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This paper reviews the study of Taiwan politics in the field of public administration, focusing on the concurrence of two reforms: democratization and new public management (NPM). The most vehement criticism against NPM has been voiced by the advocates of substantial democracy. They believe that, by encouraging individuals to pursue maximized self-interest, this efficiency-oriented movement only serves to attenuate the moral dimensions of democratic life, leaving underdeveloped such values as social justice, equality, social solidarity, and public-spirited participation. Such an observation leads to the following intellectual curiosity: what would happen if one country were to go through both democratization and NPM simultaneously, as is the case with many countries today? In an attempt to answer this question and to illustrate the dynamics between these two reforms, this paper examines Taiwan's history of administrative development. The findings challenge the common understanding that these two reforms are mutually incompatible. The main argument is that there is in fact a synergic interaction between the reforms during their initial phase. Because the NPM reforms actually advocate certain core values also shared by liberal democracies, and because NPM measures help fulfill certain political functions for regime transition, the two reforms actually reinforce each other early on in the process. Nevertheless, as democratization proceeds, such advanced goals as improving the quality of civil society and promoting grass-roots deliberation with regard to a collective future begin to be emphasized on the reform agenda. NPM at this later stage is found to impose challenges to further democratization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between democracy and effectiveness. This survey of the local elite in Taiwan in two separate periods, 1993 and 2001, defines the term "effectiveness" as the local elites' evaluation of local effectiveness in dealing with serious problems facing the locality. After reviewing related theories and hypotheses and identifying various factors that might affect effectiveness, the paper divides these variables into two categories: factors both directly and indirectly related to democratization. Empirical testing finds that the local elite in Taiwan actually held a more positive evaluation of local effectiveness in the second wave than they did in the first. Through cross-analyses of each factor, increases in the local elites' positive evaluation of local effectiveness are found to be unrelated to factors of the first category. Among factors of the second category, only the variables of local elite position and self-evaluation of their influence are strongly related to local elites' evaluation of local effectiveness. This finding supports the hypothesis of this study: democracy and effectiveness are positively related. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family is an important agent of political socialization. Parents are undoubtedly the primary source of a child's political learning. Political values, like genes, are transmitted from parents to children. Not only do individuals acquire political values and attitudes from their parents, but at the same time the political system is also sustained and developed. This paper investigates the content of political attitudes and values that elementary school students acquire in the socialization environment of the family, measures the extent of correspondence in parent-child political attitudes and values, and examines aspects of family structure which conceivably affect transmission flows. The preliminary findings of this paper are that elementary school students in Taiwan already possess attitudes regarding the political world. The rate of parent-child agreement, measured in eleven sets of variables reflecting political attitudes and values, ranged from 22.87 percent to 56.93 percent--of which only one set was less than 30 percent. In regard to the correlation of correspondence, the chi-square test of national identity, national loyalty, and party preference all held statistical significance. With the exception of majority rule and sense of political efficacy (which both had less correlation of agreement), the other six sets of variables of democratic attitudes and values all held at least a 0.05 tau-b coefficient. Additionally, in comparing the six familial socialization factors of correspondence in parent-child political attitudes and values, we find that the familial politicization factor was the most influential socialization factor. In total, out of forty-eight tau-b correlation coefficient tests of eight sets of variables of democratic values and attitudes, there are thirty-nine tests that had statistical relations with tau-b coefficient above 0.05. Therefore, this research demonstrates that in the political learning of children in Taiwan, political attitudes and values are indeed transmitted from parents to children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether democracy can be consolidated in a newly democratized country depends on whether its citizens respect democracy. Through a study of political socialization in Taiwan, this paper will examine whether the political attitudes and values of Taiwan students can cope with the needs of a democratic system and thus whether Taiwan's democratization can be further enhanced. Based on survey data gathered from two research projects commissioned in 1993 and 1997 by the National Science Council on the political socialization of Taiwan students, this paper analyzes their attitudes and values on fourteen predictive variables on democracy to see whether they possess the qualifications for democratic citizenship. Our study indicates that political socialization in Taiwan, especially via the educational process, should help enhance those attributes required of a good "subject," including a strong national consciousness, the feeling of nationhood, and fulfillment of civic duties. More importantly, socialization is also helping them to possess such attributes required of a good "citizen" as civic knowledge, political efficacy, participation ability, and political identity achievement. Therefore, the cultivation of qualified democratic citizens is still important for the consolidation of Taiwan's democratization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In designing democratic institutions, it is imperative that we take into consideration both the constitutional form of government and the electoral system. On paper, Taiwan's institutional arrangement, essentially parliamentary coupled with a semi-proportional electoral system, resembles that found in many Continental European countries. This is generally sound except that the electoral system (i.e., the single nontransferable vote), albeit with certain merits, contains some truly undesirable features that need to be corrected Proportional representation with a relatively high threshold to eliminate minuscule parties is preferable. Nonetheless, the actual practice in Taiwan--presidentialism plus a relatively proportional electoral system--looks more like the institutional arrangement seen in Latin America, which is not a good choice. The easiest way of changing it and moving it back to the Continental European type of system is to close the loophole by reinstituting an investiture vote for the premier-designate by the Legislative Yuan. It is important that the constitutional practice should not deviate too much from the logic of the constitutional arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]