidency, as its candidate Ma Ying-jeou took office and
ushered in a new period of KMT-led government. As noted earlier, with Ma Yingjeou’s election to the presidency, Taiwan fulfilled Huntington’s (1991) “two turnover”
test of successful democratic consolidation.283
Although the moniker ‘Free China’ was never apposite for the authoritarian
party-state in Taiwan led by the KMT, competitive and regular local elections gave
the regime a semblance of being at the administrative helm of a democratic entity.
Although independent political parties were prohibited from participating, the
democratization process in Taiwan was nonetheless succored by the experience of
electioneering. Elections have been held as early as 1950, with positions open at the
village, township, county, and provincial levels.284 Taiwanese are familiar with the
routine of elections and have traditionally participated at high rates at the local level,
albeit shrouded under the pall of authoritarian rule. Local elections were first a means
of building local support for the KMT and nurturing rival factions to insulate its
position by keeping competition restricted to a local scale.285 After the KMT was
impelled into opening more seats in the national representative bodies, local elections
also provided the party with a human resource pool from which to recruit Taiwanese
politicians. The process of ‘Taiwanization’ allowed opportunistic native Taiwanese
politicians such as Lee Teng-hui to build enough influence within the party to
eventually wrest control of the party from the conservative mainlander elite. The
conservative non-mainstream faction of the KMT ultimately split and formed their
own political party, the NP, in 1993.
Local elections were instrumental for the KMT in building grassroots support.
The party endorsed one or more local factions and established patronage networks
283
Huntington 1991, op. cit., p. 266-7.
Hsieh, John Fuh-sheng. 2010, op. cit., p. 27.
285
Chu 1998, op. cit., p. 139.
284
79
throughout the island.286 Supporting more than one faction in an election was a
rewarding “divide and rule” strategy for the émigré regime. Playing the local factions
off one another provided the KMT with a measure of control over local politics, and
helped to forestall the development of independent political forces.287 Among the
most profitable favors that the KMT bestowed upon local Taiwanese politicians were
licenses for local public utility businesses, including gas companies, bus companies
and credit unions. Credit unions especially provided local politicians with large
profits and mutually beneficial social connections with local businessmen.288 Even
after political liberalization, the KMT continued to dominate the political system, and
was hence able to maintain and even strengthen its vast patronage network, including
party elite, civil servants, local factions, and soldiers.289
Local elections prior to democratization also functioned as an outlet for the
political ambitions of local Taiwanese, and provided arenas for real competition
between factions, the victor gaining personal emolument and the spoils from local
office.290 This form of patronage begot institutionalized corruption, but it did so
explicitly at the local level. At the upper echelons of Taiwan’s central government
and bureaucracy, the KMT party members remained aloof from local corruption and
vote buying, never being directly involved with either dirty money or mafia interests
(“black gold”). The cabinet and legislature thus earned a reputation for being
relatively clean and above the iniquity of money politics.291
After liberalization, the single, non-transferable voting in multimember
districts (SNTV) electoral system written into the ROC constitution heavily favored
286
Huang and Yu 1999, op. cit., p. 86.
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 6.
288
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 10. (See also Wu and Cheng 2011, op. cit., p. 252.)
289
Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 29.
290
The KMT was resolutely not totalitarian. Despite its dominance in socio-economic activities, it
nevertheless allowed a great deal of flexibility to local government. See Hsiao and Cheng 1999, p. 114.
291
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 10.
287
80
the KMT. This type of system demands a coordinated and complicated strategy in
order for a political party to maximize its share of legislative seats. To successfully
navigate the SNTV system, political parties must be able to manage candidates and
mobilize supporters, capabilities in which the DPP compares unfavorably with the
KMT due to the latter’s finances accrued over forty years in command of the state,
longstanding relationships with local factions, guaranteed support of civil servants,
teachers, and the military (the so-called ‘iron votes’), and a 4,000-strong full-time
professional party staff. Under an SNTV system, a party attempts to win multiple
seats in most districts through the use of two strategies: first, by estimating the
number of votes it will receive in each district (in order to nominate the ideal number
of candidates); and second, by ensuring that votes are distributed evenly among its
nominees. If either of these fail, the party will gain a disproportionately small number
of seats given its support.292 The SNTV system was replaced in 2004 with a majority
system, however the KMT performed even more impressively after the change,
winning 53 percent of the vote in the 2008 Legislative Yuan elections but gaining an
incredible 78 percent of the seats.293 Also, the practice of buying votes, clientelism
and organized crime involvement in politics have continued as routine features of
local Taiwanese politics.294
The KMT government has shown itself to be remarkably resilient, holding
onto the presidency until 2000 and maintaining its majority in the legislature until the
2001 Legislative Yuan elections. Lee Teng-hui, the former vice president of Chiang
Kai-shek’s son, Chiang Ching-kuo, served as the president of Taiwan without a
mandate from its citizens for eight years before winning the first direct presidential
elections in 1996. The DPP won the presidency under fortuitous circumstances in
292
Rigger 2001, op. cit.
Stockton 2010, op. cit., p. 37.
294
Gobel 2012, op. cit.
293
81
2000, when Chen Shui-bian garnered only 39% of the popular vote. A split in the
KMT facilitated Chen’s victory in the 2000 elections. James Soong, one of the most
popular KMT politicians at the time, disobeyed party leadership and ran as an
independent candidate. It is unlikely that Chen would have won the election without
Soong’s participation in the election.295 President Chen’s re-election in 2004 was
controversial as well, with an assassination attempt on Chen during the week of the
elections allegedly winning him the sympathy votes to push him past the KMT’s
ticket of Lien Chan and James Soong. After he was re-elected by a margin of
300,000 ballots, or .2% of the total cast, the KMT led large-scale protests against the
election results.296
The DPP has had trouble breaking a pitifully low threshold of votes in national
elections, usually gaining around 35 percent of the vote total throughout the first
decade after democratization.297 Chart 3.2 below shows the party preferences of
voters in several surveys taken between 1983 and 2000. The KMT has had a clear
advantage over the DPP/dangwai in the proportion of voters who say they “like” or
support the political party. As mentioned in a previous section, the political landscape
in Taiwan is not structured on a traditional Left/Right divide. This unique
circumstance has led to a phenomenon in which the KMT ‘poaches’ traditional DPP
supporters by appealing to these voters on economic policy and the promise of
stability in cross-strait relations.298 Rigger (2001) emphasizes that, “while Taiwanese
complain about political corruption, environmental destruction, economic inequality,
and other issues on which the DPP leads the KMT, they tend to vote on economics
295
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 186-7.
Chi Huan, “Referendum and Democracy: The experience of Taiwan,” In Philip Paolino and James
Meernik (eds.) Democratization in Taiwan: Challenges in transformation (Burlington, VT: Ashgate,
2008), pp. 121. See also "Chen Back in Taipei after Shooting." CNN. Cable News Network, 6 May
2004. Web. 19 Dec. 2012.
297
Hsiao and Cheng 1999, op. cit.
298
Stockton 2012, op. cit.
296
82
and national security, and on these issues, the DPP trails the ruling party” (emphasis
in original).299 Faced with such an inopportune environment, the DPP’s success has
come primarily from its candidates’ personal appeal and a desire among voters for
checks and balances in the political system.300
Chart 3.2: Party Preference
50
45
40
35
30
KMT
25
DPP
20
15
10
5
0
1983
1986
1989
1991
1993
1994
1995
1996
2000
Chart taken from Shelley Rigger, From Opposition to Power: Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party
(Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2001), p. 157.
To the dismay of members of the DPP, a considerable segment of Taiwanese
voters credit the KMT for Taiwan’s democratization process. The former
authoritarian party has adapted well to the post-democratization political environment
by democratizing its party structure and distancing itself from the conservative
mainlander faction. In contrast, a poor public image has chronically plagued the DPP
throughout the period after democratization. In 1991, 37.7 percent of respondents
believed that the KMT was a party that promoted democracy, while only 21.5 percent
299
300
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 41.
Ibid, p. 145.
83
considered the DPP to do the same. A survey taken in 1998 asked a series of
questions about which party was more capable of performing a set of policy tasks, the
DPP or the KMT. The KMT was considered better than the DPP at overcoming
diplomatic hardships (34.2 percent to 10.0 percent), enhancing economic prosperity
(35.6 percent to 10.3 percent), ensuring national security (46.5 percent to 6.4 percent),
and leading Taiwan’s political direction (32.5 percent to 15.6 percent).301
However, even when there has been palpable frustration among the Taiwanese
public directed at the KMT, the DPP has not necessarily been a beneficiary. President
Ma has squandered much of the faith that Taiwanese voters had in the KMT’s
economic policies. Frustratingly for the opposition, the DPP hasn’t been able to
inspire any confidence in its own competence. A year-end survey taken by the
Taiwan Thinktank in December 2012 revealed that even with widespread discontent
over almost all aspects of the nation’s situation, and a 68.2 percent disapproval rating
for President Ma Ying-jeou, 57 percent of respondents still did not view the DPP
favorably.302 The DPP’s poor suasion among voters is further demonstrated by the
fact that 55.7 percent of respondents supported a massive demonstration against
President Ma organized by the party for the beginning of 2013, while only 30.7
percent of those surveyed expressed support for the DPP.303 In May 2013, a poll
conducted by the Taiwan Brain Trust showed that even with Ma’s approval rating at
13 percent, 44.3 percent of respondents did not believe that the DPP would fare any
better as the ruling party than the KMT.304
301
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 161-3.
See Chris Wang, "DPP Lost, Aimless: Koo Kwang-ming." - Taipei Times. 31 Dec. 2012. Web. 30
Dec. 2012.
303
Chris Wang, "People Pessimistic and Unhappy with Ma: Poll." - Taipei Times. 24 Dec. 2012. Web.
24 Dec. 2012.
304
Chris Wang, "DPP Scores Poorly in Public Poll." - Taipei Times. 20 May. 2013. Web. 10 June.
2013.
302
84
Clearly, the KMT’s success at navigating democratization and remaining
influential in Taiwanese politics is incontrovertible. It has preserved support among
significant groups within Taiwanese society and has re-emerged triumphantly after
disastrous electoral performances during the Chen Shui-bian presidency. Part and
parcel to its revival after eight years spent as the opposition was its reputation among
middle-class Taiwanese. Strong economic growth under the KMT palliated
objections to authoritarian rule and gave the party credibility in the economic realm
throughout the 1990s. Despite squandering much of its reputation under the Ma
administration, the KMT continues to be regarded by a considerable number of
Taiwanese as the better of the two political parties.
c.
Civil Rights
There is a stream of literature that questions the competitiveness of Taiwan’s
electoral system. Some scholars are pessimistic about the long-term prospects for the
DPP in presidential elections, and argue that there are several major impediments to a
DPP presidency, including the KMT’s governing experience and assets accrued
during authoritarian rule, its reputation for economic prowess, and an insuperable vote
threshold for the DPP.305 Despite these reservations, there might still be serendipitous
prospects for advocates of a liberal democratic Taiwanese state. Progressive reforms
have been accomplished on Taiwan through alternative strategies such as protests.
Since the late 1980s protestors have successfully forced closures of environmentally
305
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 145. (See also Hsieh 2010, p. 29-30; Lee 2010, p. 3-4; Rigger 2010, p. 42-43;
Chang et al., 2011; Mattlin 2011 op cit., p. 41-6; Stockton 2012; Jacques deLisle, Shelley Rigger,
Vincent Wei-Cheng Wang, M. Terry Cooke (discussants). “Taiwan’s Presidential and Legislative
Election: Implications for cross-strait relations, U.S. policy and domestic politics,” Foreign Policy
Research Institute Friday, January 20, 2012.
85
harmful plants and the cancellation of plans for building others.306 Electoral politics
are only one method of bringing Taiwan closer in harmony with the spirit of social
democracy. An accountable and transparent government, mechanisms to permit
citizen participation, and the guarantee of a basic standard of welfare can be achieved
by alternative methods.
The late Howard Zinn (2008) eloquently described the urgency for citizens to
escape from “election madness” and concentrate on nurturing democratic principles
through “educating, agitating, organizing our fellow citizens in the workplace, in the
neighborhood, in the schools.”307 Speaking of the American context, he wrote, “[o]ur
objective should be to build, painstakingly, patiently but energetically, a movement
that, when it reaches a certain critical mass, would shake whoever is in the White
House, in Congress, into changing national policy on matters of war and social
justice.”308 Zinn concurs with other authors mentioned previously (p.47-8) who argue
that democratic principles extend beyond solely the procedural dimension. Grassroots
organizing and labor unionization are efficacious methods for progressive reform in
lieu of electoral politics.
Taiwan is especially in need of strong social movements and independent
labor unions. The Chen Shui-bian administration left activists from many quarters
dismayed at the lack of progress under a DPP presidency. On the foreign policy front,
Chen was blackballed by Beijing, who chose to invite KMT members and moderate
politicians to the mainland. Domestically, Chen was stonewalled by an obstinate
306
Ya-chung Chuang, Activism as a Vocation: Social movements in urban Taiwan (Duke University,
PhD dissertation, Durham, NC: Duke University, 2000). (See also Rigger 2001 op. cit., p. 139; Roy
2003, op. cit., p. 197.)
307
Howard Zinn, “Election Madness,” The Progressive March 2008.
308
Ibid.
86
KMT that claimed enough seats in the legislature to stymie DPP initiatives.309 The
DPP also time and again favored political expediency and compromise with
conservatives once in control of the presidency. Even with the participation of social
movements activists in the policy-making process and the appointment of anti-nuclear
activists and supporters of the education reform movement as ministers, there was
little to celebrate in substantive social reform during the Chen Shui-bian era.310 The
unrequited sacrifices of social and labor activists during the Chen administration have
cautioned progressive activists against relying entirely on the efforts of the DPP to
recapture the presidency.
A healthy democracy requires fealty to democratic principles and guarantees
extending across political elites and the masses. In addition to competitive political
parties and strong social democratic parties, an active labor movement has also been
shown to be a critical factor in the creation of a welfare state in a democracy.311 The
freedoms of association and assembly and the right to strike are quintessential to these
institutions. Without the freedom of association, opposition political parties may be
constantly threatened by arrest or of having their activities disrupted or monitored.
Under such duress, activists are hampered from organizing a united movement against
the sitting government. Similarly, the freedom of assembly sustains democracy by
formalizing a method of direct participation by citizens. Public demonstrations,
although not always congruous to the spirit of democracy, are an important
mechanism for expressing popular support or dissatisfaction with the government.
309
Shelley Rigger, “The Democratic Progressive Party: From opposition to power, and back again,” In
Wei-Chin Lee (ed.) Taiwan’s Politics in the 21st Century: Changes and challenges (Singapore: World
Scientific, 2010), pp. 54. (See also Mattlin 2011, op. cit., p. 79-81.)
310
Hsiao and Ho 2010, op. cit., p. 56. Some of the legislation passed during Chen’s presidency were:
The Protection for Workers Incurring Occupational Accidents Act (2001); the Gender Equality in
Employment Act (2002); the Employment Insurance Act (2002); the Protective Act for Mass
Redundancy of Employees (2003); and the Basic Environment Act (2002). See Hsiao and Ho (2010).
311
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 30.
87
Finally, a credible threat to strike gives labor movements leverage against
management in negotiations. Without the right to collectively withhold labor,
management is more likely to abuse or coerce workers into accepting poor working
conditions.
i.
Freedom of association
Taiwan has a long history of political activity in the form of meetings between
individuals disgruntled by lack of local autonomy and rule by outsiders. In 1885,
after centuries of immigration from the mainland, foreign incursions finally induced
the Qing government into formally decreeing Taiwan a province. The Sino-French
War (1884-85), in which French soldiers marched on Taipei before retreating to
Penghu, was the immediate stimulus for according Taiwan this status. Even earlier,
in 1874 the Japanese had sent a retaliatory force to the island after a group of
aborigines killed fifty-four shipwrecked sailors from the Ryukyu Islands.312
On November 12, 1885, Liu Ming-chuan became Taiwan’s first governor. Far
from Beijing, Liu was given considerable discretion to develop Taiwan without
interference from the royal court. Prior to 1885 Taiwan was an agricultural backwater
with an economy that was based on agricultural self-sufficiency. Its closest point of
contact to the mainland is the southeast coast of China’s Fujian province, the ancestral
origin of the majority of Taiwanese. After Liu became governor, the island increased
its involvement in regional trade, and a railroad was completed in 1891 connecting
Taipei and Keelung, with a further extension to Xinzhu opened in 1893.313 At the end
of Chinese rule there were an estimated 2.6 million people living on the island (5.34
312
313
Hung 2011, op. cit., p. 204-7.
Ibid, p. 211.
88
people/square mile). The outbreak of war between China and Japan abruptly ended
Taiwan’s brief experience as a province of the Qing Dynasty.
The Japanese empire defeated China in the First Sino-Japanese War. Both
countries had been exposed to outside political and economic philosophies, and had
modernized their militaries. Japan’s victory granted it the status of first Asian
colonial power and marked the first time in 2,000 years that China could not claim to
be the regional hegemon. The 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki gave Japan suzerainty
over Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, and opened the door to Japanese influence in
Korea. Japanese leaders were aware of the numerous concessions that the western
colonial powers had extracted from China via war and threat. Protected by the waters
surrounding it, Japan had developed its society in self-imposed isolation from 1639
until 1868 via a policy of seclusion (sakoku) under the Tokugawa government. The
landing of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853 at the Port of Edo and subsequent
treaties signed with the foreign powers unleashed domestic forces divided on whether
to “expel the barbarian” or “open the country.” In 1868 powerful landlords helped
restore the Japanese Emperor to the center of power. After the Meiji government
eliminated the last armed insurrection and created the 1889 Meiji Constitution, Japan
embarked on a tortuous path of expansion and militarization.314 A successful
experiment of colonial rule on Taiwan would show the Western powers that an Asian
country too was capable of becoming a great power, and would be a testament to the
success of reforms implemented following the Meiji Restoration. Japan leaders
therefore administered Taiwan as a model colony and formulated policies and
practices according to observations made on expeditions abroad by Japanese
intellectuals.
314
Kenneth S. Latourette, The History of Japan (New York, NY: MacMillan, 1947).
89
When Japanese troops first set foot on Taiwan after the Treaty of Shimonoseki,
the island was no longer the raw frontier region that it had been for much of its history.
However, there was still only rudimentary industrialization, concentrated in the north,
and political unity was absent throughout much of the island.315 Taiwan was
dependent on subsidies from Tokyo until 1904, with a large proportion dedicated to
the military and suppressing rebellious groups.316 There was even sentiment among
the Japanese elite questioning the feasibility of keeping Taiwan as a colony, and some
suggested that selling the island back to China was the only prudent decision.317
Nevertheless, Japan successfully turned Taiwan into a self-sufficient colony
by developing its agricultural sector, introducing a compulsory general education
system, quelling the violent uprisings that had plagued the island during the Qing era,
and consolidating political rule over the island. As violence against the
administration declined, Japanese officials turned their attention to developing the
island into an appendage of the Japanese empire. Den Kenjiro became the first
civilian governor-general of Taiwan in 1919 and immediately announced an
assimilation policy of Taiwanese into the power structures of the colonial
government.318
Political activism was inchoate throughout the decade after World War I, even
with the colonial administration’s forbearance of repression during the ‘liberal
twenties’ in Japan. There was only limited support for radical political action or
violent protest, and membership in associations explicitly calling for home rule was
relatively low. Just as the KMT would do during its period of authoritarian rule, the
Japanese colonial administration presided over a flourishing economy. Taiwanese
315
Hung 2011, op. cit., p. 225.
