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aiwan democracy
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Taiwan

                  Taiwan's democracy

 is at surface level

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¡´ 2024 presidential election & 2022 midterm elections

 Washington Post , 2023-5-19:  The key campaign issues are China policy and the economy washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/19/explainer-taiwan-2024-elections-and-why-they-matter-from-beijing-to-washington/caee9d5e-f69b-11ed-918d-012572d64930_story.html   Cindy Wang

Brookings, 2023-4-17: The Taiwan voters are deeply pragmatic.  A significant majority of the Taiwan voters are in the middle.   brookings.edu/podcast-episode/how-serious-is-the-risk-of-war-over-taiwan/    Richard C Bush  Ryan Hass David Dollar
DW (Germany), 2023-4-19: Taiwan's choice: China or the United States? KMT:  "peace or war."  DPP: 'Democracy or authoritarianism' dw.com/en/taiwans-choice-china-or-the-united-states/a-65369312  William Yang
The Guardian, 2023-4-2: The KMT has long maintained it is not ¡§pro-China¡¨ but pro-peace and prosperity ¡V an attractive message after years of cross-strait turmoil.  theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2023/apr/02/war-in-taiwan-will-dwarf-ukraine-unless-the-us-shows-china-its-teeth  Simon Tisdall
Economist, 2023-3-29: a Taiwanese policy adviser  frames voters' choice as one between ¡§peace or war¡¨. The kmt can defuse tensions by promising the Communist Party that it rejects Taiwanese independence...The dpp has criticised KMT's ¡§embracing appeasement¡¨ But it, too, worries about conflict economist.com/china/2023/03/29/taiwans-president-tsai-ing-wen-starts-a-sensitive-visit-to-america
United States Institute of Peace, 2023-3-30 :  Relationship with China is on the Ballot for Taiwan's Presidential Elections vice president, Lai Ching-te, running for 2024 president, has emphasized that he would not advocate for Taiwanese independence, but rather seek to defend the de-facto independence Taiwan already enjoys.  However, any DPP candidate will be seen as inherently threatening by Beijing.   usip.org/publications/2023/03/tensions-over-taiwan-rise-tsais-us-stopover    Rosie Levine;  Jennifer Staats
Economist, 2023-3-6: The KMT  has been unable to articulate a new cross-strait strategy beyond continuing dialogue with the Chinese Communist Party.  the  DPP  has also been hesitant about telling voters to prepare for war. The DPP  has already softened its messaging, from Ms Tsai's slogan of  ¡§Resist China and protect Taiwan¡¨, to the more pacific ¡§Peacefully protect Taiwan¡¨. economist.com/special-report/2023/03/06/taiwanese-politics-faces-a-crucial-election-in-early-2024
Bloomberg, 2023-1-16: Midterm races were dominated by issues such as cost of living and deaths from Covid, but China will play a larger role in the contest to be the next president.  Voters then will have to decide between a candidate like William Lai (¡§political worker for Taiwanese independence¡¨), who will have a more confrontational relationship with Beijing, or likely someone from the KMT, who would adopt a more conciliatory approach. news.yahoo.com/dpp-picks-worker-taiwanese-independence-063131571.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall   
SCMP, 2023-1-10: Messy Taiwan politics means KMT¡¦s return to power is far from assured.   If the US-China relationship remains strained or worsens, which seems likely, the DPP will be advantaged. "Ethnic voting" will also favour the DPP.  msn.com/en-xl/news/other/messy-taiwan-politics-means-kmt-s-return-to-power-is-far-from-assured/ar-AA16bqa8

