From colonial restrictions to Asia's second most vibrant democracy
In short: Taiwan’s journey toward full suffrage was anything but linear. Once restricted to a tiny fraction of the population under Japanese rule, the island has transformed into one of Asia's most robust democracies, navigating decades of martial law to empower its citizens through complex, multi-layered voting systems.
The path to modern Taiwanese democracy was marked by significant constraints. During the Japanese colonial period, the first elections in 1935 were highly exclusive; only men aged 25 and above who paid at least five yen in annual taxes could participate. This limited the electorate to just 28,000 people out of a population of 4 million. After the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan in 1949, martial law prevailed until 1987, functioning as a de facto one-party state that limited various political and civil liberties.
A major democratic shift occurred through a series of reforms in the 1990s. Following the lifting of martial law, the Republic of China adopted the Additional Articles of the Constitution to grant full political rights to its citizens. This era saw the first direct presidential elections in 1996, moving away from the previous system where the National Assembly elected the President indirectly. Today, Taiwan is recognized as a leading democracy in the region, ranking second in Asia on the 2023 V-Dem Democracy index with a score of 0.831.
The current electoral landscape is highly sophisticated. National elections determine the President, Vice President, and 113 members of the Legislative Yuan. The legislative process uses a parallel voting system: 73 members are chosen via first-past-the-post in single-member constituencies, 34 through party-list proportional representation, and 6 through single non-transferable voting for indigenous representatives. Local governance is similarly structured, with 'nine-in-one' elections consolidating various municipal and district roles into a single voting event.
While voters generally strive to be diligent and optimize their choices, research into the 2016 elections suggests that human rationality is not absolute. Studies indicate that while voters are often rational, they may lean toward more irrational decision-making during high-stakes, highly important elections.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Elections in Taiwan
- Also: Are We Rational or Not? The Exploration of Voter Choices during the 2016 Presidential and Legislative Elections in Taiwan.
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