Ibid, p. 260-66.
317
Ibid, p. 252.
318
Ibid, p. 276.
316
90
therefore accepted, if begrudgingly, the presence of foreign occupation. Unlike later
under the KMT regime, however, most Taiwanese did not evince overt political
antagonism to the Japanese, despite the grievances that many had against colonial rule.
Although the Taiwanese were discriminated against, the Japanese colonial
administration was not corrupt, and the professional bureaucracy imported from Japan
managed the colony efficiently.319
The Japanese colonial administration violently suppressed militant groups,
making the idea of revolutionary overthrow obsolete. Taiwanese therefore began
forming intellectual groups devoted to securing more local autonomy, inspired by the
rhetoric of self-determination that proliferated at the time of World War I.320 The
‘home rule movement’ began in Tokyo with the establishment of the Keihatsu kai or
Enlightenment Society. Soon after, the Enlightenment Society reorganized itself as
the Shinmin kai or New People’s Society, which eventually involved hundreds of
educated Taiwanese. The first in situ political organization agitating for autonomy
was the Taiwan Bunka Kyokai or Taiwan Cultural Association. Included among its
various pursuits were sponsoring public lectures in major cities and towns throughout
the island, publishing a magazine, holding seminars on culture, and sponsoring a
summer training school for youth. The activities spearheaded by the Taiwan Cultural
Association encouraged other societies, clubs and associations to develop, including
youth societies, women’s associations, and reading clubs.
Collectively, the proliferation of these associations and clubs led to the
inauguration of the People’s Party in 1927. The party platform emphasized the
establishment of democracy in Taiwan, economic reform, and an improved social
system, and had a membership of 439 people. Several leaders of the People’s Party
319
320
Ibid, p. 311-18.
Ibid, p. 278.
91
formed the Self-Rule League in 1930 after falling out with the group. Despite the
new banner, many of the demands of the Self-Rule League were the same as those
made by the Cultural Association and the People’s Party, centering on the
establishment of local governance and popular suffrage. Japanese militarists, an everpresent group in Japanese politics, eventually dismantled the Self-Rule League and its
predecessors. A young group of navy officers ended the ‘liberal twenties’ in Japan by
assassinating Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi in 1932, thus beginning a period of a
less accommodating stance by the Japanese colonial government toward dissent.321
The outbreak of the second Sino-Japanese war in 1937 curtailed the efforts of
home rule organizations, and the Self-Rule League voted to disband a month after the
war began. Similar political organizations wouldn’t appear again on the island until
well into the period of authoritarian rule under the KMT, as pro-Taiwanese activists
were exiled abroad following the transfer of Taiwan from Japan to the ROC. After
World War II, the ROC government arrogated the position and property of the
Japanese colonial administration and its appurtenant colonials. Anti-ROC sentiment
reached a climax during the 2-28 Incident, when the government slaughtered tens of
thousands of people. General Chen Yi declared martial law on two separate
occasions after the initial demonstrations demanding reform.322
Between mid-1947 and 1949 the Communists killed 150,000 ROC soldiers in
Manchuria, won victories in Henan and Hebei, and gained control over Manchuria
and Shandong. General Chen Cheng, who replaced Wei Dao-ming as governor of
Taiwan, declared martial law for a third and final time on May 19, 1949. A wave of
arrests and executions followed immediately afterwards, and the leader of Taiwan’s
autonomy movement in the 1920s and 1930s, Thomas Liao, fled to Tokyo. On
321
Ibid, p. 277-86.
Heng-wen Liu and Hou'an Liu, "Martial Law," Encyclopedia of Taiwan Online. 12 Dec. 2012. Web.
27 Dec. 2012.
322
92
November 30, the Chinese Nationalists moved their capital from Chongqing to Taipei
and Chiang Kai-shek came out of retirement to become the president once again.
Chiang did nothing with the suspended constitution and the ‘white terror’ period of
arbitrary repression began anon.323
‘Free China’ was an appellation commonly applied to Taiwan until the early
1970s and the loss of its seat in the UN. Taiwan was technically a constitutional
democracy, although in reality a single party controlled the government. During the
period of authoritarian KMT rule, the Temporary Provisions act granted the president
extraordinary powers. Both the freedoms of speech and assembly were severely
restricted. This apparent contradiction of the argument made by the regime and its
international backers that the nationalist government on Taiwan was the rightful,
“liberal” claimant over all of China did not trouble the authoritarian regime. The
KMT promised to rescind the Temporary Provisions when the communist threat
dissipated. To establish a semblance of legitimacy over Taiwan, the émigré regime
allowed local elections, with Provincial Assemblyman being the highest elected office.
There were also two other alternative parties to the KMT ‘competing’ in elections.
These parties were nothing more than a subterfuge of the KMT, and were derisively
called “flower vase parties.”324 A group of Mainlander intellectuals and members
from the sparse number of Taiwanese politicians tried to form a Chinese Democratic
Party separate from the KMT in the late 1950s.325 The movement ended in 1960 after
its leader, Lei Chen, a highly respected ex-KMT member, was imprisoned. Although
independent candidates regularly participated in elections and had a respectable vote
323
Hung 2011, op. cit. p. 311-13.
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 10.
325
Liu, I-chou 1999, op. cit., p. 66
324
93
and seat share, a second organized opposition failed to materialize until the late
1970s.326
In 1969 the KMT government began allowing a limited number of
supplementary seats for elections to the national parliament. The elections were
necessary because there had not been an election to that body in over twenty years,
and the seats of those senior legislators who had been elected on the mainland were
noticeably in diminution.327 Eleven new members were elected to the Legislative
Yuan and eight to the National Assembly in the 1969 supplementary elections.
Taiwanese politician Kang Ning-hsiang, who later would become one of the
dangwai’s first leaders, won a seat in the Legislative Yuan.328 Although the
government still restricted the freedoms of speech and assembly, national elections
gave candidates a platform to attack the KMT on a narrow set of issues.329
Beginning from the second round of Legislative Yuan elections in 1972,
independent candidates campaigned using the dangwai label. Adopting this term was
an atavism to the 1950s movement led by Lei Chen. Dangwai candidates emphasized
democratic reforms predicated on the lifting of martial law and reassertion of the full
powers of the constitution. By the mid-1980s a number of conditions, such as the
KMT’s loss of international recognition, a growing share of Taiwanese in the KMT,
and the growth of a middle class, had made repressing the opposition untenable for
the party. When the DPP was created out of the dangwai in 1986, Chiang Ching-kuo
tolerated it and even spoke of ending martial law.330
From its inception at the meeting of dangwai activists, The DPP has been
composed of diverse groups endorsing contradictory strategies. The resulting
326
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 10. (See also Mattlin 2011.)
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 172.
328
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 18. (See also Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 158.)
329
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 11.
330
Ibid, p. 12.
327
94
factionalism, each group seizing its right to freedom of association, has deeply
compromised party effectiveness. Initially, moderate members preferred working
through elections, while more radical elements advocated organizing mass
demonstrations.331 These general attitudes about political efficacy have remained true
even after the most radical pro-independence supporters split from the DPP to form
the Taiwan Solidarity Union.332 Prior to democratization, the cleavages within the
dangwai movement were latent. As long as the KMT continued to arbitrarily detain,
silence, and kill opposition members, the dangwai’s disagreements remained subdued
and the party managed to have at least a façade of being unified.
Chen Shui-bian won the presidency in 2000 for the DPP by collecting a
meager 39 percent of the vote, benefiting from an acrimonious split in the KMT.
Although there were no mass protests against president Chen during his first term,
radical KMT legislators proposed impeaching him within his first year of taking
office.333 Chen’s controversial re-election in 2004 was met with KMT-led protests,
some erupting in violence. The KMT charged the DPP with vote rigging and panblue legislators were livid about an election-week assassination attempt on Chen that
they claimed to have cost the KMT the election.
Although the former authoritarian party had lost the presidency, it still
maintained a majority in the legislature, depriving the DPP of the clout necessary to
pass legislation. The inherent flaws of Taiwan’s democratic system that were
concealed when the president and the legislature were of the same party became
331
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 19. In this case, it was the 1977 Chungli Incident that showed the
differences in strategy and orientation between the radical and moderate elements of the dangwai.
332
After the 2012 presidential election, the DPP has again emphasized protests, planning a series of
demonstrations around the island leading to a massive demonstration with a hoped-for 100,000 people
participating. See Wang, Chris. "DPP Planning 10 Local Rallies from Saturday." - Taipei Times. 13
Dec. 2012. Web. 31 Dec. 2012.
333
Philip Paolino, “Semi-presidentialism and Voters’ Views of Divided Government in Taiwan,” In
Philip Paolino and James Meernik (eds.) Democratization in Taiwan: Challenges in transformation
(Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2008), p. 135-52.
95
apparent. Deadlock defined President Chen’s eight years in office, as time and again
he was thwarted by the KMT’s recalcitrance. Furthermore, the DPP’s party structure
allowed considerable autonomy to its legislators, and the enduring disunity in the DPP
that had been supine after the 1996 presidential elections burst out once again.
President Chen tried to reform the party’s structure during his first term in office, but
was repeatedly frustrated by internecine division. The 2006 DPP party chair elections
were generally acknowledged as being a snub to President Chen’s cross-strait policies.
Legislator Lee Wen-chung, a member of the New Tide faction, took the opportunity
to criticize President Chen’s decision-making model. 334 In January, former party
chairman and ‘divine leader’ of the DPP Lin Yi-hsiung unexpectedly announced his
intention to quit the party due to his disappointment with the political situation under
Chen’s presidency.335
Also in 2006, Chen Shui-bian’s son-in-law was arrested on charges of insider
trading. Following the arrest, the KMT launched a petition to recall the president and
publicly defended its merit. Although the recall motion temporarily unified the DPP,
the relationship between factions within the DPP hit a nadir soon after the motion
failed. A group of academics closely associated with the DPP issued a petition asking
Chen to resign. Soon after, former DPP chairman and revered democracy activist
Shih Ming-teh began a movement for the same purpose. Within five months,
thousands of demonstrators were joining Shih’s “Red Shirt” demonstrations.336
At the time of the Taiwan Social Change Survey (2006) whose data form the
basis of this paper, the insider trading scandal involving President Chen Shui-bian’s
close circle had created a gulf within the DPP. In July Chen’s supporters in the party
334
Rigger 2010, op. cit., p. 56-60.
Jewel Huang, "Former DPP Chairman Leaves Party." Taipei Times. 25 Jan. 2006. Web. 13 May
2013.
336
Rigger 2010, op cit., p. 61.
335
96
resorted to proposing a ban on factions to force compliance within the party and
silence the New Tide, the faction most critical of President Chen. Despite the protests
of New Tide legislators, the party succeeded in banning factions, an ironic volte-face
for the former pro-democracy party.337 Factionalism never disappeared, and reemerged once again after Chen Shui-bian’s second term expired in 2008, aggravated
by the imprisonment of the former president and his wife on corruption and graft
charges.338
In 2006 Freedom House gave Taiwan the highest ranking for both civil
liberties and political rights, and attested that both freedom of assembly and
association were well respected in Taiwan. Also in 2006, the KMT held democratic
elections for the position of party chairman, the first time since it had ever done so.339
There should hereafter be general support among both parties for the freedom of
association in the public, as it had become an inveterate part of Taiwanese political
life.
ii.
Protest demonstrations
Demonstrations against government policies have not been as long-established
a part of Taiwan’s political history as political meetings and associations. By the end
of the first decade of the 1900s, the Japanese had mercilessly destroyed any direct
challenges to its authority over Taiwan. The home rule movement that developed
under the Japanese colonial administration was intellectually driven, and did not
endorse militant activity against Taiwan’s colonial masters. Like the Japanese, the
337
Ibid, p. 61-62.
After the 2012 election defeat of Tsai Ing-wen, the New Tide faction picked up 6 seats, emerging
with power blocs centering on Frank Hsieh and Yu Shyi-kun as the biggest winners in the Central
Executive Committee elections. See Lin, Enru. "New Tide Takes Lion's Share in DPP Poll."
Www.ChinaPost.com.tw. 16 July 2012. Web. 30 Dec. 2012.
339
For more on Taiwan’s rankings from 2002 until 2012, see "Taiwan." Freedom House. Web. 03 Jan.
2013.
338
97
KMT similarly began its period of rule with violence. After the truculent repression
of the 2-28 Incident, the KMT government faced virtually no organized opposition.340
Under martial law, the party pre-empted the formation of independent organizations
outside the purview of the party-state by creating its own pro-regime groups.341 Even
seemingly innocuous forms of communal gathering such as religious festivals were
placed under surveillance as a part of the ‘white terror.’342 Rigger (2001) notes that
during the early period of KMT rule, Taiwanese were politically passive, and the few
political dissidents who dared to publicly air their grievances were imprisoned or
exiled.343
However, by the time of the 1977 elections, the KMT’s international
reputation and legitimacy as the sole representative of China had become severely
tarnished. Countries around the world had switched their formal recognition to the
communist regime across the Taiwan Strait. President Chiang Kai-shek, who had led
the KMT since the 1920s, died in 1975. His death, combined with the success of the
KMT in recruiting local leaders and factions into the party, severely weakened loyalty
within the KMT. KMT politicians subsequently took advantage of the growth of
subtle oppositions to assert their independence from the party center, refusing to exert
much effort in support of the party’s chosen candidates.
The 1969 supplementary Legislative Yuan elections provided the context for a
formative moment in the dangwai’s development. Huang Hsin-chieh, one of a
precious few dissident politicians elected to a seat in the local assemblies during the
1960s, asked Kang Ning-hsiang to run his campaign in the 1969 Legislative Yuan
340
Hsiao and Ho 2010, op. cit., p. 45. During the era of white terror, thousands of people were
executed and 140,00 people were subjected to political persecution. See Tai-lin Huang, "White Terror
Exhibit Unveils Part of the Truth." - Taipei Times. 20 May 2005. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.
341
B.J. Dickson, “The Lessons of Defeat: The reorganization of the Kuomintang on Taiwan, 1950-52,”
The China Quarterly, 133 1993, pp. 56-84. (See also Ho 2007.)
342
Gates 1996, op. cit., p. 231-36. (See also Jordan 1995, p. 150-1.)
343
Rigger 2001, op. cit.
98
elections. Huang won election, and became one of two opposition legislators in the
Legislative Yuan. Meanwhile, Kang won a seat on the Taipei City Council in 1969,
and then a seat in the Legislative Yuan in 1972. Huang Hsin-chieh and Kang Ninghsiang, along with opposition politician and former KMT member, Chan Chun-hung,
formed the nucleus of the inchoate opposition movement.344
The birth of what would become the DPP’s more ideologically and
intellectually oriented wing came early in the development of the dangwai opposition
movement. Kuo Yu-hsin, an opposition politician, recruited a new generation of
opposition activists into politics in 1975. Kuo’s legislative campaign assistants
included Lin Cheng-chieh, Hsiao Yu-chen, and brothers Wu Nai-jen and Wu Nai-teh.
The opposition’s new strategists diverged from the moderate group over orientation
and tactics, preferring mass movements over electoral politics. The ideological
disagreements between the younger group of dangwai activists and the electiondriven camp came to the forefront of oppositional politics in several episodes in the
late 1970s.345
Kang Ning-hsiang founded The Eighties, a magazine representing the less
confrontational approach of the moderate wing of the dangwai. The staff of Formosa,
on the other hand, supported activist, mass-based politics to promote a similar
moderate agenda. Although both The Eighties and Formosa were forceful in their
criticisms of authoritarian rule, the editors of Formosa aggressively built a broadbased movement. Formosa staffers established branch offices all over the island
through which pro-democracy activities could be coordinated. Their efforts to build
344
345
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 17.
Ibid, p. 18-19.
99
support for the opposition island-wide were an unprecedented challenge to the KMT’s
control of government.346
Opposition candidates played a prominent role in the 1977 elections. Huang
and Kang solicited dozens of opposition candidates to coordinate their campaigns
under the dangwai label. Altogether, fourteen dangwai candidates won seats in the
Provincial Assembly. The race for Taoyuan county executive was close; the dangwai
candidate, Hsu Hsin-liang, was expected to lose the election because of a fraudulent
vote count orchestrated by the KMT.347 In Chungli, more than 10,000 of Hsu’s
supporters surrounded the main police station. The protest turned violent, and the
angry crowd overturned several cars and set them on fire. A National Chungyan
University student and a teenager were killed when police opened fire, and the protest
escalated into a riot, later becoming known as the Chungli Incident.348 There had not
been another riot since the events of 2-28, and it occurred only two years after the
generalissimo’s death. Despite the fatal violence, the general population of Taiwan
blamed the rioters for its asinine response.349 Most Taiwanese regarded the election
result as a bagatelle, and couldn’t understand why the demonstrators would react so
irrationally.
In the aftermath of the Chungli Incident, a vigorous debate threatened to
divide the young opposition movement. Kang Ning-hsiang and his moderate
supporters within the dangwai believed that mass demonstrations were rash and less
effective than electoral politics in building popular support, along with being
potentially deleterious to movement solidarity. The younger group of former
campaign assistants supported mass protests, even if at the risk of inciting violence, to
346
Ibid, p. 21.
Ibid, p. 20.
348
Schaefferer 2003, op. cit., p. 26. (See also See also "The Chungli Incident (Zhongli Incident)." The
Chungli Incident (Zhongli Incident). Encyclopedia of Taiwan, 2011. Web. 04 Jan. 2013.)
349
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 167.
347
100
publicize the KMT’s transgressions. They were frustrated with competing in the
party-state’s sham electoral politics, and welcomed more aggressive tactics.350
Just over a year later, another crisis illuminated the cleavage among dangwai
activists. Henry Kissinger’s furtive visit to China in 1971 was just the beginning of
steady rapprochement between the United States and China. On December 16, 1978,
Jimmy Carter announced his intention to normalize relations with the PRC the
following month. The news devastated Taiwan and provoked expressions of antiAmericanism from Taiwanese citizens. Allegedly fearing popular unrest, Chiang
Ching-kuo responded by canceling the island-wide elections for all levels of
government scheduled for December 23.351 Although the opposition was predicted to
perform well, Kang Ning-hsiang issued a statement giving his blessing to the KMT’s
decision. Other moderates argued that cancelling the elections was a reasonable
response to such a crisis and advised dangwai candidates to abandon campaigning to
support the ROC. Kang’s endorsement was unpopular among many dangwai activists
who believed the cancellation to be unnecessary and announced in order to avoid
losing seats to the nascent opposition movement. The young radicals who disagreed
made plans for antigovernment street demonstrations. A series of peaceful rallies
occurred over the following months, leading to the arrest of Yu Teng-fa, who had
been elected Kaohsiung County Executive, and the suspension of Hsu Hsin-liang
from office for two years.352
One of the defining moments in Taiwan’s democratization history mentioned
in Chapter II was the Kaohsiung Incident when an opposition-led protest march on
International Human Rights Day in December 1979 ended in violence between
demonstrators and police. The KMT regime used the violence as a pretext to arrest
350
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 19.
