For the first time in Chinese history, on December 6, 1986, worldwide attention was focused on a general election in the Republic of China - even though no one expected the ruling Nationalist Party (Kuomintang or KMT) to lose. This was because the December election was the first time a meaningful opposition party - the newly formed Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) - was tolerated (although technically the DPP remained illegal).
Nominally, Taiwan has two other legal opposition parties: the China Youth Party (CYP) and China Democratic Socialist Party (CDSP). However, since 1980 the popular vote each of these has received is less than 1 percent, and they have thus become politically insignificant. In previous elections, the Nationalist government has allowed candidates to run as independents, except for the candidates of the two legal opposition parties. Thus, the December 6 election was viewed as a major step toward democratization of the political process in Taiwan.
Despite its authoritarian nature, the rule of the KMT has provided political stability in Taiwan, and has therefore been essential in contributing to the rapid economic development and social progress of Taiwan since 1950. Per capita income jumped from less than $100 in 1950 to more than $3,500 in 1985. Moreover, during this period, the ratio of per capita income between the top 20 percent and bottom 20 percent of the population has been reduced from 15 to 1 in the early 1950s to about 4 to 1 in 1985. Thus, it terms of income distribution, Taiwan's society is one of the most egalitarian in the world. (The ratio of per capita income between the top and the bottom 20 percent of the population in the United States is about 9 to 1, and in Mexico it is 20 to 1.) The adult literacy rate has reached 93 percent, and about 20 percent of the college-aged youth are in junior colleges, colleges, or graduate schools. More than a million people from Taiwan travel abroad for business of pleasure each year. A recent survey indicated that about 70 percent of the people considered themselves middle or upper-middle class.
Growing demands for democracy
With a population that is better educated and more affluent, it is only natural to witness growing demands for more democracy in Taiwan, and especially for more effective participation in the political process of the island. While the KMT leaders have been fully aware of this trend, the party has not moved quickly enough to respond to rising demands and expectations, especially in regard to the lifting of martial law and removal of the ban on organizing new political parties.
The KMT position on these issues was severely attacked by many non-KMT candidates in the 1980 and 1983 elections. Then on September 28, 1986, despite, the ban on organizing political parties, some non-KMT politicians announced the formation of the DPP. The Nationalist government took no action to punish the organizers except for announcing that the DPP would not receive government recognition. Subsequently, on October 7, 1986, President Chiang Ching-kuo, who is also president of the KMT, announced that martial law would be lifted and that organizing of new political parties would be permitted if the new parties respected the constitution, upheld a basic policy of anti-communism, and stayed clear of the secessionist Taiwan independence movement.
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