David Sacks
Amidst China’s growing military, economic, and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan and the attendant rising awareness of the risk of a cross-strait conflict, Taiwan is often solely viewed as a flashpoint or the frontline in a geopolitical struggle between China and the United States. A 2021 cover of the Economist, for instance, went so far as to label Taiwan “the most dangerous place on earth.” As international attention returns to Taiwan for its presidential inauguration on May 20, with keen interest in what president-elect William Lai will say on cross-strait relations, it is worth taking a step back to appreciate Taiwan’s democratic achievements. Under four decades since martial law was lifted and under three decades after its first democratic presidential election, Taiwan has emerged as one of the world’s strongest democracies, an achievement all the more remarkable considering the existential threat that the island faces.
A Young but Strong Democracy
In 1979, when the United States terminated diplomatic relations with Taiwan (formally the Republic of China) and established formal ties with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), it was trading one authoritarian regime for another. The Kuomintang (KMT) had imposed martial law on Taiwan in 1949, banned political opposition parties, and severely curtailed political rights.
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