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 20-21
352
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 168.
351
101
the organizers of the march, notably the staff of Formosa Magazine, a group of
dangwai moderate activists including Huang Hsin-chieh, Shih Ming-teh, Li Yi-hsiung,
Yao Chia-wen, Chen Chu, Lu Hsiu-lien, Chang Chun-hung, and Lin Huang-hsuan.
Although Kang Ning-Hsiang recruited an impressive team of defense attorneys to
defend the Formosa group, the leading activists were still sentenced to long prison
sentences.353
Whereas the 1977 Chungli Incident was an indication of simmering divisions
within the opposition movement, the Kaohsiung Incident has had more indelible
repercussions on the process of democratization. The jailing of Huang Hsin-chieh
and other leaders of the more radically activist branch of the dangwai created a
vacuum for new groups to counter Kang Ning-hsiang’s moderate camp. Two new
groups emerged to fill this void, including the Formosa group defense attorneys, led
by Chen Shui-bian, Hsieh Chang-ting, Su Chen-chang, Yu Ching, Chiang Peng-chian,
and Chan Chun-hsiung, and the young radicals led by Lin Cheng-chieh, Hsiao Yuchen and the Wu brothers, Wu Nai-jen and Wu Nai-teh.
Political scientist Hu Fu identified four distinct factions that had formed
within the dangwai by 1984, including the Writers and Editors Alliance (who later
that year would establish New Tide Magazine), the Dangwai Public Policy Research
Association (the successor to the Dangwai Campaign Assistance Group) led by
defense attorneys Yu Ching and Hsieh Chang-ting, the Progress Faction (composed of
independent-minded dangwai politicians such as Lin Cheng-chieh, Tsai Jen-chian,
Tsai Shih-yuan), and the imprisoned Formosa Faction.354 Among these factions, New
Tide’s activists were the, “faction with the highest intellectual level, the strictest
353
354
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 21.
Ibid, p. 23.
102
discipline, the strongest commitment to struggle and the hardest ideology.”355
Members of this faction were unabashed in their criticisms of Kang Ning-hsiang and
the moderate dangwai activists. Meanwhile, the Progress Faction eventually sided
with the Formosa Faction because it found self-determination less dogmatic than
Taiwanese independence.356
On September 28, 1986, dangwai activists meeting in a ballroom at Taipei’s
Grand Hotel passed a motion to establish a political party, calling themselves the DPP.
At the time, the most prominent members of the Formosa Faction were still being
held as political prisoners. The nascent opposition party underwent another change in
its internal power structure when the jailed Formosa Magazine activists began to be
released in the late 1980s. When Chang Chun-hung and Huang Hsin-chieh were
pardoned in March 1988, they immediately joined the DPP leadership.357 Once its
leaders were released from prison, the Formosa faction’s moderate stance once again
became the dominant voice in the opposition.358 The moderate faction under the New
Tide and Kang’s leadership had been discredited among dangwai activists due to
sharp criticism from the young radicals in the early 1980s, allowing Formosa to
reassert itself as the moderate voice of the DPP.
In response to Formosa’s rapid recovery and rise, the New Tide faction
cultivated ties with the first two DPP party chairs, and was able to capture the position
of DPP general secretary and deputy general secretary. Worried by the New Tide’s
influence on the party, the newly released Formosa moderates used their martyrdom
to garner general support, while attracting many of Kang’s erstwhile supporters.
355
Chen-liang Kuo, Minjindang zhuanxing zhi tong (The DPP’s painful transformation) (Taipei:
Tianhsia Publishing Company, 1998), p. 166. Quoted in (Rigger 2001, p. 24.)
356
Tun-jen Cheng and Yung-ming Hsu, “Issue Structure, the DPP’s Factionalism, and Party
Realignment,” In Charles Chi-Hsiang Chang and Hung-Mao Tien (eds.) Taiwan’s Electoral Politics
and Democratic Transition: Riding the third wave (New York, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1996), pp. 146.
357
Ibid, p. 27.
358
Ibid, p. 22.
103
Between 1988 and 1991, internecine fighting within the newly created DPP was so
intense that many observers believed the DPP wouldn’t survive intact.359
The New Tide faction launched a campaign endorsing Taiwanese
independence as a formal plank of the DPP’s platform. This was explicitly a political
move, as New Tide activists hoped that the independence issue would galvanize its
supporters and deprecate Formosa’s pragmatic, centrist strategy. By staking its
position on the Taiwan independence issue, the New Tide faction gambled that an
emotional appeal, along with the return of exiled advocates of Taiwanese
independence, would redound in electoral support. The struggle between New Tide
and Formosa came to a head in 1991, during the elections for party chairmanship.
Hsu Hsin-liang (Formosa) and Shih Ming-teh (who had no factional support but was
initially supported by New Tide) were the front-runners for the position. To secure
the chairmanship, Hsu and his supporters made a bargain with New Tide to amend the
DPP platform to include the independence plank. After the DPP’s resounding defeat
in the 1991 National Assembly elections, moderate DPP politicians have moved en
masse away from Taiwanese independence. The influence of members advocating
independence within the DPP has ex post facto dwindled. Instead, most DPP
politicians now support the claim that the status quo is independence and the most
pro-independence activists of the DPP split to form the Taiwan Solidarity Union
(TSU) after the 2000 elections.360
The dangwai’s commitment to mass-based activism prior to formal
democratization opened the floodgates for other forms of political and economic
demands. From the mid-1980s, social movements demanding a variety of civil rights
and social justice emerged. Ho (2010) describes five stages of Taiwan’s social
359
360
Ibid, p. 27.
Ibid, p. 33.
104
movement development including, fermentation (1980-1986), popular upsurge (19871992), institutionalization (1993-1999), incorporation (2000-2007) and resurgence
(2008-2010).361
Shiau (1999) identified four state objectives of the social movements,
including, criticizing the state’s inaction, advocating new protection policy for
minorities and the disadvantaged, challenging the state’s corporatist mode of control,
and establishing rules for politically sensitive issues (see table 3.1 below). Instances
of collective protest multiplied throughout the 1980s, with 175 held in 1983, 335 in
1986, and 1,172 in 1988. Between 1983 and 1988 social protests of all types grew
steadily, with economic issues showing the largest growth. Large-scale protests
involving more than 5,000 participants more than doubled from 5 in 1986 to 12 in
1988.362
Table 3.1: Emerging social movements in Taiwan, 1989
Stated objectives
I. Criticizing the state’s inaction
II. Advocating new protection
policy for minorities and the
disadvantaged
Major participating organizations
Consumer movements
Local anti-pollution protest movements
The conservation movement
The anti-nuclear power movement
The non-homeowners’ ‘shell-less snail’ movement
The aborigine human rights movement
New Testament church protests
Handicapped and disadvantaged welfare group protests
Veterans’ welfare protests
The Hakka rights movement
III. Challenging the state’s
corporatist mode of control
361
362
The labor movement
The women’s movement
The student movement
The farmers’ movement
The teachers’ rights movement
Ho 2010, op. cit., p. 5. (See also Hsiao and Ho 2010, op. cit., p. 45; Hsiao 2011.)
Shiau 1999, op. cit., p. 108.
105
IV. Establishing rules for
politically sensitive issues
The human rights movement
The mainlanders’ home-visiting movement
The Taiwanese home-visiting movement
Table taken from Chyuan-jeng Shiau, “Civil Society and Democratization.” In Steve Tsang and Hungmao Tien (eds.) Democratization in Taiwan: Implications for China (Hong Kong: Hong Kong
University Press, 1999), pp. 108.
A number of factors came together in the 1980s to inspire the diversity of
social activism. The US successfully pressured Taiwan to remove many of its tariff
and non-tariff barriers and to revalue the New Taiwan Dollar in response to the
latter’s rapid economic growth. Taiwan’s international competitiveness subsequently
suffered from the re-evaluation of the NTD, which rose upwards of 50 percent
between late 1986 and 1989. Chiang Ching-kuo’s neo-mercantilist policies were also
largely unbeneficial to consumers, farmers and laborers, and damaged the
environment. Furthermore, currency and other economic problems worsened the
inequality gap and created demand for welfare programs. Finally, with the lifting of
martial law in 1987, social movements centered on respect for human rights
proliferated.363 In the late 1980s a growing faction within the KMT realized that the
dangwai’s electoral victories and the threat of mass demonstrations under continued
authoritarian rule might topple the regime altogether.364 The KMT hence contrived to
implement political reforms that would allow it to maintain its position in control of
the government, while permitting more space for political opposition and civil society.
Social movements notably proliferated in 1989, the second year after the
lifting of martial law and first after Taiwanese politician Lee Teng-hui became
president. At least eighteen social movements protested against the state, criticizing it
of being an archaic institution that was otiose in dealing with urgent issues. A large
number of the social movements criticized the state for being inflexible and
363
364
Ibid p. 109.
Wu and Cheng 2011, op. cit., p. 249.
106
inadequate for the task of governing. Social movements organized throughout the
1980s and contributed to loosening the grip of the authoritarian regime on civil
society. Chu (1999) observed that social movements were the most successful at
paring away the penetration of the state into society. The state’s capacity in many key
sectors such as business and industry, labor, mass media, schools and state employees
has been reduced.365 There were at least eight major social movements organized
around the interests of consumers, environmentalists, laborers, women, aborigines,
farmers, students and teachers. More than 3,000 protests, most of which involved
economic and environmental issues occurred in the 1980s. The methods of protest
also began to vary, with petitions and demonstrations giving way to more contentious
means, such as trespassing, squatting, hunger strikes, blockades and riots.366 These
movements were a bellwether for the stymied development of class politics in Taiwan;
the most strident social movements during the 1980s were those founded within the
middle-class, indicating the near-absence of purely class-based political issues in
Taiwan. Even for those movements not arising among the middle-class, such as the
farmer’s and labor movements, the target of criticism was the state rather than
business.367
In late April 1991 Lee Teng-hui announced the abolition of the Temporary
Provisions, and initiated a process for constitutional revision and fully democratic
national elections for the legislative bodies to be held. Social groups found more
stable channels to express their political opinions after these moves. Especially after
the 1995 Legislative Yuan elections, when Taiwan appeared to be headed for a threeparty system, social movements had plenty of opportunities to make their positions
365
Chu 1999, op. cit., p. 149.
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 195-98. (See also Schafferer 2003, op. cit., p. 12-14.)
367
Shiau 1999, op. cit., p. 108.
366
107
heard.368 Some of the salient campaign issues in the 1990s that were articulated amidst
pressure from social movements were corruption (“black gold politics”), social welfare,
old age pensions, and national health insurance.369
However, removing the barriers to state access for civil society meant that
social movements as a form of demand-making declined. Civil society’s role as
antagonist receded as the state became more democratic and implemented reforms in
the areas activists had previously focused on.370 Ho (2010) suggests that this period
was characterized by the institutionalization of social movements, “insofar as they
[social movements] are increasingly tolerated by officials, are accepted by the public,
and become the modular way for a variety of societal interests to stake their claims.”371
Social movements succeeded in getting legislation passed on environmental, women’s,
and labor issues. Social movements won these victories in part due to their direct
participation in some decision-making channels. Ho (2010) borrows the term,
“unobtrusive mobilization” from Katzenstein (1990) in describing social movements’
pursuits of journalistic autonomy, judicial independence, better protection for patients’
rights, and media democracy in Taiwan during this period.372
One notable exception to the institutionalization of civil society was a two-day
protest in 1997 after the kidnapping and murder of a television star’s daughter. Tens
of thousands of middle-class citizens poured onto the streets of Taipei on 4 May and
18 May to protest the deterioration of social order in Taiwan.373 The spontaneous
protests were sparked by the kidnap and murder, however a number of high profile
368
Shiau 1999, op. cit., p. 112. The 1995 Legislative Elections were Taiwan’s second “three party
election,” and the New Party took 21 seats and 13 percent of the vote. See Cooper, John F. 1996.
“Taiwan’s 1995 Legislative Yuan Election,” Occasional Papers/Reprint Series in Contemporary Asian
Studies 1(132)
369
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 24-5.
370
Shiau 1999, op. cit., p. 112.
371
Ho 2010, op. cit., p. 10.
372
Ibid, p. 10-12.
373
Chu 1999, op. cit., p. 161. Public security, social order, and crime were crucial issues to the
Taiwanese public thanks to a series of high-profile crimes. See (Shafferer 2003, op. cit., p. 151-2.)
108
murders had recently happened that highlighted the indifference of the police force to
eliminating crime.374
Rigger (2001) says of this period that, although social movements were able to
generate debate on specific issues in the public realm, Taiwanese voters tended to vote
on economic issues and national security.375 The DPP is handicapped inasmuch as
voter behavior hinges on these issues. For many voters, the KMT’s reputation for
strong economic growth and predictable relations with China is enough to sway their
vote. It was only after the costly split in the KMT that Chen Shui-bian was able to
capture the presidency for the DPP in 2000. Chen won with less than 40 percent of the
vote, while independent candidate James Soong received 36.8 percent and KMT
candidate Lien Chan 23.1 percent. As soon as the election results were announced,
angry protestors gathered outside of the KMT’s central headquarters in Taipei
demanding that Lee resign as KMT chairman. Although the demonstration was
technically illegal, Mayor Ma Ying-jeou did nothing, even joining the protestors on
the first night. Most of those gathered were James Soong’s supporters, irate that Lee
had passed over their candidate, choosing Lien instead to run on the KMT ticket.
Some claimed that Lee refused to nominate Soong to sabotage his political rival. Lee
was accused of being indifferent to the certain division of the KMT precipitated by
picking his protégé and weaker candidate Lien Chan. The protests eventually
succeeded in forcing Lee’s immediate resignation, after he had initially only promised
to resign several months later in September, during the KMT party congress.376
374
In 1996 a high-ranking DPP official, Peng Wan-ju, was murdered after leaving a meeting in
Kaohsiung. Also in 1996, legislator Liao Hsueh-kuang was kidnapped and briefly imprisoned in a dog
cage in a remote mountain area. In November 1996, Taoyuan County chief executive Liu Pang-yu and
eight associates were murdered while in Liu’s home.
375
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 41
376
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 229.
109
The DPP’s ascension to the presidential office marked a new era in the
development of Taiwan’s social movements. During the 1990s social movements
found a niche between society and the state, working from within the decision making
process to advocate for progressive change. After the DPP’s Chen Shui-bian was
inaugurated, social movements became incorporated within the state through their
affiliation with the new ruling party. This was the first peaceful exchange of power in
Taiwan’s history under the ROC, and opposition activists celebrated exuberantly.
Chen appointed social movement activists to key positions in his administration.
Social activists hoped to push transformative reforms more swiftly with an ally
occupying the president’s pulpit. The occupations of public space by mass
demonstrators that had been rife within Taiwan during the democratic transition period
were largely dormant during the DPP years.377
Despite social movement activists’ inclusion within the halls of power, the
Chen administration often neglected their proposals for the sake of political
expediency. President Chen became the leader of Taiwan backed by a party that had
no prior experience as the governing party. Chen appointed a strictly nonpartisan
cabinet immediately after election, hoping to attenuate the dual difficulties of a weak
mandate and a majority opposition in the legislature. Hoping to appease KMT
legislators who would be working with a premier appointed by an opposition president
for the first time ever, Chen chose KMT member and former defense minister Tang
Fei for the position. Other key posts were filled by former president Lee Teng-hui’s
advisers Tien Hung-mao (Minister of Foreign Affairs) and Tsai Ying-wen (Mainland
Affairs Council head).378 Moreover, Chen maintained much of Lee Teng-hui’s
377
378
Wang 2010, op. cit., p. 68.
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 199.
110
military and security apparatuses for fifteen months before replacing them with his
own people.379
For democracy activists, the peaceful turnover of power in 2000 fulfilled a
significant tenet of democratization. A DPP member now occupied the presidency,
and party membership increased by 50% from March 18 to late May in 2000, rising
from 200,000 to 300,000. One party insider estimated that a further 100,000 members
had been added by December of the same year.380 Notwithstanding the promising
increase in party membership, the DPP faced difficulties in building an internal
consensus. As an opposition party, the DPP had had no use for mechanisms that gave
central leadership the prerogative to force party members into line. Consequently,
DPP members had developed their support bases independently from central
leadership, and factionalism was an inveterate feature of the party. Tensions between
the presidential office and party members continued throughout Chen’s presidency and,
by the time Chen left office, had destroyed any semblance of unity within the DPP.381
Protests led by the KMT erupted once again, after President Chen was reelected in 2004 by another narrow margin and an election-week assassination attempt.
Protestors demanded an investigation into the shooting incident, along with a vote
recount, accusing the DPP of improprieties.382 The protests were marred by clashes
between protestors and police, the worst case of election violence since the early
1990s.383 Two years later, in 2006, the KMT also joined the anti-Chen Shui-bian
protests organized by fed-up DPP members. Riddled by rumors of corruption scandals,
379
Mattlin 2011, op. cit.
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 199
381
Rigger 2010, op. cit., p. 54-59.
382
William Foreman, “500,000 Protest Disputed Taiwan Election: President says he will back vote
recount and an investigation into his recent shooting.” The Times Union Albany, NY: 28 March 2004:
A9
383
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 130.
380
111
an estimated 90,000-200,000 protestors demanded that Chen resign.384 Although the
KMT participated in and led several protest demonstrations during Chen Shui-bian’s
tenure, it generally kept aloof from social movement protests.385
Social movement activists helped in passing several pieces of legislation
during Chen’s first term, including the Protection for Workers Incurring Occupational
Accidents Act (2001), the Gender Equality in Employment Act (2002), the
Employment Insurance Act (2002), the Protective Act for Mass Redundancy of
Employees (2003), and the Basic Environment Act (2002). In 2002 two major groups
organized large-scale counter-mobilization movements. Schoolteachers protested to
protect their privileged exemption from income tax, and farmers’ association leaders
protested to show their opposition to regulation of their corrupt cooperatives. These
movements were inimical to social movement activists and disrupted the momentum
for reform.386
President Chen’s impetuous style of leadership also frustrated social movement
activists. The DPP continuously vacillated between reform and political compromise
during its tenure. During his first year in office, Chen pursued business friendly
policies and loosened environmental regulations and welfare policies purportedly to
save the stagnant economy. He also made several statements asserting that welfare
redistribution should be subordinate to economic development.387 It wasn’t until Su
Tsen-chang’s premiership (2006-2007) that a reformist agenda re-emerged in the
DPP’s policy proposals. However, the belated and weak effort was for naught, as the
Chen Shui-bian administration was wracked by scandals, and the DPP turned to
384
"Taiwan Leader Faces Mass Protest." BBC News. BBC, 09 Sept. 2006. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
Ming-sho Ho, “Weakened State and Social Movement: The paradox of Taiwanese environmental
politics after the power transfer,” Journal of Contemporary China 14(43) May 2005, pp. 339-52. (See
also Hsiao and Ho 2010, op. cit., p. 58.)