Bloomberg, 2022-11-24:  Voters will choose new city and county leaders on Nov. 26. Tsai needs a strong showing by DPP candidates to strengthen her hand over the final two years of her presidency...  It would also give Tsai greater say on a potential successor from within the DPP in the next presidential contest in 2024. (news.yahoo.com/chiang-kai-shek-great-grandson-084636608.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
Wall Street Journal, 2022-11-28: Taiwan Ruling Party's election drubbing could ease tension with China and persuade Chinese leaders that they can peacefully influence politics there.  
Voice of America, 2022-11-23:  "black gold"-"heijin." Corruption in Local Politics The term directly translates to "black gold" but most in the audience understand that it refers to corruption, vote buying, or illicit money used for political purposes... vote buying, and even candidates with ties to organized crime have been hard to erase completely in more rural areas...  in Nantou, because it is relatively rural, buying votes is actually very serious, I would say prevalent   voanews.com/a/taiwan-struggles-to-shake-off-era-of-corruption-in-local-politics/6846530.html   brief 

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  "Taiwan's midterms"

CNN,2022-11-27: Taiwan's President billed midterms as all about China. The pro-independence DPP's losses come as a heavy blow for Tsai as she had tried to frame the election ¡V as a way to send a message against Beijing¡¦s rising bellicosity toward the island.   edition.cnn.com/2022/11/27/asia/taiwan-election-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html
Asia Times, 2023-1-5: Ruling DPP¡¦s local election loss and opposition¡¦s trade talks with Beijing signal current anti-China policies could shift after 2024 elections asiatimes.com/2023/01/does-the-china-factor-still-matter-in-taiwan/
DPP-friendly mass media FTV (¥Áµø, 2022-11-28, 2022-11-27; ftvnews.com.tw/video/detail/h0489vFQzf4,  youtube.com/watch?v=2Nn4iEsCHGA, etc ) analyzed that one main factor causing DPP drubbed in local vote is war fears growing.    Reuters, 2022-11-27: " Taiwan president strategy 'resist China and defend Taiwan' backfires" .
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media

comments

Reuters,  2022-11-27 Tsai had tried to frame the elections as more than just a local vote, saying the world is watching how Taiwan defends its democracy amid tensions with China... But her strategy failed to win public support.   news.yahoo.com/taiwan-presidents-election-strategy-backfires-185831747.html
Independent (UK), 2022-11-27 Tsai's DPP campaigned on the political anger against China's stance towards Taiwan, the KMT focussed more on the self-ruled island¡¦s democracy and freedom; Its campaign also pointed to whether the government favoured a local vaccine over imported ones.   msn.com/en-gb/news/world/taiwan-election-president-tsai-ing-wen-resigns-as-ruling-party-chair-after-disastrous-results/ar-AA14BJm0
Global Times (China),
2022-11-28
A loud "No" to DPP authorities' policies on a wide range of topics related to people's livelihoods including the chaotic COVID-19 response and the failure to rein in rising prices, and also demonstrated that Tsai Ing-wen''s "China threat bet" has backfired.  Such results proved the mainstream public opinion on the island was for peace.  Besides, failures in handling frequent scandals violating "values" it boasted about,  corruption, black gold politics and nepotism severely violated what the DPP had pledged to the people,  in many cases DPP sacrificed the interests of ordinary people and local companies such as relaxing a ban on food imports from Japan's sites of Fukushima nuclear disaster, and the US pork with ractopamine, DPP appeared to be incapable of handling the prices and livelihoods crises, and have also mulled lengthening the mandatory military service, a very unpopular idea among the youth.    globaltimes.cn/page/202211/1280569.shtml
Reuters (UK), 2022-11-27 The KMT bristles at accusations it will sell out Taiwan to China or is not committed to democracy, but accuses the DPP of deliberately hyping confrontation with Beijing for political benefit;  the issue of succession may breed internal contradictions, damaging the combat effectiveness of having all guns pointing outwards    news.yahoo.com/attention-turns-presidential-poll-taiwan-025519599.html
China Times (Taiwan),
2022-11-27
A very critical and important factor is the Taiwanese people's fear of war, which made Tsai's "resist China and defend Taiwan" policy fail, possible extending military service to resist China is unpopular among young voters .... Besides, Yilan county magistrates Lin Zimiao (ªL«º§®) and HsinChu mayoral candidate Gao Hongan(°ª­i¦w) both appealed for "suppression by the state apparatus".   chinatimes.com/opinion/20221127002671-262110?chdtv  brief  ¶À´¼½å
  Economist, 2022-11-29 many Taiwanese are tired of squabbles over national identity, especially after Ms Tsai¡¦s refusal last year to accept an offer of much-needed vaccines from China ... seemed anxious about the economy and aggrieved by the coronavirus-related strictures  economist.com/asia/2022/11/29/across-the-taiwan-strait-another-lockdown-protest
VOA, 2022-11-27 The personality [of the candidates] was also an issue. There was plagiarism ... unclear government budget use and the vaccine (procurement) policy was pretty opaque. ...a combination of several domestic policies that really made Taiwanese people uncomfortable voanews.com/a/taiwan-elections-seen-as-a-warning-to-ruling-party/6852716.html
Diplomat, 2022-11-29 negative campaigning was the dominant tactic in this election...The DPP was particularly hurt by a thesis plagiarism scandal  thediplomat.com/2022/11/cross-strait-relations-after-the-2022-midterm-election-in-taiwan/
Wall Street Journal, 2022-11-28 Taiwan Ruling Party's Election Drubbing Could Ease Tensions With China
Bloomberg, 2022-11-26 Taiwan Counts Votes in Elections Set to Shape Presidential Race ; Expert: The winners of elections will have a say in who get picked to in the subsequent presidential elections  news.yahoo.com/taiwan-votes-local-elections-set-000000672.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
DW, Germany, 2022-11-26 the opposition Nationalist party shows they remain a strong political force at the local level in Taiwan... there were limits to a "resist China and defend Taiwan" electoral message ;  China said the result shows that "mainstream public opinion in the island is for peace, stability and a good life. dw.com/en/taiwan-president-resigns-as-party-head-after-election-losses/a-63901750
LA Times, 2022-11-25  DPP has been riding on the wave of its Taiwanese nationalism card since 2014 and is inevitably facing a degree of voter fatigue.  The bigger challenge for the KMT looking ahead to the 2024 presidential election may be persuading voters that it can adeptly navigate cross-strait relations without acceding to pressure from Beijing.  latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-11-25/la-fg-taiwan-kmt-taipei-mayor-election-chiang-wanan
First Post, India, 2022-11-25

