First Impressions of Taiwan in Lead up to Elections

Our delegation’s first two days in Taiwan have been very fast-paced, exciting and informative. We’ve met with representatives from the KMT headquarters, DPP headquarters, western and Taiwanese academics, and students who have provided many colorful comments and interesting insights about the dynamics of democratic deepening, identity issues, and cross-strait relations.

Having never visited Taiwan before, I was struck when I first arrived in Taipei by how the city (at least the sections we’ve been in) moves at a slower pace than I expected of modern, global Taiwan. I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by how warm the locals are, and how receptive they are to our questions. The election atmosphere has not been as intense as I had anticipated, in fact it's been described as "cool and quiet". Reasons could include that presidential elections are no longer a novelty in Taiwan, the two main parties have offered few substantive policy promises during their campaigns, and the two parties don’t appear to be significantly different outside of the cross-strait relations issue on which there is tremendous domestic and international pressure to maintain the status quo.

We’ve heard a diverse range of opinions about Taiwan’s democratic deepening. Some believe that Taiwan is already a mature democracy, while others argue that Taiwan is still in the early stages of its democratic development. Several people have pointed out that political institutions are weak, that the media is biased and shallow, that great polarization exists between the blue and green camps, and that clientelism is widespread. Others have noted that Taiwan has had successful transitions of power, enjoys incredibly high voter turnout and has shifted focus from ethnic conflict towards progressive social, economic and political issues, and that no perfect democracy exists anywhere.

Regardless of whether it is an early or mature stage democracy, the fact that Taiwan is a democracy has been fascinating to witness. In contrast to Canadian elections, election posters, banners, vehicles, and paraphernalia are seemingly everywhere in Taiwan at the moment. Almost everyone who we talk to from taxi drivers to night market vendors to museum goers seems to have a strong opinion about the elections. Born in mainland China, living there until age six, and never having visited Taiwan before, I have been consistently struck by how democratic ideas have been so deeply ingrained into Taiwanese culture over a relatively short amount of time.

Looking forward to crashing rallies and chatting with more officials, scholars, activists and students over the next few days!