386
Ibid. (See also Hsiao and Ho 2010, op. cit., p. 57.)
387
Ibid. p. 411-13. (See also Stephen Philion, “The Impact of Social Movements and Democratization
in Taiwan,” Journal of Current Chinese Affairs 39(3) March 2010, pp. 159-60.)
385
112
appeals to national identity to generate support, choosing not to spend political capital
pursuing social reform.388
Philion (2010) believes that the Chen administration’s record shows that
neither the KMT nor the DPP is willing to challenge the neo-liberal model of
development, which sanctions laissez-fair free market capitalism and spurns legislative
intervention to protect citizens’ rights.389 Social movements have been unable to free
themselves from their strategic alliance with the DPP despite modest results.
Although research has shown that social movements as a rule accomplish the most
when allied with working-class political parties, the DPP’s commitment to these issues
is equivocal, especially given the subservience of class politics to identity politics in
Taiwan.390 Even under a DPP president, structural unemployment, capital flight,
slashed welfare budgets, flexible union organizing rules, and increasing inequality
continued to plague Taiwan.391
The 2008 elections were a boon to the KMT, as the former authoritarian party
won an overwhelming victory in the Legislative Yuan elections and then re-took the
presidency. Taiwan’s new legislative body included only 27 seats held by DPP
members out of the 133 seat unicameral chamber. In contrast, the pan-blue coalition,
composed of the KMT (81 seats), the People First Party (1 seat), the Non-Partisan
Solidarity Union (3 seats) and one independent candidate who endorsed the KMT
presidential campaign, won a three-fourths majority. Hence, the KMT had the
potential to line up enough votes to pass bills and budgets and adopt a no-confidence
vote on the Cabinet (simple majority), impeach or recall the president and vice
president (two-thirds majority), and adopt a constitutional amendment (three-fourths
388
Hsiao and Ho 2010, op. cit., p. 59.
Philion 2010, op. cit., p. 161.
390
Dietrich Rueschemeyer, Evelyne H. Stephens and John D. Stephens, Capitalist Development and
Democracy (Cambridge: Policy Press, 1992), p. 97. (See also Navarro 1991.)
391
Philion 2010, op. cit., p. 160.
389
113
majority vote). The KMT could also prevent the opposition party from proposing bills
or resolutions in the chamber.392
Immediately after his administration was installed, President Ma Ying-jeou
pursued a number of conservative policies including legalizing casinos, trimming the
national pension system by exempting farmers, tightening control over public
television, and increasing the number of on-campus military officers.
Environmentalists, welfare activists, media reform activists, and education reform
advocates all voiced their opposition in response to President Ma’s attempts to roll
back progressive reforms.393
The DPP, finding itself in the opposition once again, has actively encouraged
supporters to take to the streets to maintain its support base and pressure the Ma
government. In August, only three months after President Ma’s inauguration, the DPP
called for large rallies to protest KMT misrule. The opposition party organized
another rally two months later in October.394 Both rallies drew tens of thousands of
supporters and their success prompted an announcement by DPP spokesman Cheng
Wen-tsan that the opposition was replacing legislative action with mass movements.
Another series of mass rallies greeted Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Association for
Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) when he visited Taipei to sign four
agreements designed to improve relations between Taiwan and China.395
Ma Ying-jeou took office with the intention of improving ties with China and
signing trade agreements with the mainland. Negotiations over a trade pact began in
2009 between representatives from the ARATS and Taiwan’s Straits Exchange
392
Chao-cheng Chen, “Party Politics after the 2008 Legislative Election,” In Taiwan Development
Perspectives 2009 (Taipei: National Policy Foundation, 2009), p. 93-100.
393
Hsiao and Ho 2010, op. cit., p. 59.
394
Robin Kwong, “Taiwan protest over ‘incompetent Ma’” Financial Times. London. 27 Oct. 2008: 10.
395
Chen 2009, op. cit.
114
Foundation (SEF).396 The resulting Economic Cooperation and Framework
Agreement (ECFA) was the most controversial political issue of President Ma’s first
term, inflaming sentiments over the national identity issue. ECFA’s critics charged
the Ma administration with deliberately shutting out the opposition party and
Taiwanese citizens from the process, and for hastily signing an agreement regarding a
sensitive matter without commensurate scrutiny. At the core of the conflict over
ECFA were concerns over national and state identity, issues that the DPP could easily
capitalize on to mobilize its support base. The opposition party planned a massive
rally for June 2010, hoping to draw 100,000 people to protest the Ma administration’s
handling of the ECFA negotiations.397 Heavy rain on the day of the protest diminished
the strength of the protest, however tens of thousands of Taiwanese still came out to
demand a referendum on the trade deal with China.398
Demonstrations led by the opposition party and social movement activists have
continued hounding the Ma Ying-jeou administration since his re-election in 2012.
Although President Ma won re-election by a comfortable margin, Taiwanese society
has only grown more polarized.399 Groups protesting environmental degradation, the
lack of judicial independence, media monopolization, the denigration of human rights,
and cross-strait policies have led protests in the second term of the Ma
administration.400
396
See Ching-chuan Yeh, “What Ma administration and Beijing government expect from ECFA and
their strategic concern,” In Chih-Cheng Lo and Tien-Wang Tsaur (eds.) Deconstructing ECFA:
Challenges and opportunities for Taiwan (Taipei: Taiwan Brain Trust, 2010), p. 59-62.
397
Vincent Y Chao, "All DPP Hopefuls to Participate in Anti-ECFA Rally." - Taipei Times. 16 June
2010. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
398
Vincent Y. Chao, and Rich Chang, "Approaching ECFA: Protesters brave storms to rally against
ECFA." - Taipei Times. 27 June 2010. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
399
John Fuh-sheng Hsieh, “Whom to Blame for Polarization in Taiwan?” Paper presented at The
Maturing of Taiwan Democracy: Findings and insights from the 2012 TEDS survey conference.
November 3-4, 2012. Taipei, Taiwan.
400
See Lok-sin Loa, "Activists Urge Government to Sanction Officials Involved in Wrongful
Execution." - Taipei Times. 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 14 Jan. 2013. See also Wei-chen Tseng, and Jake
Chung. "Organizations Protest Chinese Concert." - Taipei Times. 30 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
115
The general public has also become disillusioned with the Ma Ying-jeou
administration. President Ma’s approval ratings dropped to an all-time low of 15.2
percent in October 2012. The same survey reported his disapproval rating to be 76.6
percent. Respondents were asked a battery of questions about their feelings about the
economy and the future. General increases in retail prices were listed as the issue that
bothered respondents the most, followed by increases in fuel and transportation costs,
water and electricity expenses, and finally premiums for labor and health insurance.401
A different survey found that the increase in fuel and electricity prices was the single
incident with the greatest impact on Taiwanese lives that year, followed by the yearend bonus for retired civil servants and the capital gains tax on stock transactions.
Over two-thirds of respondents, 84.7 percent, described Taiwan as having experienced
a bad year, while 68.1 percent said that jobs had been hard to find. Pessimism about
the coming year was pervasive, with 63.9 percent indicating poor prospects. Civil
servants, including military, police and government employees, was the only
occupational category with more than half of the respondents being optimistic about
the coming year.402
High unemployment among Taiwan’s youth also raised concerns about the
island’s economic prospects. Taiwan’s government statistics office reported in
December that university school graduates made up 20% of the long-term unemployed
population, and that Taiwan’s youth unemployment rate was 3.1 times that of the
overall unemployment rate. In October, the unemployment rate of Taiwanese aged
15-24 reached 13.6%, much higher than the figures its rivals Japan (7%) and South
Lok-sin Loa, "Students Pan ‘Martial Law’ Rules." - Taipei Times. 8 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
Chris Wang and J. M. Cole. "Hundreds of University Students Gather in Taipei to Protest Next Media
Deal." - Taipei Times. 30 Nov. 2012. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
401
Chris Wang, "Poll Shows Ma’s Approval Rating at Its Lowest Yet." - Taipei Times. 30 Oct. 2012.
Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
402
Chris Wang, "People Pessimistic and Unhappy with Ma: Poll." - Taipei Times. 24 Dec. 2012. Web.
15 Jan. 2013.
116
Korea (8.8%) had reported in September.403 A survey conducted at the end of 2012 by
the Taiwan Thinktank showed widespread dissatisfaction with almost every aspect of
the nation. A majority of respondents were unhappy with the increasing wealth gap,
while 89.1 percent were concerned about stagnant wages. Meanwhile, the tax system,
judicial system, and media reporting all received poor ratings.404
Hoping to parlay the general displeasure directed at President Ma into valuable
political capital, the DPP organized a series of rallies leading up to a mass
demonstration with three demands: a Cabinet reshuffle, a rejection of the controversial
Next Media Group deal and the organization of a national affairs conference. The
demonstration attracted an estimated 100,000-200,000 people, and was attended by
DPP heavyweights Su Tseng-chang, Tsai Ing-wen, Annette Lu, Frank Hsieh, and Yu
Shyi-kun, as well as six DPP commissioners. Social movement activists also took the
opportunity to express disapproval of Ma’s policies and highlight their own causes,
such as closing nuclear power plants, stopping illegal land expropriation and
supporting press freedom in China.405
After a brief lull in activity during the Chen Shui-bian administration, social
movements have re-emerged as a potent feature of Taiwanese civil society. Besides
protests coordinated by the DPP, there has also been a resurgence of independent
activism led by student groups such as the ‘Wild Strawberry Movement’ and the
‘Youth Alliance Against Media Monsters,’ as well as environmental and anti-nuclear
groups such as the ‘Taiwan Water Conservation Alliance,’ the ‘Nuke-4 Referendum
403
"Nation’s Youth Jobless Rate No. 2 in Asia: ILO Report." - Taipei Times. 27 Jan. 2013. Web. 27
Jan. 2013.
404
Chris Wang, "People Pessimistic and Unhappy with Ma: Poll." - Taipei Times. 24 Dec. 2012. Web.
15 Jan. 2013.
405
Chris Wang, "Thousands Protest against Ma." - Taipei Times. 14 Jan. 2013. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
117
Initiative Association’ and the ‘Nuclear-free Homeland Alliance.’406 The desire for
autonomy stems from the failed collaboration between civil society groups and the
DPP during the Chen administration. Social activists become disenchanted not only
with President Chen’s capitulation to business interests, but also for the corruption that
permeated the president and his inner circle.
At the time the Taiwan Social Change Survey was taken in 2006, the press was
excoriating President Chen for the corruption allegations brought against his son-inlaw earlier in May. Rumors about corrupt practices at the center of the Chen
administration had been circulating for years. The Chen administration had also been
roundly criticized from within its own party, as a result of erratic behavior and
intransigent policy positions. In response to the mounting criticism, Chen announced
that he would transfer most of his duties to Premier Su Tseng-chang.407
The KMT was unsatisfied and immediately launched a recall petition against
the president. Although the recall campaign failed to generate enough votes to pass
the two-thirds threshold, calls for President Chen’s resignation soon shifted from the
pan-blue camp to elements from within Chen’s own party. Prominent DPP members
began building a movement as part of the internecine fighting. The pandemonium
caused by the corruption allegations disrupted the traditionally strong link between the
DPP and protest movements. The results of the survey might capture this polarization
within the DPP, and show more ambivalent support for social protests among DPP
supporters than historically has been the case. Particularly, at the time that the survey
was conducted, in July and August, DPP politicians had temporarily unified to boycott
406
Hsiao-yi Chen and Jake Chung. "Interview: Student protest leader speaks on civil liberties." - Taipei
Times. 3 Dec. 2012. Web. 13 May 2013.
I-Chia Lee, "Greater Taichung Groups Protest Land Reclamation Policy, Sea Contamination." - Taipei
Times. 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 13 May 2013.
Chris Wang, "Environmental Groups Slam DPP." - Taipei Times. 23 Jan. 2013. Web. 13 May 2013.
407
Rigger 2010, op. cit., p. 61.
118
the KMT’s recall motion. The responses of pan green supporters might reflect this
ephemeral mobilization around the president, and show a weaker link between pan
green party affiliation and support for the protest demonstrations. Pan blue supporters,
on the other hand, might report greater tolerance for protests, as portrayed by their
enthusiastic participation in the anti-Chen protests.
iii.
Labor Unions
Labor relations in Taiwan are still guided by the principles of the 1947 ROC
Constitution, including standards related to the right to subsistence, employment, labor
protection, relationships between interest groups, and government-sponsored social
security. While still on the mainland, legislators passed various pieces of legislation
such as the Labor Union Law (1929), the Collective Agreement Law (1930), the Law
on Settlement of Industrial Disputes (1928), and the Factory Law (1929). The
legislation passed during this ‘Golden Decade’ of labor laws was inspired by careful
study of the legal framework underpinning European industrial relations systems.408
The KMT government’s imposition of martial law negated the constitutionally
designed industrial relations (IR) system that had been built between the years 1928 to
1937. The KMT argued that the fundamental interests of national security and
political stability compelled it to replace the IR system with a program called the
National Mobilization for the Suppression of the Communist Rebellion. Throughout
the period of nearly 40 years under martial law, protests by the labor force were
strictly prohibited.409 Moreover, both union leaders and management acquiesced to
408
Chang and Bain 2006, op. cit., p. 100.
This is an approach often adopted by newly industrialized countries (NICs). See S.M. Chen,
Deconstruction of Party-state Capitalism (Taipei: Taipei Society Report, 1994).
409
119
the mandate of the party-state, and industrial disputes were customarily settled through
government arbitration.410
Under the state’s corporatist structure, business groups and trade unions were
organized hierarchically in a pyramid system.411 At the top of the hierarchy was the
Chinese Federation of Labor (CFL), the only nationally recognized labor organization
until 2000. Article 8 of the Labor Union Law, implemented in 1929 and revised in
1949, stipulated that each administrative area would have only one federation of trade
unions, authorized by the CLF. The exclusive legal status granted to the CFL
redounded to its benefit in qualifications for government subsidies and, more
importantly, the exclusive privilege to sit on advisory councils on behalf of labor
interests. Later, after the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) was established in 1987, the
CFL was the only labor organization permitted to join in CLA meetings within the
Executive Yuan. The CFL was the sole labor organization allowed to participate in
the formulation of labor policy and, being a patron of the state, was complaisant with
the conservative alliance between bureaucrats and business.412
Many common functions of labor unions were explicitly prohibited by the state.
The 1929 Labor Union Law (revised in 1931, 1932, 1937, 1949 and 1975) continued
to outlaw national organization of single-sector unions. The right to strike was
expressly forbidden. The process of collective bargaining was also constrained, as
state approval was needed before collective agreements would be deemed legally valid.
Each county was allowed only one federation of trade unions, and horizontal linkages
between counties were forbidden to suppress labor solidary from forming at the local
level.413
410
Chang and Bain 2006, op. cit., p. 101.
Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 111. (See also Kuo 1995.)
412
Ibid, p. 109. (See also Wang 2010 op. cit., p. 63.)
413
Wang 2010, op. cit., p. 63. (See also Chen 1997, p. 166.)
411
120
Instead of being a potent force for workers’ rights, membership in national
labor unions was compulsory and the government and employers manipulated worker
participation to boost industrial production and guarantee the loyalty of the military,
public servants, and teachers as a bulwark against popular discontent. The bloated
public sector and its local chapters of the national labor union provided workers with a
high degree of job security, but no rights to independent organization. During the first
several years of martial law, the KMT adopted only fringe benefits to preempt the
development of greater pressure for subsistence support.414
At the local level, the Labor Union Law kept individual unions weak and
disaggregated. Membership in the CFL provided the only horizontal linkage between
local trade unions. The Labor Union Law established two legally recognized forms of
unions: industrial unions and occupational unions. Workers employed in a workplace
with over 30 employees could organize themselves into an “industrial union,” while
workers in smaller workplaces or the self-employed could organize into an
“occupational union.”415
The Labor Union Law stipulated that industrial unions could only be organized
at the plant or workplace level. Workers in state-owned enterprises comprised the only
group attached through a labor union to cohorts in other localities. According to the
law, even joint unions representing workers in different factories under the same
owner were prohibited. Thus, industrial unions in large state-owned enterprises were
the only labor organizations capable of exerting nationwide political influence. To
maintain control over these unions, the government mandated that only these labor
414
415
Chang and Bain 2006, op. cit., p. 101.
Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 111.
121
unions were allowed to join the CFL directly, rather than through local federations of
labor.416
Occupational unions were designed to represent workers of the same trade. In
reality, however, they were merely a secondary category of unions available to those
who could not join industrial unions due to the requirement that thirty workers be
employed. Among the members of occupational unions were self-employed workers
(such as taxi drivers), workers in small-size firms (such as tailors) and bosses of small
companies. Members of occupational unions came from a wide range of social
statuses and economic conditions, making it difficult for occupational unions to launch
collective actions for their members.417
Yet these unions enjoyed sizeable membership numbers because, for some
workers, joining an occupational union was the only way to enroll in governmentsupported labor insurance. Instead of engaging in activism on the behalf of workers,
occupational unions functioned as officially licensed insurance agents. As a result,
unsavory practices and corruption were common among the leadership of occupational
unions, many of who were small-business owners looking to profit from the scheme.
In one spectacular case, an official enquiry exposed a family that owned eleven
occupational unions for embezzlement of union fees and labor insurance funds,
improper bookkeeping, irregular elections, and over-reporting of membership. The
scandal, however, didn’t lead to any substantial reform of the system.418
As Taiwan’s industrial sector and economy continued to grow, there was a
concomitant rise in the industrial accident rate. This ushered in a period of legislation
regarding employment relations jurisprudence and standardized labor protection.419
416
Ibid, p. 112.
Ibid, p. 112.
418
Ibid, p. 112.
419
Chang and Bain 2006, op. cit., p. 101.
417
122
The Labor Safety and Health Act (1974), the Factory Law (1975), the Labor Standards
Law (1984) and the Labor-Management Conference Rules (1985) were all passed
during this period.420 The democratic changes of the 1980s also encouraged a
grassroots labor union movement to develop that challenged the government’s
privileged position in labor relations. Workers developed a greater sense of solidarity
and became more assertive in demanding legal rights. The number of industrial
disputes rose rapidly, but the IR system that existed under the authoritarian regime was
incapable of mediating between the bolder demands of labor and management. The
resulting stress on labor relations encouraged activists to create a number of
‘unconstitutional’ (i.e., independent) unions that endeavored to represent workers who
had no other recourse.421
In response to the growth in number and intensity of labor conflicts, the KMT
established the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) on 1 August 1987, less than a month
after the abolition of martial law. The CLA is a tripartite agency at the ministerial
level that has charge over national labor affairs. The minister of the CLA recruits
commissioners to represent the opinions of employers, employees, political and
academic circles when reviewing labor policies, labor laws and regulations, and
related projects and programs.422 In effect, the CLA represented the KMT party as the
custodian of employment relations. The KMT retained its close ties with the CFL
while the opposition DPP shunned both and agitated outside of the legal system in
collaboration with the illicit independent unions. Both political parties solidified their
bonds with particular labor unions, contributing to the politicization of labor.423
420
Kong 2005, op. cit., p. 159.
Chang and Bain 2006, op. cit., p. 101.