 "Taiwan's midterms¡¨ are a crucial test of the support for the ruling DPP ahead of the presidential elections in 2024.

SCMP, HK, 2022-11-25 Voters to head to the polls in what is seen as a referendum on Taiwanese president's policies and the independence-leaning DPP; Outcomes will offer clues about potential 2024 presidential candidates;   "If this arguable overuse makes the [Taiwanese] public sphere gradually immune from the DPP's nationalism card on election day, it may potentially carry over into the 2024 presidential election - Not great for DPP," Australian scholar said. msn.com/en-xl/news/other/what-will-taiwan-s-local-elections-mean-for-tsai-ing-wen-s-party-and-rival-kmt/ar-AA14wVUM  
United Daily (Taiwan),
2022-11-27
 Public grievances erupted,  the DPP suffered the biggest frustration ever since founding the party; the nationals do not agree with the current route.  Tsai admin. governs the country by repeatedly threats, without following principle of democracy therefore  lose the public's support (¥Á«è¤jÃzµo¡A¥Á¶iÄÒ¹J³ÐÄÒ¥H¨Ó³Ì¤j®À±Ñ ; ¤H¥Á¨Ã¤£»{¦P¥Ø«eªº°õ¬F¸ô½u  ½²¬F©²¤¤¥¡°õ¬F¤Ó¥¢¥Á¤ß¡Aªv²z«o¥¼¿í´`¥Á¥D­ì«h¡A¦Ó¬O°Ê»³®£À~  udn.com/news/story/7338/6796175?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2
China Times (Taiwan),
2022-11-27
 Tsai's administration has completely failed, the overbearing government undermines democracy, acts recklessly, uses its power completely unrestrained, Furthermore, the epidemic prevention work is full of loopholes and  hidden corruptions. Chairman Tsai Ing-wen miscalculated the situation and nominated wrong candidate for running Taipei mayor campaign.  Young voters are particularly dissatisfied with DPP's breaking promise of taking care for the youth...  chinatimes.com/opinion/20221126003550-262101?chdtv   (½²°õ¬F§¹¥þ¥¢±Ñ  ÅQ¹D°õ¬F¡A¯}Ãa¥Á¥D¡A®¡·N¦k¬°¡A¤¤¥¡Åv¤O§¹¥þ¤£¨ü¸`¨î¡A¨¾¬Ì¤u§@º|¬}¦Ê¥X¥B¯àÁô§tªº³g»G±¡¨Æ ¡A ½²­^¤å¥D®u¿ù¦ô§Î¶Õ¡A¤S¿WÅ󴣦W¤jÅv ¡A ¦~»´¿ï¥Á¤×¨ä¤£º¡¥Á¶iÄÒ·ÓÅU«C¦~ªº©Ó¿Õ¥þµM¸¨ªÅ)
VOA, 2022-11-27 ...internal chaos in the DPP.  Power is not distributed well.

