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2019 | Buch

Taiwan’s Political Re-Alignment and Diplomatic Challenges

herausgegeben von: Wei-chin Lee

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buchreihe : Politics and Development of Contemporary China

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SUCHEN

Über dieses Buch

This edited volume investigates and evaluates the context, causes, and consequences of various essential issues in Taiwanese domestic politics and external relations before and after the regime change in 2016. It offers theoretical interpretation and temporal delineation of recent electoral shifts, party realignment, identity reformulation, and subsequent foreign policy adaptation in the 2010s. Contributors address these issues in three sections—“Democracy and New Political Landscape,” “The China Factor and Cross-Strait Dilemma,” and “Taiwan’s International Way-out”—to advance conclusions about Taiwan’s political transformation from both comparative and international perspectives.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. The Turn of Fortune: Realignment in Taiwan’s Domestic Politics and Diplomacy
Abstract
The chapter surveys and summarizes key findings of various chapters and highlights several distinctive features of Taiwanese politics in the 2016 regime change. There is a recurring pattern with candidates and parties making bloated campaign promises and then failing to fulfill them. Identity politics has been a constant theme in policy deliberation and partisan competition. In any analysis of Taiwan’s national security and foreign policy, cross-Strait relations with China remain an inescapable variable for consideration. Finally, the Tsai government has decided to realign with the US, Japan, and the Southeast Asia region to mitigate China’s pressure and threats.
Wei-chin Lee

Democracy and New Political Landscape

Frontmatter
Chapter 2. The Quality of Democracy in Taiwan
Abstract
Most studies agree that Taiwan has a consolidated democracy. But while the level of democracy has been fairly constant for the past 20 years, the quality of democracy has varied considerably. This chapter examines the quality of democracy in Taiwan with a variety of indicators, analyzes the institutional sources of decline in the quality of democracy, and identifies the challenges facing the Tsai administration.
Bruce J. Dickson
Chapter 3. Taiwan’s General Elections of 2016
Abstract
The 2016 general elections were a milestone in Taiwan’s political history. The ruling Kuomintang (KMT) was defeated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which was not only able to win the presidency but also, for the first time in history, an outright majority in the Legislative Yuan (Parliament). Potentially, the 2016 elections might portend a partisan realignment between the two major political parties (or the two major political groupings—the Pan-KMT camp and the Pan-DPP camp) for many years to come. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the events leading to the elections and the factors that may have affected the turnout and voters’ vote choices in these crucial elections in this young democracy.
John Fuh-sheng Hsieh
Chapter 4. The Rise of the New Power Party in Taiwan’s 2016 Legislative Election: Reality and Challenges
Abstract
This chapter asks that given Taiwan’s current socioeconomic situation and electoral system, will the newly emerged New Power Party (NPP) become one of the main political parties in Taiwan in the upcoming future? We answer the question by identifying electoral, ideological, supportive, and organizational factors. The findings show that, first, the current electoral system seems unfavorable for a small party like NPP who rely on more radical stances; second, the NPP’s ideological positions may be adverse to increase its voters’ base; third, the NPP’s ambition of becoming a left-wing political party does not seem to correspond well with current supporters; and fourth, the party’s centralized, top-down communicative manner can be detrimental to its popularity among the new internet generation.
Ian Tsung-yen Chen, Da-chi Liao
Chapter 5. Party’s Issue Competence and Electoral Decisions in Taiwan’s 2012 and 2016 Presidential Elections
Abstract
Employing the theory of issue ownership, this chapter finds that voters’ concerns about Taiwan’s increasing economic dependence on China, together with a series of domestic events, have altered voter’s perceptions of the KMT’s issue competence, particularly in managing cross-Strait relations. This shifting perception of issue competence in part explained the KMT’s electoral misfortune in 2016. However, partisanship and candidate attributes continued to play a major role in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections. While the role of issue ownership and perceived issue competence cannot be ignored, their effects on Taiwanese citizens’ electoral decisions may vary from election to election.
Ching-hsin Yu, T. Y. Wang