422
"Organization and Human Resources." Organization and Human Resources. Council of Labor
Affairs, 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
423
Chang and Bain 2006, op. cit., p. 104.
421
123
The lifting of martial law initiated a new period of labor conflict. Labor
disputes were more apt to turn into actual strikes, and there was a sharp increase in the
number and type of illegal actions taken by labor activists. Workers went on
numerous strikes, the majority of which were illegal according to the labor laws.424
Labor unions also became more proactive in demanding concessions from
employers.425 The period from 1987-1993 witnessed an initial rise in labor militancy
and subsequent shift to political lobbying. Given their greater ability to stand up for
workers’ rights, industrial unions became the main organizational base for aggressive
labor activity, including wildcat strikes and work stoppages.426 Independent-minded
labor activists also used the momentum to cultivate their influence in existing unions.
Many grassroots workers won leadership positions by defeating KMT candidates in
union elections.427
Through these activities, labor activists successfully organized non-union
workers or seized control of KMT-sponsored unions. Organizing non-union workers
happened primarily in the private sector, where unions were absent because of
business’ reluctance to accept KMT party branches. Workers first needed to overcome
the ingrained animus felt by both management and officials toward labor groups in
order to organize unions in this sector. Some subsidiaries of Formosa Plastics, a
private petrochemical giant, were successfully unionized in 1988 via this route.
Meanwhile, activists also attempted to take control of existing unions whose
leadership was allied with the KMT. As a result of this strategy, there was an
expansion of labor’s organizational basis in the late 1980s. Labor activists also took to
424
Hsiao and Ho 2010, op. cit., p.50-53. (See also Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 195-6.)
Tat Yan Kong, “Labour and Neo-Liberal Globalization in South Korea and Taiwan,” Modern Asian
Studies 39(1) February 2005, pp. 158.
426
Shuet-yin Ho, Taiwan: After a long silence: The emerging unions of Taiwan (Hong Kong: Asia
Monitor Research Center, 1990). (See also Hsiao and Ho 2010 op. cit., p. 50-53.)
427
Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 112-13.
425
124
the streets to publicize their plight. Protests were staged over wage and benefit
demands, including issues of overtime, holiday pay, and annual bonuses, which the
Labor Standard Law granted but were not always honored by management.428
Activists also concentrated their efforts on developing new linkages between
unions, testing the regime’s resolve in enforcing Article 8 of the Labor Union Law.
Autonomous union leaders in northern Taiwan formed an informal “Brotherhood
Union” in September 1987 to help spur the growth of inter-union solidarity. In April
1988 the Association of Union Cadres was set up in southern Taiwan for a similar
purpose. Another organization, the National Federation of Independent Trade Unions,
was established in May 1988 and was later admitted as a member of the World
Confederation of Labor despite lacking legal status in Taiwan. Before the Taiwan
Confederation of Trade Unions (TCTU) was finally legalized in 2000, many similar
efforts were made to establish and spread connections within a geographic area or by
industry.429
In 1988, in defiance to these challenges, the KMT announced revisions to the
Labor Union Law, the Labor Dispute Law and the Labor Standard Law to favor
management, and increased repression. Some of the revisions included the removal of
compulsory union membership, legalization of parallel unionism in the same
workplace, banning unions from certain industries such as utilities, and requiring a
higher level of consultation with union membership regarding any industrial action.
Additionally, management was given more flexibility to compete internationally and
limitations on working hours were relaxed. These motions combined to weaken the
autonomous labor movement that had been developing within Taiwanese industries.430
428
Ibid, p. 113. (See also Ho 2003.
Ho 1990, op. cit., p. 87-88. (See also Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 114.)
430
Chang and Bain 2006, op. cit., p. 104. (See also Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 114
429
125
The KMT also implemented further revisions to consolidate the government’s
capabilities in industrial dispute arbitration, beginning with the establishment of a
Division of Labor Affairs for Taiwan’s High and District Courts in 1988. This
improved the government’s capability to preside over labor disputes, and the number
of arbitration cases increased substantially after its creation. The government then
increased the executive branch’s supervisory oversight of labor organizations with the
promulgation of the 1993 Labor Inspection Law. Furthermore, the government has
become habituated to using the Labor Standards Law to effect administrative orders
and amendments, which has affected all labor contracts written since 1988.431
Sanctioned by these strengthened legal powers, government repression of labor
militancy with the compliance of management began in earnest again in 1989. Police
ruthlessly suppressed a strike that year at the Far Eastern Chemical Fiber Company.
In 1990 eight activists who led the strike were pronounced guilty of disturbing public
peace and received sentences varying from probation to jail time.432 Also in 1990, an
activist was sentenced to twenty months in prison for organizing a protest by a group
of laid-off workers. As a result of the repression, spontaneous strikes that had become
common in the late 1980s gave way to more moderate means of agitation such as
lawsuits and working through legal channels for mediation.433
Even before 1989, the labor movement’s strategy had gradually been shifting
from grassroots organizing to influencing the legislative process to counter the
government’s proposed revisions.434 With the dangwai’s transformation into a formal
political party, labor unions gained an important mode of access to the state.
Previously, the opinions of labor activists were kept out of the legislature by state
431
Ibid, p. 114.
Yo-zhi Gao, Wen-xin Chen, and Zhen-kai Zhu, "Laborers Have Feeble Voice in Taiwan Elections."
WantChinaTimes.com. 25 Nov. 2010. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.
433
Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 114. (See also Chu 2003, p. 25.)
434
Ibid, p. 114.
432
126
control of labor via its corporatist structure and authoritarian nature. Susceptible to
police harassment and job insecurity, members of labor movements had to keep low
profiles in accordance with the framework of legal regulation. The presence of the
opposition party in the legislature, however, suggested a relaxation of state control
over the expression of labor interests. The subtle change of the state-society
relationship opened a new window for labor movements. Within the DPP, the radical
New Tide faction was the main force that drafted the guidelines for collaboration
among progressive social movements.435
The alliance between labor and the DPP was one of convenience for the labor
movement. After political liberalization, two initial attempts to cultivate a political
party representative of class issues failed. Both a Labor Party, led by an opposition
legislator, and a Worker’s Party, started by a famous union leader, basically
disappeared within years of their creation.436 At the same time, an independent union
movement was creeping into public enterprises such as China Petroleum and Taiwan
Power. The initial success of union organizers can be attributed to the tolerance that
managers of public enterprises, themselves public employees, had of union activities.
Managers of public companies were more willing to concede to workers’ demands at
the public’s expense. Unions were able to petition successfully for items such as
wage raises and year-end bonuses. The independent union movement soon died out
after many of the unions in public enterprises had gained their independence.437
However, labor’s alliance with the DPP has been a frustrating venture. Since
the time it began to coalesce in the 1970s, the DPP has been composed of a patchwork
435
Wang 2010, op. cit., p. 59.
Taiwan had 220 registered political parties as of November 2012, including the Labor Party. The
KMT and the DPP are the biggest political parties, with the PFP and TSU and, to a lesser extent, the
New Party playing minor roles. Patrick Boehler, "Taiwan Rejects Linspired Political Party." NewsFeed
Taiwan Rejects Linspired Political Party Comments. 26 Nov. 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
437
Wu and Cheng 2011, op. cit., p. 251.
436
127
of diverse and often contradictory interests. As described earlier, the dangwai
attracted activists from all sectors of Taiwan’s society with diverse backgrounds and
ideologies, and from the outset, distinct strands within the opposition pursued
different goals and favored different strategies. Opposition activists shared only one
thing in common: a desire to replace the KMT’s authoritarian rule with a functioning
democracy. On economic issues, members of the dangwai diverged considerably.438
Since full democratization, the DPP has found it difficult to reconcile these
contradictions in endogenous economic interests among its supporters. White-collar
workers make up the largest socioeconomic constituency within the DPP. Among
this group, entrepreneurs make up the lion’s share. Their interest in joining the DPP
comes in part from their resentment of KMT policies favoring big businesses at the
expense of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).439
The DPP also naturally attracts social activists dedicated to the interests of
disadvantaged groups within Taiwanese society, such as farmers, the elderly, women,
and labor. This segment of the population opposes other aspects of the KMT’s
economic policies such as those privileging economic growth over equality and
redistribution. Although these activists are a vocal part of the DPP, they compose a
smaller percentage of the party’s support base compared with the middle-class.440
Forming an economic policy that simultaneously adheres to the various segments
within the DPPs’ demands for growth, full employment, environmental protection,
privatization, and laissez-faire policies is a chimerical notion. While the DPP
remained in the opposition, declaring a uniform position on economic policy was
unnecessary, and the tensions within the party remained subdued. Individual DPP
438
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 139.
Ibid, p. 40, 167.
440
Ibid, p. 40, 139, 167.
439
128
legislators were generally allowed to formulate their own economic priorities without
interference from the party chair.
Notwithstanding these diverse groups, the DPP has gained a reputation for
being an anti-business party, stemming from its opposition to several huge industrial
projects. In 1998 the German chemical giant Bayer AG cancelled a project planned in
Taichung County after the county executive, a member of the DPP, decided to make
the project contingent upon the results of a local referendum. Although the DPP
chairman supported the project, the intransigence of a DPP-led government reinforced
the DPP’s image as an anti-business party.441
Whereas moderates within the party are wary of being perceived as unfriendly
to business, other members, including many in the New Tide Faction, openly
welcome the party’s support for labor and environmental concerns. The DPP tried to
rid itself of its anti-business label in the run-up to the 2000 presidential elections by
holding weekly economic sessions in which elected DPP officials met with
industrialists, economists, management experts, and labor leaders. Among the most
highly regarded members who attended were Formosa Plastics head Wang Yungch’ing, the president of the Evergreen Group, and leaders of company unions such as
China Chemical and Central Petroleum.442
Predictably, the Chen Shui-bian presidency failed to mold the DPP’s
economic policy into a coherent form.443 Many of the same contradictions and
structural limitations still prevent the DPP from forming a comprehensive economic
policy approach. While the DPP cannot afford to ignore business interests, individual
441
Ibid, p. 41.
Kong 2005, op. cit., p. 173. (See also Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 139.)
443
The China issue continues to be the most difficult enigma for the DPP to solve. The 2012 elections
showed that the DPP has yet to develop an economic policy that convinces the electorate of the party’s
competence in dealing with China. See Rich Chang, "DPP Struggles to Form China Policy." - Taipei
Times. 25 Nov. 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
442
129
legislators will not abandon the interests of activists who make up a small but
influential portion of the party membership. Taiwan is a young democracy and, even
after two terms under a DPP president, the political landscape in which social
movements and labor unions interact with the state is still being shaped.444
After his election, President Chen found balancing his party members’
competing economic interests to be an ineluctable burden. Both the president and his
party were criticized on both sides of labor issues for not doing enough to advance
their respective interests. Chen’s promises during the presidential campaign to
emphasize welfare reform were tested as soon as he stepped into the presidential
office. The most serious economic recession to hit Taiwan since the 1970s occurred
almost immediately after Chen was inaugurated. Responding to the crisis, Chen
opined at a press conference in September 2000 that, “Social welfare can be put off,
but economic development can’t be.”445 Social activists also roundly criticized
President Chen for using the KMT-dominated legislature as an excuse to compromise
on his campaign promises for welfare reform.446
On the other hand, Chen Shui-bian was still regarded by his detractors as
being anti-business for his decision to cancel a planned dam in southern Taiwan and
stop construction of a fourth nuclear power plant. Both projects would have greatly
expanded industrial production, but were controversial for their environmental
consequences.447 Despite establishing greater links between elected officials and top
industrialists and passing business friendly legislation in his first year, critics attacked
444
Michael Hsin-Huang Hsiao, “Social Movements in Taiwan: A typological analysis,” In Jeffrey
Broadbent and Vicky Brockman (eds.) East Asian Social Movements (New York: Spring Science and
Business Media, LLC, 2011), pp. 252.
445
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 38.
446
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 200. (See also Roy 2003 op. cit., p. 231; Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 142; Jason
Blatt, "Scholars Hit at DPP over Business Links." South China Morning Post. 18 June 2002. Web. 18
Jan. 2013.)
447
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 41.
130
the DPP for officially recognizing the TCTU in March 2000. The criticism
encouraged officials within the CLA to delay final approval for months before TCTU
leaders were finally able to use their DPP patrons to pressure the CLA to accept the
official status of the TCTU.448
Soon after the DPP legalized independent unions, the CFL split into four
national organizations: the Chinese Federation of Labor (CFL), Taiwan
Confederation of Trade Unions (TCTU), Chinese General Labor League (CGL), and
National Trade Union Confederation (NTUC). Labor relations suffered as a result of
the confusion caused by multi-affiliation and associated problems. Each labor
union’s national center also kept its close ties to a political party. In 2000 the CLA
made an attempt to end the influence of the opposition parties, the KMT and PFP,
over labor unions, but its efforts ultimately did not succeed.449 The influence of the
central government in labor relations therefore seemed unchanged under the DPP.
Communications between the national unions and the national employers’
organizations was and still is confined to irregular political consultative conferences
under the aegis of the political parties.450
Along with the politicization of labor negotiations, corporate interests have
gained influence at the expense of unions due to the continuing slowdown in global
economic growth and increased unemployment in Taiwan. This process has been
facilitated by the government’s retention of control over the IR agenda, where worker
participation and collective bargaining mechanisms are both absent from the
relationship between labor unions and employer organizations. Labor legislation is
also crafted without the direct participation of labor representatives. Both political
camps will readily mobilize their rank-and-file for demonstrations, but exclude their
448
Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 120.
Chang and Bain 2006, op. cit., p. 106.
450
Ho 2006, op. cit., p. 121.
449
131
elected representatives from negotiation. As a result, labor market policies are
formulated with respect to their potential benefit for national economic development
objectives rather than a concern for workers’ interests.451
Neo-liberal globalization has also taken leverage away from Taiwanese labor
unions. Strikes become less effective in an environment where businesses can easily
relocate to China in search of cheaper workforces. Skilled workers in each industrial
sector of Taiwan’s economy are also departing for the mainland to receive higher
salaries and better work-life balance.452 This hollowing out of industrial labor
undermines the power of labor unions by eliminating a valuable segment of labor
union membership. Moreover, much of the growth in union membership in Taiwan
after democratization has been from a rise in occupational unions rather than
workplace-based industrial unions. Together with the loss of skilled workers to the
mainland, the growth in occupational unions has diluted labor’s collective identity by
increasing the proportion of politically inactive members in labor unions.453
Despite these setbacks, several pieces of legislation have been passed since the
mid-1990s that strengthened the social security safety net, implemented
unemployment assistance measures aimed at making citizens re-employable,
increased unemployment benefits, and fortified employee insurance rights. Another
statute, the Gender Equality at Work Law, was passed in 2002 to improve the status
of women in the workplace. After passage of this law, Taiwan’s labor laws became
compliant with international human rights requirements.454
Labor activism has also re-emerged after a brief abeyance during the Chen
administration. In December 2008, just months after Ma Ying-jeou’s inauguration,
451
Ibid, p. 121-22.
Crystal Hsu, "Taiwan Losing Skilled Workers: Report." - Taipei Times. 23 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Jan.
2013.
453
Kong 2005, op. cit., p. 157-58.
454
Chang and Bain 2006, op. cit., p. 104.
452
132
labor associations from all across Taiwan participated in a protest in front of the CLA
building against the practice of businesses forcing employees to take unpaid leave.455
Less than six months later, a group of labor organizations planned a Labor Day rally
to protest the government’s ineffectual policies in fighting unemployment.456 In 2010
The National Federation of Independent Trade Unions led a group of labor
representatives in a protest against proposed changes to the Labor Standards Act that
would loosen restrictions on the hiring and employment of contract workers.457 A
year later, a spate of deaths blamed on overwork led to a protest against Article 84-1
of the Labor Standards Law, which states that working conditions for certain jobs can
be set through negotiations between labor and management, thus excluding them from
other articles regulating maximum working hours, overtime hours, and minimum
holidays.458
President Ma’s re-election by a comfortable margin in 2012 hasn’t silenced
labor union activity. In October 2012 labor organizations staged a rally against low
wages, unfair labor policies, rising prices and a growing labor insurance deficit that
led to minor clashes between police and the protestors. The demonstration was held
in response to the Cabinet’s decision to only partially agree to the CLA’s proposal to
raise the legal minimum wage, the Cabinet’s plan to relax restrictions on the hiring of
foreign laborers, and its consideration of establishing a separate minimum wage for
foreign workers.459 Less than a month later, labor organizations joined with students
and social activists to protest a variety of economic and social issues, including the
455
Shelley Huang, “Union Members Protest over Unpaid Leave." - Taipei Times. 24 Dec. 2008. Web.
24 Jan. 2013.
456
"10,000 to Join Labor Day Protests, Say Unions." Www.ChinaPost.com.tw. 29 Apr. 2009. Web. 24
Jan. 2013.
457
Shelley Huang, "Union Activists Protest Proposed Labor Changes." - Taipei Times. 15 July 2010.
Web. 24 Jan. 2013.
458
I-chia Lee, "Workers Protest against Overwork, Bad Conditions." - Taipei Times. 8 Aug. 2011. Web.
24 Jan. 2013.
459
Lok-sin Loa, "Labor Activists Pelt Police with Eggs." - Taipei Times. 29 Oct. 2012. Web. 24 Jan.
2013.
133
‘merchandization’ of education, racial discrimination, forced land seizures, a
development-oriented economy, and deteriorating social insurance systems.460 Then
in January 2013, more than a dozen labor groups from all over Taiwan joined together
to make five demands on the Ma administration: not cutting the labor insurance
annuity payment, basic guarantees for retirement, government budget appropriation to
supplement the Labor Insurance Fund in the event that it fails to provide basic
guaranteed payments, not loosening labor regulations for a free economic
demonstration zone and amending Article 28 of the Labor Standards Act. The
National Federation of Independent Trade Unions initiated the protest and argued that
President Ma Ying-jeou’s plan for becoming a “free-trade island” should not be
achieved by sacrificing working conditions in Taiwan.461
Neither of the major political parties has relinquished its ties to labor unions.
Both the KMT and DPP prefer to settle labor disputes through legal channels of
mediation rather than through labor militancy. In 1999 the KMT planned new
restrictions on labor organizations through a revision of the 1988 Settlement of Labor
Disputes Act, including bans on strikes in key industries, institutionalizing a
mandatory cooling off period, and ending of compulsory arbitration.462 A KMT-led
Executive Yuan then approved in 2009 several contradictory motions, making it
easier for workers to strike by removing the requirement of a general meeting to be
held before calling a strike, but prohibiting workers in hospitals, utility companies,
and certain financial and telecommunication business sectors from striking.463
460
Lok-sin Loa, "Labor Rights Activists Stage Mass Protest." - Taipei Times. 26 Nov. 2012. Web. 24
Jan. 2013.
461
I-chia Lee, "Labor Groups March for Workers’ Rights." - Taipei Times. 20 Jan. 2013. Web. 24 Jan.
2013.
462
Kong 2005, op. cit., p. 175. These plans were abandoned during the 2000 presidential election,
when the KMT took a more conciliatory approach to labor.
463
"Taiwan Simplifies Strike Procedure but Sets Limits to Sectors Allowed." BBC, 19 Apr. 2009. Web.