 
Brookings, 2022-8-19:
the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party's 20th Party Congress this fall, and/or in the run-up to Taiwan's 2024 presidential and legislative elections, when Beijing may attempt to use shows of force to influence voter preferences. brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2022/08/19/what-is-taiwans-plan-to-protect-itself-against-chinese-pressure   The Diplomat, 2022-7-25:  Midterm elections in Taiwan are often more a reflection of local politics going down to the microlevel of neighborhood relations, it will still be an important signal of each political party's level of popularity.   Public opinion research shows that cross-strait relations do still factor
midterms thediplomat.com/2022/07/previewing-taiwans-2022-midterm-elections/    Macau Business, 2022-9-10: factionalism remains serious within the KMT party, the moderately blue camp led by party chair Eric Chu is eager to steer a middle-of-the-road approach to dealing with the US and mainland China, to win the hearts and minds of voters.  macaubusiness.com/opinion-kuomintang-politics-in-taiwan/

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United Daily, editorial and China Times, editorial (2022-11-23): More pan-blue political inclination voters are losing their voting rights by the authority's technical foul  ¢w  expatriates like Taiwanese businessmen in China are blocked by CovID "Mini-three-links (¤p¤T³q)", soldiers are blocked by "Maximizing the number of military personnel on duty" ¡BThe number of those voters plus CovID infected people in Taiwan might be at least 0.4 million. By contrast, Japan and Korea can take alternative way such as post voting, laborers from Indonesia and Philippines can vote in Taiwan, but Taiwan's ruling party rejects post-voting.   udn.com/news/story/7338/6785646?from=udn_ch2_menu_v2_main_cate     chinatimes.com/opinion/20221122004507-262101?chdtv

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US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released at 2022-4-12 :  In 2020 presidential and legislative elections, President Tsai Ing-wen won re-election,...there were allegations of vote buying by candidates and supporters of both major political parties.  National Interest, 2022-7-9: Taiwan is a young democratic country that is vulnerable to demagoguery by politicians trying to win elections ... extremist lines can easily win support from the public during economic downturns. it is possible that a Taiwanese political leader could promote independence as a solution to Taiwan's worsening economic situation.  Foreign Affairs, 2022-6-23:  the anti-unification Democratic Progressive Party has controlled both the presidency and the legislature, and it looks well positioned to win the next set of national elections in 2024.  Brookings, 2021-12-27: Beijing have bandwidth and incentive to try to create a political environment in Taiwan conducive to their preferences for the 2024 election. (brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/12/27/steadying-taiwan-for-a-storm-on-the-horizon/ Global Times, 2021-12-11: "If the DPP faces difficulties in the next election in 2024, it's likely to create trouble and further unbalance the current situation, as the political environment in Taiwan is too ideologically-driven and politicized".   United Daily, editorial, 2022-4-24: All political parties try to influence public opinions or do media framing by manipulating polls (udn.com/news/story/7338/6262274?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2).

