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Since the lifting of martial law in 1987, Taiwan has progressed toward one of Asia's most advanced democracies. This paper looks at the historical and socio-political circumstances and traces the global and domestic factors behind the transformation. Assuming that advanced levels of democratic governance can only be obtained through mediated social control over the state and the economy, the study explores whether democratic values and norms have become internalized and identifies the current caveats of further democratic development. More specifically, the paper argues that although Taiwan's democratization has been caused by external sovereignty-related factors, the discourse on national identity has repoliticzed the public political realm after decades of authoritarianism and led to the habitualization of democratic values and norms. The paper concludes with an assessment of the prospects for comprehensive and inclusive public participation in the shaping of Taiwan's political conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to decipher the meaning of Taiwan's January 2016 general elections by focusing on the factors that underscored the landslide victories by the opposition DPP party over the long-time ruling KMT. The ultimate aim is to answer the larger question of how to understand Taiwan's politics from the perspective of democratic theory. Two of the attributes that a true democracy must have are: (1) an opposition party loyal to the common weal of society, as opposed to the party's own egoistic interests; and (2) an independent free media. My study fails to find either in Taiwan under the shadows of DPP's maneuverings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]