24 Jan. 2013.
134
The opposition DPP has been similarly reserved, if not hostile to strikes as a
method of labor activism.464 The party’s experience under President Chen has
convinced its moderate members of the necessity of working with business interests
to secure funding and support from prominent members of Taiwanese society.
Striking has also become less effective as a method of procuring concessions directly
from businesses. Taiwan’s industrial unions, the most aggressive in campaigning for
workers’ rights, are hemorrhaging, as Taiwanese companies have simply moved their
operations across the strait in search of a cheaper workforce. Since the mid-1990s,
the Taiwanese labor movement has been crippled by industrial transformation, capital
outflows, technological upgrading and factory closedowns, the combined effect of
which has been to limit the utility of workers strikes.465
The tepid support that both parties extend to labor militancy should make
political party an insignificant variable in determining support for a nationwide strike
from the results of the survey. The question on the survey refers to a nationwide
strike, a more militant form of labor activism than has ever occurred on Taiwan. With
the lack of support among the major political parties for unilateral moves made on the
part of labor organizations, their supporters can be expected to disapprove of this type
of action. Although the DPP has social activists within its ranks, the bulk of its
membership comes from the middle-class, a group that is in large part unlikely to
support a nationwide strike.
464
Chin-fen Chang and Heng-hao Chang, “Who Cares for Unions: Public attitudes toward union power
in Taiwan, 1990-2005,” China Perspectives 83 2010, pp. 64.
465
Jou-juo Chu, “Labor militancy and Taiwan’s export-led industrialization,” Journal of Contemporary
Asia 33(1) 2003, pp. 34.
135
IV. Regression Analysis
a.
Variable Selection
The Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS) has been conducted annually
nationwide since 1985. It was created under the auspices of the National Science
Council for the purpose of collecting and archiving baseline information about
Taiwanese society through the responses of the general adult population. The TSCS
is a long-term, cross-sectional survey project that has been distributed in 5-year cycles
so as to facilitate the observation of social changes over time. The TSCS is the largest
survey series among all general social surveys in the world.466 The data taken for this
paper came from the second wave of the fifth phase (2005-2009) of the TSCS, which
took place between July and August 2006. The sample size for this survey is n =
1,972. The questionnaire asks respondents about their views on citizenship and the
role of the government in Taiwan. Along with basic demographic information, the
respondents are asked a series of questions from categories such as daily life and
globalization, economic development, the role of the government, government ethics,
risks in information networks, etc.
A set of three questions related to citizens’ beliefs about civil liberties and
freedoms is included in the survey. The questions are prefaced with the instruction,
“There are many ways people or organizations can protest against a government
action they strongly oppose. Please show which you think should be allowed and
which should not be allowed by ticking a box on each line.” Among the possible
answer choices are, “Definitely,” “Probably,” “Probably not,” “Definitely not,” and
“Can’t choose.” The three methods of protesting the government that the respondent
is asked to consider are, “Organizing public meetings to protest against the
466
"Taiwan Social Change Survey." Taiwan Social Change Survey. 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 01 Apr. 2013.
136
government,” “Organizing protest marches and demonstrations,” and “Organizing a
nationwide strike of all workers against the government.” For the purpose of this
paper, each question is taken separately as a dependent variable in the regression
analysis. If the response is “Definitely not,” or “Probably not,” the value for the
variable is coded as 1, and 0 otherwise. Responses besides those mentioned above
(i.e. couldn’t understand the question) are labeled as missing. Therefore, a
designation of “1” indicates that the respondent believes that, in an ideal government,
the particular civil freedom or right shouldn’t exist. Accordingly, I employ a binary
logistic regression analysis to test the relationship between the three independent
variables and citizen support for civil liberties.
As described in the previous sections, the three independent variables I test are:
whether or not the respondent believes that the government should intervene in the
free market; whether or not the respondent identifies terrorism as an exceptional case
necessitating the suspension of certain constitutional guarantees; and the extent to
which the respondent is guided by Confucian principles. The first independent
variable, support for corporatism, is tested by the question, “Some people think the
government should continue to intervene in major industrial enterprises to support
them with special funds, while others think the government should not intervene in
the free market. Do you think the government should intervene or not?” If the
respondent selected “Should continue to support the major industrial enterprises with
special funds,” the variable is assigned a value of 1, and 0 otherwise. Therefore, the
expected sign on the corporatism variable is positive, which would indicate that
support for corporatist economic relations, depicted by government intervention in the
free market, is correlated with approval for restricting civil liberties and freedoms.
137
A three-part question from the survey measures a respondent’s attitude toward
granting the government extra-constitutional powers during a time of heightened
security risk. The question asks, “Suppose the government suspected that a terrorist
act was about to happen. Do you think the authorities should have the right to… a.)
Detain people for as long as they want without putting them on trial; b.) Tap people’s
telephone conversations; c.) Stop and search people in the street at random.” The
respondents are asked to choose from a list of possible responses including,
“Definitely should have right,” “Probably should have right,” “Probably should not
have right,” “Definitely should not have right,” and “Can’t choose.” If the respondent
indicates that the government “definitely should have right,” or “probably should
have right,” to perform any of the above actions, the variable is coded 1, and 0
otherwise. Any other response is labeled as missing. The expected sign for all three
variables is positive, indicating that the more susceptible a respondent is to the terror
threat as shown by their willingness to grant the government extralegal powers to
combat terrorism, the more supportive they should be of general restrictions on basic
civil freedoms and liberties.
The final hypothesis, the effect of Confucian beliefs on support for civil
liberties, is measured by the extent that a respondent agrees with the statement, “As
long as our leader has high ethics and morals, we can trust him/her to do anything for
our country.” The respondent is asked to choose between, “Strongly agree,” “Agree,”
“Neither agree nor disagree,” “Disagree,” “Strongly disagree,” and “Can’t choose.” If
the respondent selected “Strongly agree,” or “Agree,” the variable is assigned a value
of 1, and 0 otherwise. All other responses are labeled as missing. The expected sign
is positive, which would show that those respondents who have internalized
Confucian values, specifically blind trust in a moral leader, are more likely to agree
138
that the public should not be allowed to hold meetings, demonstrations, or a
nationwide strike protesting the government.
Besides the three independent variables representing the hypotheses, I have
also included six control variables. These control variables are: the respondents’
views on how prevalent corruption is among politicians in the government, education
level, whether or not the respondent is a mainlander, whether or not the respondent
supports the “pan-blue” camp, age, and gender. The first control variable is
represented by a question from the survey asking respondents to speculate on, “how
many politicians in Taiwan are involved in corruption,” with the possible answers
being “Almost none,” “A few,” “Some,” “Quite a lot,” “Almost all,” and “Can’t
choose.” The responses are assigned values ranging from 1 (“Almost none”) to 5
(“Almost all”). Respondents who are of the opinion that a greater proportion of
politicians in Taiwan are corrupt are predicted to be less likely to accept restricting
civil liberties and restrictions. The binary regression treats “Almost all” (5), as the
control variable. Therefore, in the analyses, the Corrupt Politician variable
corresponds directly with its assigned value, e.g. Corrupt Politicians (1) is the variable
for “Almost none” (1), Corrupt Politicians (2) is the variable for “A few” (2), etc.
The variable for “Corrupt politicians” is categorical and based on the assumption that
a respondent who believes a greater proportion of politicians are corrupt in Taiwan
will be more likely to support the protection of civil liberties and rights.
Education level has been shown to have an impact on beliefs about political
parties, candidates, and issues.467 Bobo and Licari (1989) found evidence suggesting
that individuals with a higher level of education are also more tolerant of minority
467
William G. Jacoby, “The Sources of Liberal-Conservative Thinking: Education and
conceptualization,” Political Behavior 10(4) Winter 1988, pp. 316-332.
139
groups.468 A variable indicating the level of formal education of the respondent
captures the influence that education has on support for civil liberties in Taiwan
insofar as education level is a relevant variable. Education level is measured by the
number of years a respondent reported as having spent in formal education, i.e. a
respondent who has spent one year in formal education is assigned a value of 1, two
years, 2, etc. The expected sign is negative, which would indicate that a respondent
who has spent a greater number of years in formal education will be less likely to
believe that basic civil liberties shouldn’t be allowed by the government.
I also include a variable capturing ethnicity to measure whether having a
parent from the mainland is a significant factor in support for civil liberties. Hsieh
(2008) argues that ethnicity has diminished as a salient factor in Taiwanese politics,
while the importance of national identity has increased commensurately.469 The
survey, however, doesn’t include a precise measure of the respondent’s views on
national identity. Ethnicity has been a conspicuous cleavage in Taiwanese politics
and may influence a respondent’s evaluation of civil liberties. If a respondent has at
least one parent who is from mainland China, the variable is assigned a value of 1,
and 0 otherwise. If the respondent refused to answer the question, the variable is
designated as missing. If the sign on the variable is positive and significant, it would
suggest that respondents with an ethnic tie to the mainland are less likely to support
basic civil liberties than those without such heritage.
Political affiliation is also included as a control variable to test whether a
respondent’s support for the “pan-blue camp” has an impact on support for civil
liberties. The KMT, the major political party comprising the pan-blue camp, has
468
Lawrence Bobo and Frederick C. Licari, “Education and Political Tolerance: Testing the effects of
cognitive sophistication and target group affect, ” Public Opinion 53(3) 1989, pp. 285-308.
469
John Fuh-sheng Hsieh, “Democracy in a Mildly Divided Society,” In Philip Paolino and James D.
Meernik (eds.) Democratization in Taiwan: Challenges in transformation (Burlington, VT: Ashgate,
2008), p. 11-24.
140
unfavorable connotations among some Taiwanese as the erstwhile authoritarian
regime. If there is evidence that pan-blue supporters are more intolerant of civil
liberties and freedoms, this animosity may be justifiable as a residual effect of
authoritarian rule. If a respondent self-identifies as being affiliated with the pan-blue
camp, the variable is assigned a value of 1, and 0 otherwise. Missing values are
treated as such. If the sign on the variable is positive and significant, it would suggest
that pan-blue supporters are less supportive of basic civil liberties than non-pan-blue
camp supporters.
Gender is also included in the equation to test whether being a male or female
significantly affects a respondent’s support for civil liberties. De Vaus and
McAllister (2006) find strong support that women are more likely than men to be
conservative in their political views.470 A variable capturing gender is therefore
included, with males assigned a value of 1, and females, 0. Any other responses are
treated as missing. If the sign on the variable is negative and significant, it would
suggest that females are less likely to support civil liberties than males.
Finally, age is included in the regression to test for the possibility that older
respondents are more conservative than younger citizens. Age has been found to be a
significant factor for the expression of conservative opinions.471 Older respondents
may risk losing more in terms of property and prestige than those of a younger
generation if the government’s policies are aggressively challenged. The former are
likely to have settled down and accumulated wealth and status that may be threatened
by challenges to the social order. Therefore, I include a variable corresponding to the
age, in years, of the respondent. If the sign on the variable is negative and significant,
470
David De Vaus and Ian McAllister, “The Changing Politics of Women: Gender and political
alignment in 11 nations,” European Journal of Political Research 17(3) May 1989, pp. 241-262.
471
Francis D. Glamser, “The Importance of Age to Conservative Opinions: A multivariate analysis,”
The Journal of Gerontology 29(5) 1974, pp. 549-554.
141
it would indicate that older respondents are less likely to support civil liberties than
their younger cohorts.
b.
Preliminary Results
Not surprisingly, the preliminary results of the survey show a clear
differentiation in the number of respondents who think that the government should
allow public meetings, demonstrations, and nationwide strikes to take place. Table
4.1 below displays the descriptive statistics obtained from the survey. Of the
respondents who expressed a clearly affirmative or negative opinion, 28 percent
believe that the mere holding of public meetings should not be allowed. Over half of
those respondents stating that public meetings should not be allowed indicated the
strongest opposition, that the government should “definitely not” allow public
meetings to take place at all. Just under half (48 percent) of respondents with a
clearly stated position believe that the government should not allow demonstrations to
take place. Finally, over 70 percent of respondents answered that the government
should not allow nationwide strikes to take place.
Table 4.1: Support for allowing civil liberties
Definitely
Not
Probably Not
Probably
Should
Definitely
Should
Total
Public Meetings
181 (9.7%)
343 (18.4%)
696 (37.2%)
649 (34.7%)
1869
Demonstrations
291 (15.5%)
616 (32.8%)
646 (34.4%)
326 (17.3%)
1879
Nationwide
Strikes
620 (33.0%)
726 (38.7%)
340 (18.1%)
190 (10.1%)
1876
These numbers indicate that at least until 2006, and possibly onward, there
was a considerable segment of the Taiwanese population who valued stability and
order over the unconditional guarantee of civil liberties. Roy (2003) noted that under
142
martial law, most of the public actually “preferred keeping martial law and cared less
about seeking independence than about other matters such as crime, pollution, and the
cost of living” (emphasis added).472 The purpose of this study is to elucidate sources
of this authoritarian tendency in Taiwanese society.
In order to test the three hypotheses identifying these sources (corporatism, the
terror threat, and Confucianism), I ran a binary logistic regression using three
different response variables. The response variables are the measures of support for
civil liberties previously described, specifically whether the government should allow
public meetings, demonstrations, and nationwide strikes to take place. If the
respondent believes that the government shouldn’t allow the indicated form of protest
to take place, the variable is coded 1, and 0 otherwise. The explanatory variables are
the dummy variables for the three hypotheses and the control variables for education
level, ethnicity, corrupt politicians, political affiliation, age, and gender. Binary
logistic regression uses binomial probability theory in which there are only two values
to predict: that probability (p) is 1 rather than 0, in this case the probability that the
respondent believes that the government shouldn’t rather than should allow the civil
liberty. Logistic regression uses the maximum likelihood method, which maximizes
the probability of placing the observed data into the appropriate category (1 or 0),
based on the given explanatory coefficients. Since there are three different questions
pertaining to the terror threat hypotheses, I first use SPSS regression software to
examine each response variable (public meetings, demonstrations, nationwide strikes)
while alternating the variable used to measure the terror threat (tap phones, detain
people, random stop and searches). The results are displayed below, with the lefthand column indicating the civil liberty and terror threat variable used.
472
Roy 2003, op. cit., p. 162.
143
Table 4.2: Regression with 3 terror variables (signs on coefficients)
Intervene
in free
market
Trust
Terror
Education
Mainlander
Corrupt Politicians
(1)
almost none
(2)
a
few
Public
Meetings
*detain
+
+
+
-
-
+
*tap
+
+
-
-
-
*stop and
search
+
+
+
-
Demonstrati
ons
*detain
+
-
-
*tap
+
-
*stop and
search
+
Nationwide
Strike
*detain
(3)
some
(4)
quite
a lot
Age
Male
Pan
Blue
+ -
-
+
-
-
+
+ -
-
+
-
-
-
+
+ -
-
+
-
-
+
-
+
+ -
-
+
-
-
-
+
-
+
+ -
-
+
-
-
-
-
+
-
+
+ -
-
+
-
-
+
+
+
+
-
+
+ +
-
-
+
-
*tap
+
+
+
+
-
+
+ +
-
-
+
-
*stop and
search
+
+
+
+
-
+
+ +
-
-
+
-
Table 4.3: Regression with 3 terror variables
Interven
e in free
market
Trust
Terror
*
Education
Mainlande
r
Corrupt
Politicians
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
Age
Male
Pan Blue
.421
(.000)
.100
(.397)
.245
(.091)
-.064
(.159)
-.705
(.001)
1.540
(.014)
.265
(.161)
-.079
(.650)
-.095
(.550)
.005
(.760)
-.055
(.639)
-.600
(.000)
*tap
.436
(.000)
.125
(.286)
-.115
(.349)
-.064
(.160)
-.716
(.001)
1.556
(.013)
.271
(.152)
-.090
(.602)
-.108
(.495)
.006
(.701)
-.043
(.711)
-.606
(.000)
*stop and
search
.422
(.000)
.118
(.317)
.084
(.471)
-.066
(.146)
-.703
(.001)
1.579
(.012)
.275
(.145)
-.083
(.633)
-.101
(.525)
.006
(.697)
-.052
(.653)
-.601
(.000)
Demonstratio
ns
*detain
.301
(.003)
-.040
(.697)
.108
(.410)
.027
(.492)
-.613
(.000)
1.983
(.014)
.343
(.046)
-.031
(.834)
-.108
(.429)
.006
(.704)
-.169
(.096)
-.655
(.000)
*tap
.310
(.002)
-.030
(.768)
-.065
(.542)
.027
(.485)
-.620
(.000)
1.988
(.014)
.347
(.043)
-.037
(.804)
-.114
(.407)
.006
(.683)
-.165
(.106)
-.658
(.000)
*stop and
search
.311
(.002)
-.024
(.816)
-.108
(.289)
.027
(.493)
-.623
(.000)
2.008
(.013)
.344
(.045)
-.040
(.792)
-.115
(.403)
.006
(.671)
-.169
(.097)
-.660
(.000)
Nationwide
Strikes
*detain
.262
(.019)
.134
(.233)
.068
(.645)
.089
(.040)
-.613
(.000)
1.881
(.077)
.257
(.185)
.156
(.342)
-.034
(.819)
-.022
(.172)
.014
(.897)
-.634
(.000)
*tap
.262
(.019)
.139
(.215)
.019
(.874)
.088
(.041)
-.613
(.000)
1.897
(.075)
.259
(.180)
.154
(.348)
-.035
(.812)
-.021
(.178)
.012
(.913)
-.634
(.000)
*stop and
search
.263
(.019)
.138
(.218)
.011
(.921)
.088
(.041)
-.613
(.000)
1.892
(.075)
.260
(.179)
.154
(.348)
-.035
(.811)
-.021
(.177)
.013
(.904)
-.634
(.000)
Public
Meetings
*detain
144
Table 4.2 shows that “Intervene in free market,” “Mainlander,” and “Pan Blue”
have a consistent sign across each of the response variables when run with each of the
terror threat variables. The sign on “Intervene in free market” is congruent with the
corporatism hypothesis, while the signs on both “Mainlander” and “Pan Blue” are
opposite from what is predicted. When the unstandardized beta values and
significance levels are included in Table 4.3, the same three variables, “Intervene in
free market,” “Mainlander,” and “Pan Blue” are seen to be statistically significant.
Corrupt Politicians (1), “almost no politicians are involved in corruption,” is also
statistically significant across all regressions, and education level is found to be
statistically significant for all three regressions run on “Nationwide Strikes,” although
its sign is opposite from what is expected. Finally, Corrupt Politicians (2), “a few
politicians are involved in corruption,” is also statistically significant for the
regressions run on “Demonstrations.”
c.
Regression results
Table 4.4 displays the significant variables across the three dependent
variables. Both “PanBlue” and “Mainlander” are statistically significant at the 99%
level for all three dependent variables, while “InterveneFreeMarket” is significant at
the 99% level for “Public Meetings” and “Protest Demonstrations,” and at the 95%
level for “Nationwide Strikes.” Other variables that reached significance on at least
one of the dependent variables were “Detain,” “Education,” “Corrupt Politicians,”
“Corrupt Politicians (1)” and “Corrupt Politicians (2).”