The China Factor and Taiwan’s Cross-Strait Dilemma

Frontmatter
Chapter 6. A Comparative Study of the China Factor in Taiwan and Hong Kong Elections
Abstract
This chapter probes the economic dimension of the China factor in Taiwan and Hong Kong politics. We discuss how economic integration efforts affect elections and party competitions in smaller states neighboring China. Research on globalization suggests that freer international trade redistributes wealth among big and small states and reshapes local or regional political cleavages. Growing inequalities among and within these states could consequently reinforce localist identities and pro-independence movements. In the case of China, economic integration manifested in recent free trade treaties with Taiwan and Hong Kong coincides with the rise of localism and state-wide protests against further integration. In this study, we examine the micro-level connections between economic integration and political disintegration using new survey data about public perceptions of China in these societies.
Karl Ho, Stan Hok-wui Wong, Harold D. Clarke, Kuan-Chen Lee
Chapter 7. Consensus Found and Consensus Lost: Taiwan’s 2016 Election, the “1992 Consensus,” and Cross-Strait Relations
Abstract
This chapter aims to examine the tug of war of campaign slogans and narrative propositions between parties and electoral contenders in the 2016 presidential elections. It begins with a brief genesis of the 1992 Consensus and its distinctive features followed by an analysis of the campaign agendas and policy stances of presidential contenders and ends with implications for our understanding of Taiwan’s identity and future cross-Strait relations. President Tsai’s “status quo maintenance” proclamation is an attempt to reject the 1992 Consensus for electoral gain. However, the “one China” principle insisted by China will continue to be a significant factor for cross-Strait relations.
Wei-chin Lee
Chapter 8. The DPP Ascendancy and Cross-Strait Relations
Abstract
This chapter analyzes the possibility of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) President Tsai Ing-wen taking a galvanizing strategy when the next presidential election nears. It adopts an electoral cycle theory and posits that during the electoral periods, political parties in Taiwan adopt either a median (M) or galvanizing (G) approach on cross-Strait issues. The theory also posits that during the inter-electoral period, the equilibrium for Taiwan is either a semi-partner of the US or a hedger between Washington and Beijing. Both are realistic (R) positions. Chen Shui-bian, a former DPP president, initially took an M approach, then alternated between G and R. Whether Tsai will follow the Chen scenario is determined by the president’s approval rating, timing, and the strength and coherence of her opponents.
Yu-Shan Wu

Taiwan’s International Way-out

Frontmatter
Chapter 9. American Policy Toward Taiwan-China Relations in the Twenty-First Century
Abstract
Examining US policy toward Taiwan-China relations since the mid-1990s, this chapter explains why recently rising tensions in cross-Strait relations and hardening of the Obama administration’s approach to China did not spill over to change US policy toward Taiwan. It goes on to assess the impact of the US 2015–2016 presidential election debates and its implications for US policy on China and Taiwan in the Donald Trump government.
Robert Sutter
Chapter 10. Rethinking US Security Commitment to Taiwan
Abstract
Should the United States end its security commitment to Taiwan to avoid war with an increasingly powerful China? This chapter argues that accommodating China on Taiwan will increase—not decrease—the probability of conflict in East Asia. Drawing on IR theory, I analyze the five errors of accommodationist proposals—underestimation of structural pressures, mistaken assumption of China’s limited aims, damage to US alliance credibility, downplaying of Taiwan’s democratic and strategic values, and destruction of the delicate balance between deterrence and reassurance. Contrary to accommodationist arguments, ending US security commitment to Taiwan will not make Asia more peaceful but rather more dangerous. For US grand strategy toward Asia, Taiwan is an asset, not a liability.
Yuan-kang Wang
Chapter 11. Beyond Diplomacy: The Political Economy of Taiwan’s Relations with Southeast Asia
Abstract
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan lost its final diplomatic partner in Southeast Asia in 1975, but the island’s economic relations with major countries in the region kept on growing, particularly since the late 1980s. This does not mean that diplomacy is not important for Taiwan, however. The island continues to face the challenges of political isolation and economic marginalization in the twenty-first century. This study shows that Taiwan’s thriving political economy with Southeast Asia will continue, even though China has asserted increasing political and economic influence in the area.
Samuel C. Y. Ku
Chapter 12. The Japan-Taiwan Relationship Under the Tsai Ing-wen Administration
Abstract
This chapter delineates recent Japan-Taiwan relations, primarily during the period of 2008–2017, by focusing on key factors influencing the relationship. The chapter reveals the following findings. First, the Japan-Taiwan relationship has remained stable even with the change of Taiwanese administration. Second, the progress of the relationship has been consistent with the Japan-China Joint Communique in 1972. Third, it is undeniable that any possibility of cooperation between Japan and Taiwan has occasionally depended on the reaction and response of China. Fourth, the importance of having no official diplomatic relationship has been declining in the context of greater social interactions between Japan and Taiwan.
Madoka Fukuda
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Taiwan’s Political Re-Alignment and Diplomatic Challenges
herausgegeben von
Wei-chin Lee
Copyright-Jahr
2019
Verlag
Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-77125-0
Print ISBN
978-3-319-77124-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77125-0