145
Table 4.4: Summary of significant variables
PanBlue
Public
Meetings
B
-.600
InterveneFreeMarket
.421
.000***
(.116)
.307
.002***
(.101)
.262
.019**
(.112)
Mainlander
-.705
.001***
(.215)
-.616
.000***
(.165)
-.613
.000***
(.156)
Detain
.245
.091*
(.145)
.108
.410
(.132)
.068
.645
(.147)
Education
-.064
.159
(.045)
.024
.539
(.039)
.089
.040**
(.043)
Corrupt Politicians
Sig.
.000***
(.161)
Protest
Demonstrations
B
-.659
Sig.
.000***
(.129)
Nationwide
Strikes
B
-.634
.006***
.014**
Sig.
.000***
(.129)
.148
Corrupt Politicians (1)
1.540
.014**
(.628)
1.995
.013**
(.805)
1.881
.077*
(1.065)
Corrupt Politicians (2)
.265
.161
(.189)
.329
.055*
(.329)
.257
.185
(.194)
Standard Errors are reported in parentheses
*,**,*** indicates significance at the 90%, 95%, and 99% level, respectively
Details of the regression analysis are summarized in the Tables at the end of
this section. Tables 4.5 through 4.11 give the output results from the SPSS binary
regression run using “Demonstrations,” “Detain,” and excluding “Male” from the
variable set. Comparing the Classification Tables (Tables 4.5 and 4.10), the results
show that the percentage of outcomes correctly predicted by the model increased by 6
percentage points, from 53.5 percent to 59.5 percent, when including all of the
variables except for the gender variable. This is an impressive increase and provides
evidence that the model is a good fit. Table 4.6 shows the regression equation
without the addition of any variables. The Wald statistic in the equation tests the null
hypothesis that an equal number of respondents believe that the government should
and shouldn’t allow demonstrations. The significance level (0.004) shows that we
146
should reject the null hypothesis that there are an equal number of respondents in the
population that believe that the government should and shouldn’t allow
demonstrations. The Omnibus Tests of Model Coefficients (Table 4.7) tests the
hypothesis that there is at least some predictive capacity of the regression equation.
The values (significance <.05) show that the regression model is appropriate and has
some predictive capacity. Tables 4.8 and 4.9 display the pseudo R-square values and
Hosmer and Lemeshow tests. Once again, the Cox and Snell R-square and
Nagelkerke R-square values are relatively low, however the Hosmer and Lemeshow
Significance Test shows that the model is a good fit. Table 4.11 shows the predicted
and observed number of respondents who believe that demonstrations should and
should not be allowed. The predicted numbers are obtained by using the full
regression equation. These numbers correspond with Tables 4.5 and 4.10, which
showed an increase of 6 percent in the accuracy of the model, given the full
regression. Table 4.12 gives the results of the binary regression analysis, excluding
gender. The equation obtained from the regression is:
Logit(Demonstrations) = -.675 + .307(Intervene) -.033(Trust) + .108(Detain) .616(Mainlander) + 1.995(CP1) + .329(CP2) - .033(CP3) - .110(CP4) -.659(Pan-blue)
+ .006(Age) + .024(Education)
The variables “Intervene in free market,” “Mainlander,” “Pan-blue,” “Corrupt
Politicians,” and “Corrupt Politicians(1)” are statistically significant at the 95%
Confidence Interval (P<0.05). Similarly, the Wald statistics show the same variables
to be significant. The coefficients (B) are also displayed and show that a one unit
increase in the belief that the government should intervene in the free market
147
increases the logit (estimated log odds) of the belief that the government shouldn’t
allow demonstrations to occur by .307 units, controlling for political affiliation, age,
education level, belief in Confucianism, sensitivity to the terror threat, ethnicity, and
opinion on the number of corrupt politicians in the government. On the contrary,
having a parent who is a mainlander decreases the logit (estimated log odds of the
belief that the government shouldn’t allow demonstrations to occur) by .616 units,
controlling for political affiliation, age, education level, belief in the free market,
belief in Confucianism, sensitivity to the terror threat, and opinion on the number of
corrupt politicians in the government. Likewise, being politically affiliated with the
pan-blue camp decreases the logit of the belief that the government shouldn’t allow
demonstrations to occur by .659 units, controlling for age, education level, belief in
the free market, belief in Confucianism, sensitivity to the terror threat, ethnicity, and
opinion on the number of corrupt politicians in the government.
The relationship can also be described in different terms. Respondents who
believe that the government should intervene in the free market are 1.36 times more
likely to believe that demonstrations shouldn’t be allowed by the government than
those who don’t, controlling for political affiliation, age, education level, belief in
Confucianism, sensitivity to the terror threat, ethnicity, and opinion on the number of
corrupt politicians in the government. Respondents who have a parent who is a
mainlander are 46 percent less likely to believe that the government shouldn’t allow
demonstrations as those who don’t, controlling for political affiliation, age, education
level, belief in the free market, belief in Confucianism, sensitivity to the terror threat,
and opinion on the number of corrupt politicians in the government. A respondent
who is politically affiliated with the pan-blue camp is almost fifty percent less likely
to believe that the government shouldn’t allow demonstrations as one who isn’t,
148
controlling for age, education level, belief in the free market, belief in Confucianism,
sensitivity to the terror threat, ethnicity, and opinion on the number of corrupt
politicians in the government. I include the output tables for “Protest Meetings”
(Table 4.13) and “Nationwide Strikes” (Table 4.14) for comparison.
Table 4.5: Classification table
Observed
Predicted
Demonstrations
Demonstrations
Percentage
Correct
.00
1.00
.00
892
0
100.0
1.00
775
0
.0
Overall
53.5
Percentage
Table 4.6: Variables in the equation
Step 0
B
S.E.
Wald
df
Sig.
Exp(B)
Constant
-.141
.049
8.198
1
.004
Table 4.7: Omnibus tests of model coefficients
Chi-
df
Sig.
square
Step 1
Step
88.279
11
.000
Block
88.279
11
.000
Model
88.279
11
.000
Table 4.8: Model summary
Step
-2 Log
likelihood
1
2214.455
a
Cox & Snell R
Nagelkerke R
Square
Square
.052
.069
149
.869
Table 4.9: Hosmer and Lemeshow test
Step
Chi-square
df
1
5.149
8
Sig.
.742
Table 4.10: Classification tablea
Observed
Predicted
Demonstrations
Demonstrations
Percentage
Correct
.00
1.00
.00
589
303
66.0
1.00
372
403
52.0
Overall
59.5
Percentage
Table 4.11: Regression analysis: Contingency table for Hosmer and Lemeshow test
Demonstrations = .00
Demonstrations = 1.00
Total
Observed
Expected
Observed
Expected
1
121
126.142
46
40.858
167
2
116
112.348
51
54.652
167
3
103
100.076
64
66.924
167
4
90
90.332
75
74.668
165
5
87
88.487
80
78.513
167
6
92
84.967
75
82.033
167
7
82
79.104
85
87.896
167
8
72
76.445
96
91.555
168
9
76
73.229
91
93.771
167
10
53
60.871
112
104.129
165
150
Table 4.12: Regression analysis: Variables in the equation (Demonstrations)
B
Sig.
Wald
PanBlue
-.659
26.211
Age
.006
EducationLevel
.024
InterveneFreeMarket
.307
TrustLeader
-.033
Detain
.108
Mainlander
-.616
.000***
(.129)
.686
(.015)
.539
(.039)
.002***
(.101)
.744
(.103)
.410
(.132)
.000***
(.165)
.006***
.013**
(.805)
.055*
(.329)
.827
(-.033)
.422
(.137)
.602
(1.294)
6.143
Corrupt Politicians
Corrupt Politicians (1)
1.995
Corrupt Politicians (2)
.329
Corrupt Politicians (3)
-.033
Corrupt Politicians (4)
-.110
Constant
-.675
.163
.378
9.197
.107
.679
13.914
14.370
3.690
.047
.644
.272
Standard Errors are reported in parentheses
*,**,*** indicates significance at the 90%, 95%, and 99% level, respectively
151
Table 4.13: Regression analysis: Variables in the equation (Public Meetings)
PanBlue
B
-.600
Age
.005
EducationLevel
-.064
InterveneFreeMarket
.421
TrustLeader
.100
Detain
.245
Mainlander
-.705
Corrupt Politicians
Corrupt Politicians (1)
1.540
Corrupt Politicians (2)
.265
Corrupt Politicians (3)
-.079
Corrupt Politicians (4)
-.095
Male
-.055
Constant
-1.422
Sig.
.000***
(.161)
.760
(.017)
.159
(.045)
.000***
(.116)
.397
(.118)
.091*
(.145)
.001***
(.215)
.025**
Wald
13.848
.014**
(.628)
.161
(.189)
.650
(.173)
.550
(.159)
.639
(.116)
.336
(1.479)
6.013
.093
1.981
13.100
.718
.2865
10.757
11.175
1.962
.205
.357
.220
.924
Standard Errors are reported in parentheses
*,**,*** indicates significance at the 90%, 95%, and 99% level, respectively
152
Table 4.14: Regression analysis: Variables in the equation (Nationwide Strikes)
PanBlue
B
-.634
Age
-.022
EducationLevel
.089
InterveneFreeMarket
.262
TrustLeader
.134
Detain
.068
Mainlander
-.613
CorruptPoliticians
CorruptPoliticians (1)
1.881
CorruptPoliticians (2)
.257
CorruptPoliticians (3)
.156
CorruptPoliticians (4)
-.034
Male
.014
Constant
2.488
Sig.
.000***
(.129)
.172
(.016)
.040**
(.043)
.019**
(.112)
.233
(.112)
.645
(.147)
.000***
(.156)
.148
Wald
24.149
.077*
(1.065)
.185
(.194)
.342
(.164)
.819
(.148)
.897
(.111)
.080
(1.421)
3.119
1.870
4.266
5.502
1.420
.212
15.456
6.780
1.760
.905
.052
.017
3.067
Standard Errors are reported in parentheses
*,**,*** indicates significance at the 90%, 95%, and 99% level, respectively
153
V.
a.
Conclusion
Democracy with an Adjective
Taiwan has been described as having successfully transitioned from an
authoritarian regime to a democratic polity and as being a paragon of the third wave
of democratization. After the lifting of martial law in 1987, democratic reforms have
continued with remarkable celerity. The 1991 National Assembly elections were the
first full democratic elections for a national body in Taiwan’s history, and elections
for the Legislative Yuan soon followed in 1992. In 1996, Taiwanese gathered at the
polls to choose the president in a direct election, the first time ever that an Asian
country had chosen a state leader in such a process. Although the winning candidate,
incumbent Lee Teng-hui, was a member of the former authoritarian party and had
served as president for eight years without a mandate from the people, he was widely
respected among the Taiwanese for his achievements while in office and for his
reformist credentials. The opposition DPP reached a milestone in 2000, benefitting
from a split in the KMT party and scraping together enough of the vote to capture the
presidency. During the Chen Shui-bian administration, the seventh round of
constitutional amendments was implemented, ostensibly concluding Taiwan’s
constitutional revisions and solidifying Taiwan’s two-party structure. After spending
eight years as the opposition, the KMT has re-invigorated itself and emerged
victorious in the 2008 presidential elections, accomplishing a second peaceful
turnover of power in Taiwan’s democratic era. Compared with the transitions of
other former authoritarian countries into democratic forms, Taiwan has made a
relatively peaceful transformation into a stable democracy.
154
A more discriminating inspection of Taiwan’s democracy shows that,
although there are regularly held free and fair elections between at least two
competitive political parties, there are still flaws that mar the image of absolute fealty
to democratic ideals. The authoritarian era produced several legacies that continue to
plague politics on the island. One such legacy is the gap in resources available to the
two main political parties. The KMT, the former authoritarian regime, has been
called the “richest political party in the world,” and disputes continue to surface over
its assets collected over its time at the helm of a one-party state.473 Another
unscrupulous practice left over from the authoritarian era is “black gold politics,” or
the political corruption rooted in ties between gangsters and money politics, an
accusation that even the DPP is not immune to.474 Perhaps more worrisome for
Taiwan’s democracy, the main opposition party, the DPP has found building support
among the general population an elusive task. The ‘China factor’ in Taiwanese
politics guarantees the KMT a small but significant fraction of the vote in presidential
elections from Taiwanese who are wary of voting an opposition politician into office
whom Beijing regards as antagonistic to its national interests. There is even some
sentiment among scholars that the DPP faces an insuperable burden in gaining a
majority of seats in the Legislative Yuan.
Another component of democratic welfare is the quality of citizen beliefs
about democratic principles and practices. Rustow (1970) emphasizes that a mature
democracy is characterized by a society in which the norms and procedures of
democracy have become inveterate among the elites as well as the masses.475
Similarly, Diamond (1997) suggests that a broad consensus across class, ethnicity,
473
Cheng-chen Hsiang and Jason Pan, "Taiwan High Court Rules Against BCC on Land Dispute." Taipei Times. 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.
474
Chris Wang, "DPP's Ker Denies Report of Gangsters, Party Membership." - Taipei Times. 18 Apr.
2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2013.
475
Rustow 1970, op. cit. (See also Lagos 2001.)
155
nationality, and other cleavages on the desirability of democracy over any other
alternative form of government is a prerequisite to democratic consolidation.476
According to these scholars, citizen beliefs are sine qua non to the success of
democratic consolidation.
In Taiwan, there is still a considerable proportion of the population that holds
conservative values redolent of the martial law period. The 2004 version of the
Taiwan Social Change Survey showed that 58.6 percent of the respondents believed
that the government should have the power to restrict democratic rights when it
believes it to be necessary, while only 31.2 percent held the view that “under no
circumstances should democratic rights be restricted.”477 The 1998 version of the
Taiwan Social Change Survey asked respondents whether democracy is always the
best political system, or if sometimes it is better to have an authoritarian system of
dictatorship. Almost a third of the respondents, 31.9 percent, believed that
authoritarian government is sometimes better than a democracy.478 Providing further
confirmation that these results were not just anomalies, nearly two thirds of
respondents (64.7 percent) to the 2010 Survey believed that brutal offenders should be
punished immediately without recourse to a court of justice. Less than a third (32.2
percent) of respondents disagreed, with a paltry 4.4 percent strongly disagreeing. 479
Recognizing the importance of citizen beliefs for a healthy democracy, several
studies have examined the relationships between partisan and ethnic identification on
attitudes towards regime satisfaction, efficacy, and government alienation in
476
Diamond 1997, op. cit.
Academia Sinica, Institute of Sociology. 2004. “Fourth Phase, Fifth Wave: Citizenship.” Taiwan
Social Change Survey. Raw data. Taipei, Taiwan.
478
Academia Sinica, Institute of Sociology. 1998. “Third Phase, Fourth Wave: Political Culture.”
Taiwan Social Change Survey. Raw data. Taipei, Taiwan.
479
Academia Sinica, Institute of Sociology. 2010. “Sixth Phase, First Wave: Globalization, Work,
Family, Mental Health, Religion, Mass Communication, Political Participation, Leisure.” Taiwan
Social Change Survey. Raw data. Taipei, Taiwan.
477
156
Taiwan.480 This paper contributes to this literature by testing three hypotheses on the
sources of authoritarian values extant in Taiwanese society. In addition to ethnicity
and partisanship, I investigated whether, (1) believing that the government should
intervene in the free market; (2) according credulity to the terror threat argument; and
(3) holding Confucian values, are significant factors producing disapprobation for
civil rights in Taiwan. Surprisingly, whereas the corporatism variable was found to
be statistically significant, both the terror threat and Confucianism variables were
statistically insignificant in the regression model. These results show that neither
sensitivity to terrorism nor belief in a basic tenet of Confucianism, the absolute
authority of a virtuous leader, is correlated with support for civil rights.
Before further analyzing the significant variable corporatism, some
explanations for the insignificant variables, the terror threat and Confucianism, and
several limitations to this particular study should be addressed. As explained in the
section on the terror threat in Taiwan, the KMT regime rationalized authoritarian rule
based on the existence of a threatening rival regime on the mainland. For over forty
years, the four laws and provisions making up martial law granted the president
extraordinary powers and curtailed the civil rights and liberties of Taiwanese citizens.
Even after martial law was lifted, the China factor has appeared persistently in
Taiwanese politics. On the eve of the first anniversary of the September 11th attacks,
Chen Shui-bian made remarks pointedly likening China’s deployment of missiles
targeting Taiwan to terrorism.481 However, few Taiwanese today apart from President
Chen would draw the same parallel that the military threat posed by the Chinese
480
Stockton 2006, op. cit. (See also Chu 2008; Chu 2012b.)
Amber Wang,"Chen Urges Beijing to Renounce Threat of Force Against Taiwan." - The China Post.
11 Sept. 2002. Web. 11 June 2013.
481
157
Communist Party regime is terroristic in nature.482 Moreover, by 2006, the regime in
Beijing had arguably shown that it was reluctant to use violence against Taiwan, even
with a DPP member in the presidential office. Instead, Beijing was implementing a
‘hearts and minds’ strategy designed to win over more Taiwanese politicians and
members of the general public.483 Accordingly, the terror exception is not evident in
Taiwanese politics, and the regression results showed sensitivity to terrorism not to be
significantly correlated with support for civil liberties.
The ‘virtuous leader’ trope is a fundamental element of the Confucian
tradition. Therefore, respondents who identify themselves as being influenced by
Confucian thought are likely to indicate agreement with the question from the survey.
Following the logic of Asian Values, respondents who are influenced by Confucian
values should be more conservative in their political outlook. However, the
Confucianism variable was not statistically significant in the regression model. By
implication, this finding seems to refute the cultural justification for the restriction of
civil liberties in East Asia, and suggests that contrary to the Asian Values argument,
Confucian values do not a priori lead to diminished support for civil and political
rights.
Several limitations to this study also condition the results and their
interpretations. The first regards the aptness of using the ‘virtuous leader’ theme as
the be-all and end-all to capture a respondent’s inclination towards Confucian values.
However, Confucianism entails a myriad of beliefs that may not be reflected in a
respondent’s answer to a single survey question about the right of a moral leader to
govern. In addition to bestowing faith in a virtuous leader, Confucianism also
482
Anna Tsai, "Playing the Terrorism Card Bad for Taiwan." - Taipei Times. 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 11
June 2013.
483
Center for National Policy. CNP Panel on Cross-Strait Relations. More Talk Or More Tension?
China's Taiwan Initiatives and Implications For U.S. Policy. 14 June 2005. Web. 12 June 2013. (See
also Jianwei Wang, “Time for ‘New’ Thinking on Taiwan,” China Security 4(1) Winter 2008, pp. 120.
158
emphasizes the group over the individual, duty, paternalism, unequal social roles, etc.,
values which may influence a respondent’s support for civil liberties and aren’t
included in the Confucianism variable used.484 Other Confucian values could
consequently still be a significant factor affecting a respondent’s support for civil
liberties and political rights. Another aspect to this seemingly incongruous finding
might be the observed gap between individual vs. public spheres. The results might
indicate that adherents to Confucian values tend to separate their personal belief
system from political values. This finding demonstrates the limits of 21st century
Confucianism vis-à-vis the political realm.
A second limitation is the applicability of the findings for the current political
situation in Taiwan. Taiwanese politics are in constant flux, and the political
circumstances of 2006 bear only a superficial resemblance to the contemporary
environment. Indeed, in a highly politicized society such as Taiwan’s, political
alignments, citizen beliefs, and political ideologies are highly labile. This limitation
is most relevant to the significance of the corporatism finding. Both political
affiliation and ethnicity are more deeply ingrained aspects of identity and hence less
likely to exhibit change over a short time span. Two years after the survey, the Great
Recession struck world economies in 2008, and in the same year, Ma Ying-jeou was
elected president. The economic crisis has provided an opportunity for proponents of
alternative economic models to publicize their criticisms of free-market capitalism.
This increase in the prominence of economic theories disentangling neo-liberal
economic growth and liberal democratic values may have since influenced Taiwanese
as well. However, in order for these counter-theories to hold weight among
Taiwanese, there must be a group of academics, politicians, and civil leaders
484
Sor-hoon Tan, “Democracy in Confucianism,” Philosophy Compass 7(5) May 2012, pp. 294.
159
dedicated to spreading a coherent vision. Absent this, it is unlikely that alternative
economic theories will hold sway among the general population.
Another limiting point of contention involves the normative foundation of
civil rights. Some scholars question the symmetry between western concepts of
political liberties and civil rights, and their counterparts in East Asian countries.485
From this perspective, western phenomena such as an active civil society,
unassailable civil rights, and latitudinous individual autonomy are inappropriate for
East Asian societies. Consequently, any comparison of state-society relations
between countries is problematic, as each is embedded in different historical
experiences and cultural understandings. Scholars who adopt this position demur at
studies that attempt to graft western conceptions of civil liberties on non-western
nations. As noted in a previous section, this appeal to cultural sensitivity originated in
Singapore, whose elites have been the ‘principal champions’ of cultural relativism.486
In addition to Singaporean elites, Asian leaders have fervently promoted Asian
Values in riposte to the influence of Western politicians.487 Observers should be
chary of the claim that cultural differences condone a subjective application of civil
and human rights, given that these interpretations proceeded from political leaders.
As pointed out earlier, Taiwan has in fact a lengthy tradition of social activism
petitioning for civil liberties and political rights à la those practiced in western nations,
even with its Confucian heritage. During the period of martial law, the fear of
repression rather than cultural norms prevented Taiwanese from demanding their civil
485
Xia Yong, The Philosophy of Civil Rights in the Context of China (Leiden, the Netherlands:
Koninklijke Brill, 2011). (See also Hong Xiao, “Values Priority and Human Rights Policy: A
comparison between China and western nations,” Journal of Human Values 11(2) October 2005, pp.
87-102.)
486
Garry Rodan, “Human Rights, Singaporean Style,” Far Eastern Economic Review 172(10)
December 2009, pp. 29.
487
Fareed Zakaria, “Asian Values,” Foreign Policy 133 November-December 2002, pp. 39.
160
rights. As described earlier, social movements burgeoned immediately after martial
law was repealed.
Taking into consideration the above explanations, limitation and rebuttals, the
major findings of this study are elaborated in detail below.
b.
Democracy and Capitalism
The results of the binary regression analysis show three variables, “Intervene
in free market,” “Mainlander,” and “Pan-blue,” to be significant across all three civil
liberties selected. The sign on the first variable, “Intervene in free market,” is positive,
indicating that a respondent who believes that the government should intervene in the
free market is more likely to believe that the government should also restrict civil
liberties a priori, controlling for the other variables in the equation. A summary of the
discussion relating to the relationship between democracy and capitalism is beyond
the scope of this paper, however suffice it to say that there has been extensive
research and speculation on the content and depth of the association.488
Regardless of the debate about capitalism and liberal democracy, the results of
this study show that Taiwanese generally subscribe to a positive correlation between
political liberalism and the free market. The rationale behind this finding includes
Taiwan’s extended period of corporatism guided by an authoritarian regime. Over the
entirety of the period of martial law, the KMT directed the economy through its
ownership of key industries under the party-state paradigm. Under its variant of
authoritarian corporatism, the KMT exerted disproportionate influence in labor
relations due to the monopolization of labor representation by the Chinese Federation
of Labor (CFL), an apparatus of the party. Taiwanese citizens may regard
488
Masanobu Ido (ed), Varieties of Capitalism, Types of Democracy and Globalization (New York,
NY: Routledge, 2012). (See also Friedland and Robertson 1990.)
161
government intervention in the free market as an illiberal practice because of its
affiliation as a tactic carried out by the one-party state.
The bond between political liberalism and economic liberalization was also
reified in the minds of Taiwanese by their concurrent development. In the mid-1980s
Taiwan’s trade dependency on the United States allowed the latter to use its leverage
to enjoin Taipei to undertake neo-liberal reforms such as the opening of the
Taiwanese market and similar measures conforming to the ‘Washington
Consensus.”489 At the same time, a confluence of international and domestic factors
had made political liberalization a fait accompli. As a result of these interacting
processes, the positive correlation between democracy and capitalism was further
entrenched in Taiwan’s political-economic ideology.
Meanwhile, another factor contributing to the belief in Taiwan of the veracity
of the fundamentals of capitalist democracy among Taiwanese may be the process of
democratization sui generis. One prominent segment of Taiwanese society that
opposed the KMT was small and medium-sized business entrepreneurs, who resented
the fact that the government provided them with little access to credit, subsidies, or
other government assistance.490 The members of this group who were active in the
dangwai pushed for economic liberalization hand in hand with political reform as a
part of its demands. The KMT’s success in promoting equitable economic growth
also created a burgeoning middle class of Taiwanese, which caused the impetus for
economic liberalization to grow commensurately.491
Similarly, when DPP members began winning seats in greater numbers, their
stakes in the political game changed. This caused a parallel shift in the incentive
489
Ming-chang Tsai, “Dependency, the State and Class in the Neoliberal Transition of Taiwan,” Third
World Quarterly 22(3) June 2001, pp. 359-379.
490
Rigger 2001, op. cit., p. 40.
491
Huang and Yu 1999, op. cit., p. 92.
162
structures and dynamics of factional politics in the party. Once democracy advocates
succeeded in getting elected to political office, business interests became a more
strident voice in the DPP. The marginalization of social welfare and environmental
issues within the DPP accelerated after Chen Shui-bian won the 2000 presidential
election. An economic recession accompanied Chen into office, and business
interests successfully redoubled their efforts to pressure the president and his party
into resisting economic reforms considered pejorative to economic growth.492
The results of this study have shown that there is a significant positive
correlation between a belief in the subordinate role of government in economic
activity and support for civil rights. This finding is consistent with the common
assertion that class politics plays a trivial role in political division in Taiwan.
However, government non-intervention in the market when taken to the extreme, can
result in survival of the fittest protection of the privileged. Indeed, the basic principle
of neoliberalism is the supremacy of the free market. Critics of neoliberalism in
Taiwan, e.g., those who seek to exercise their civil rights to enact legislation that
ensures their welfare, therefore face a daunting challenge in advancing contrarian
economic policies to free-market capitalism. The belief that the free market is an
ineluctable outgrowth of liberal democracy puts the burden on workers’ rights
activists to impugn the verity of neo-liberalism’s progressive credentials. If these
activists fail in this endeavor, the segment of the population most likely to support
workers’ rights in analogous democracies based on their commitment to progressive
values may have only a tepid interest in, or even be hostile to, combating neo-liberal
492
Ming-sho Ho, “Neo-Centrist Labour Policy in Practice: The DPP and Taiwanese working class,” In
Dafydd Fell, Henning Kloter, and Chang Bi-yu (eds.) What Has Changed? Taiwan Before and After
the Change in Ruling Parties (Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2006), pp. 142-43.
163
reforms in Taiwan.493 In this scenario, the legacy of authoritarian corporatism will
continue to be a stumbling block for those resisting the creation of an apotheosis of an
unfettered free market in Taiwan.494 The related finding according to the regression
results that the number of years a respondent has spent in formal education,
presumably elevating their understanding and interest in wider political and social
issues, is negatively correlated with support for a nationwide strike, is similarly
troubling for workers’ rights advocates.
c.
Politicized Civil Rights
The second finding of this study is no more surprising, though a bit more
disconcerting insofar as it belies the image of Taiwan as a flawless democracy
composed of citizens unswervingly committed to basic civil liberties and freedoms.
Before the dangwai’s declaration that it was creating a political party in defiance of
articles of the emergency provisions prohibiting the establishment of new parties, the
opposition included members who actively engaged in grassroots organizing. A vocal
and influential faction of the dangwai was committed to pursuing democratic reforms
via such grassroots activism and did not shy away from disruptive forms of protest
and demonstration. During the mid-1980s, with rapid political and economic
liberalization taking place simultaneously, social movements proliferated and the
dangwai/DPP found political utility in endorsing their development. Throughout the
1990s the DPP remained relegated to a minority in the Legislative Yuan and was kept
out of the presidential office in part by the popularity of Lee Teng-hui, who served as
493
It is common, for instance, to see headlines such as the following in Taiwan, in which respected
citizen and citizen groups advocate in support of free market reforms. Chris Wang, “Academics Urge
Energy Liberalization." - Taipei Times. 29 Apr. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
494
See, for example, the debate surrounding the creation of ‘free economic pilot zones’ to attract FDI.
Yan-chih Mo, "Speed Up 'Free Economic Pilot Zones,' Ma Says." - Taipei Times. 25 Apr. 2013. Web.
25 Apr. 2013.
164
Taiwan’s president during the entire decade of the 1990s. Lee’s adept political
maneuvering helped him to win the first-ever direct presidential elections in 1996,
ultimately allowing him to serve twelve years as president of the island. Lacking any
substantial institutional power, the DPP retained its loose party organization, allowing
its members considerable freedom to develop personal constituencies and leeway in
their political views.495
This combination of weak institutional power and loose party discipline gave
members of the DPP incentive to develop grassroots networks and support social
movements that continued to flourish throughout the 1990s, and whose main target
was the state.496 As the party in power, the KMT was reluctant to establish more
permanent ties with social movements, electing instead to appease social movement
activists by passing legislation such as the Living Allowance for Middle Lower
Income Elderly People Act in 1994, the Welfare Allowance for Aged Farmers Act in
1995, and establishing the National Health Insurance plan in 1995, and
unemployment insurance in 1999.497 In several instances, the KMT even poached the
ideas of the DPP for its own self-interest.498
Insomuch as public demonstrations and protests were an indispensable tool of
the opposition DPP prior to democratization, DPP supporters should be more likely to
insist on the protection of basic civil liberties, such as the rights of association and
demonstration. Likewise, the relationships that developed between social movement
activists and DPP members during the 1990s should bolster the esteem that the latter’s
supporters have for those aforementioned civil rights. However, the results of the
regression analysis show the opposite to be true; those who are politically affiliated
495
Rigger 2001, op. cit. p. 72.
Schafferer 2003, op. cit., p. 12.
497
Fell 2005, op. cit., p. 31.
498
Ibid, p. 42. (See also Rigger 2001, p. 39.)
496
165
with the pan blue camp are actually more likely to support the rights of association
and demonstration and the right to protest, controlling for other variables. The same
relationship was also found for those who have at least one Mainlander parent,
showing that ethnicity, although an impuissant indicator on most issues, still has some
residual influence on Taiwanese society.
These apparently incongruous results can be explained by the political mise en
scene at the time of the survey. In late May, President Chen Shui-bian’s son-in-law
was brought in for questioning on suspicion of insider trading. Rumors of
improprieties among President Chen’s closest circle had already been voiced publicly
by this time. Opposition politicians accused Chen’s wife, Wu Shu-chen, of receiving
free vouchers from the new management of Taipei’s Sogo Department Store, and
questioned her role in facilitating its takeover.499 Two weeks after Chen’s son-in-law
was first questioned by investigators, the KMT approved a proposal requesting a
parliamentary vote to recall the president.500 The KMT’s motion to remove President
Chen from office failed in late June, as all DPP legislators boycotted the vote.501 The
DPP’s brief display of unity soon evaporated, though, and former party chairman and
DPP icon Shih Ming-teh issued an open letter calling for Chen to step down from his
post in early August.502 Unsatisfied with Chen’s response, Shih then spearheaded a
campaign between September and November 2006 dubbed, ‘A Million Voices
Against Corruption- President Chen Must Go,’ to publicize his criticisms against the
president. The series of demonstrations started off on September 9, with about
200,000 people, mostly women, protesting in front of the Presidential Building on
499
"Chen Shui-bian's Son-in-Law Arrested." Shanghai Daily, 26 May 2006. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
"KMT Seeks Chen Shui-bian's Recall." China Daily. 08 June 2006. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
501
"Taiwan Opposition's Bid to Oust Chen Shui-bian Fails." People's Daily Online -- Taiwan
Opposition's Bid to Oust Chen Shui-bian Fails. 28 June 2006. Web. 28 Apr. 2013.
502
Jewel Huang, "Presidential Office Replies to Shih Ming-teh's Letter." - Taipei Times. 10 Aug. 2006.
Web. 28 Apr. 2013.
500
166
Ketagalan Boulevard. Despite being led by a high-profile member of the party, few
DPP legislators supported Shih’s campaign. Several DPP members lampooned Shih,
and some of his old allies questioned his motives in starting the campaign.503 On
September 16, pro-Chen supporters organized a counter demonstration on Ketagalan
Boulevard shouting slogans against Shih’s ‘Red shirt’ movement.504
The 2006 Taiwan Social Change Survey was conducted between July and
August, after the KMT’s recall motion had failed and at a time when segments within
the DPP were calling for President Chen to step down. On July 15, prior to Shih
Ming-teh’s open letter, a group of pan-green academics issued a public statement
asking for Chen to resign. The emergence of intraparty dissent sparked a bitter public
debate among DPP members over whether President Chen should resign.505 Two
weeks later, on July 26, the same group of academics issued another appeal to the
public, castigating leaders of the DPP and claiming to have collected 20,000
signatures supporting their petition. The group’s statement warned that, “[o]nly by
developing an energetic and independent civil society can we improve the country’s
democracy.”506
The results of the regression analysis are indicative of the acrimony felt by
pan-blue supporters against President Chen, as well as the polarization within the
president’s own party. Ideally, there wouldn’t be any significant correlation between
support for civil liberties and political affiliation or ethnic identification. If there were
to be any significant relationship, the most reasonable prediction would be that pangreen supporters and Taiwanese were more likely to support civil liberties, given the
503
Meng-yu Yang, “Who is Really under Attack during Anti-Chen’s Campaign?” BBC Chinese News,
October 11, 2006. (See also Huang 2006.)
504
Fang-long Shih, “The ‘Red Tide’ Anti-Corruption Protest: What does it mean for democracy in
Taiwan?” Taiwan in Comparative Perspective 1: November 2007, pp. 87-98.
505
Shu-ling Ko, "DPP Struggles to Maintain Unity." - Taipei Times. 19 July 2006. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
506
Jewel Huang, "Pan-green Academics Call Again for Chen's Resignation." - Taipei Times. 27 July
2006. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.
167
prior reliance on political activism of the former and the history of structural
discrimination against the latter. However, the results of the regression analysis show
the reverse to be true; pan blue supporters and citizens with at least one Mainlander
parent are actually more likely to support civil liberties. An important question for
future investigation is whether this phenomenon of conditional support for civil
liberties was an aberration caused by a singular circumstance or an immanent
characteristic of Taiwanese society. If the latter is true, the subordination of support
for civil rights to political considerations is indubitably unsettling to sanguine
appraisals of Taiwan’s democracy.
Taiwan’s current democratic regime meets the qualities of a stable democracy
according to the standard put forward by Linz and Stepan (1996), among others, of a
shared normative and behavioral commitment to the specific rules and practices of the
constitutional system, including a commitment by all significant actors to the laws,
procedures, and institutions of the state.507 Within this general framework, however,
the actual practice and daily function of democracy may be more tenuous. This study
makes a critical observation on the state of democracy in Taiwan on the basis of two
results. The first finding shows that, controlling for a range of variables, Taiwanese
who believe that the government should intervene in the free market are more likely
to oppose granting basic civil rights and freedoms unconditionally. This result might
reflect a general belief among Taiwanese that liberal democracy and free-market
capitalism are akin in their desirability. A widespread prejudice against communism
is not surprising given the historic enmity felt by Taiwanese toward Beijing. The
Chinese Communist Party’s own process of economic liberalization over the past
several decades may also further discredit alternative economic theories in the minds
507
Juan L. Linz and Alfred Stepan, Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern
Europe, South America, and post-communist Europe (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press,
1996), p. 6-10.
168
of the Taiwanese public. Opponents of neo-liberalism in Taiwan will have to
overcome these ingrained beliefs in order to promote their vision of social justice and
workers’ rights. The second finding is consistent with other scholars’ observations of
the hyper-politicization of Taiwanese society. Politicization has infiltrated Taiwanese
financial institutions and the judiciary, invoking an urgent need to reflect on the
condition of Taiwan’s democracy.508 Not only do Taiwanese form their opinions
about the fairness of elections and satisfaction with democracy based on party
affiliation, but party affiliation can also be a significant factor in support for granting
civil liberties.509 A high level of politicization in a society can undermine popular
trust towards political institutions, social trust between groups in society, and trust in
democratic politics per se.510 Although Taiwan is often awarded plaudits for its
democratic transition, the results of this study show there are still obstacles remaining
for full realization.
508
Cal Clark and Alexander C. Tan, “Taiwan Enters the 21st Century: A rude awakening to the costs of
success,” In Wei-Chin Lee (ed.) Taiwan’s Politics in the 21st Century: Changes and challenges
(Singapore: World Scientific, 2012) p. 103-130. See also Wei-chen Tseng and Jason Pan. "Netizens
Decry 'Light Sentence' for Lin Yi-shih." - Taipei Times. 03 May 2013. Web. 03 May 2013.
509
Chu 2012b, op. cit.
510
Mattlin 2011, op. cit.
169
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Appendix:
Corporatism Variable
Intervene in the Free Market
Don’t want to answer
1 (42.5%)
Should continue to support 839 (42.5%)
Should not intervene
923 (46.8%)
Don’t understand
36 (1.8%)
Can’t choose
173 (8.8%)
The Terror Threat Variable
Right to
Right to Stop and
Right to Tap
Detain
Search
Phones
2 (.1%)
2 (.1%)
2 (.1%)
Definitely should
143 (7.3%)
272 (13.8%)
200 (10.1%)
Probably should
200 (10.1%)
614 (31.1%)
461 (23.4%)
Probably should
416 (21.1%)
397 (20.1%)
423 (21.5%)
1137 (57.7%)
624 (31.6%)
819 (41.5%)
Don’t want to
answer
not
Definitely should
not
194
Don’t understand
10 (.5%)
10 (.5%)
10 (.5%)
Can’t choose
64 (3.2%)
53 (2.7%)
57 (2.9%)
Confucianism Variable
Trust a Virtuous Leader
Don’t want to answer
1 (.1%)
Strongly agree
476 (24.1%)
Agree
565 (28.7%)
Neither agree nor disagree 244 (12.4%)
Disagree
499 (25.3%)
Strongly disagree
114 (5.8%)
Don’t understand
10 (.5%)
Can’t choose
63 (3.2%)
195