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pic.: Slovakia congressman and governor perfect imitated the way Taiwanese law-makers often did while visiting Legislative Yuan. 2022-6-9;
 
GT, 2022-10-26 : the democracy in "Legislative Yuan" have become the laughing stock of the international community...governance and an imported form of democracy from a different culture, supported  only with money but without the required training and education is so poorly implemented. The Brookings (Jan. '21) concludes : "Taiwan's structural impediments to good policy performance are not easily fixed. brief globaltimes.cn/page/202210/1278061.shtml

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Brookings, 2021-7-30 (brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/07/30/examining-the-role-of-cross-strait-relations-in-taiwans-politics/): Lev Nachman: from extensive political science research we know that the dominant political factor in every Taiwanese election is the China factor. All other issues are secondary or filtered through the China factor lens. Taiwanese voters are far more pragmatic than we typically assume ... TIME 2021-7-26 (time.com/6083748/taiwan-vaccines-terry-gou-foxconn/   )Most people, 48%, are non-partisan and some now support smaller parties, like TPP led by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je.  Foxconn Terry Gou has earned a place in Taiwanese hearts for his determination to provide Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.  The Hill, 2021-11-24: Beijing does not want Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to be succeeded in early 2024 by her vice president, Lai ... undoubtedly would cause Beijing to accelerate its efforts to take Taiwan.  
ps:
UDN, WorldJournal, 2021-12-9: Taiwan's former pres. Ma: Taiwan is an "illiberal democracy", "a democratically-elected autocracy"

Global Times, 2022-8-11: under the guise of "democracy", the DPP authorities are practicing "green terror". 

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Reuters, 2022-11-23:  Taiwan sees less Chinese interference ahead of elections news.yahoo.com/taiwan-sees-less-chinese-interference-105940773.html

CNN, 2021-10-27

edition.cnn.com/2021/10/27/asia/tsai-ingwen-taiwan-china-interview-intl-hnk/index.html

Taiwan Pres: "Democracy sometimes is chaotic. It's messy, confrontational, ..."

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¡´ "Black-Gold" politics vs. democracy
New York Times, 1-11-2020 : Taiwan's young and vibrant, if messy at times, democratic society.   N.Y. Times, 12-1-2019: the soft underbelly of Taiwanese politics: patronage networks.  They continue to allow community leaders, farmers¡¦ associations and even organized-crime figures to buy votes ( NY Times, opinion : https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/opinion/china-taiwan-election.html ).  USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices,  2021-3-30 There were allegations of vote buying by candidates and supporters of both major political parties (KMT and DPP) in  Presidential election in 2020.   'Mr Democracy' Lee Teng-hui (§õµn½÷) employed "Black-Gold" politics (  SCMP, 7-30-2020: the use of extensive factional networks, regardless of whether they were linked to local interest groups or underworld figures  scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3095139/lee-teng-hui-controversial-figure-hailed-taiwans-father ; Heritage, 3-17-2000: local slang for the party's ties to gangsters, corruption and illegal financial transactions. ) , for a long run, the rottenness in the powerful political family and patronage networks have been a structural issue, and never changed regardless of transitions of power. 
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Economist, 2022-3-12: Taiwan ranks top 10~11 on the crony-capitalism index
Rich folk in autocratic countries remain vulnerable to the whims of dictators
Rent-seeking entrepreneurs tend to use their relationships with the state to maximise profits.  some are
characterised by the modern equivalent of the robber barons in late-19th-century America.

Economist, The crony-capitalism index
Billionaire wealth as % of GDP, 2021   Ranked by crony-sector wealth

1(1) Russia 8(7) Indonesia
2(2) Malaysia 9(12) Thailand
3(4) Singapore 10(11) China
4(3) Philippines 11(10) Taiwan
7(9) India 20(19) Japan

The crony-capitalism index
Billionaire wealth as % of GDP, 2016 Rankedby crony-sector wealth

1 Russia 9 India
2 Malaysia 10 Taiwan
3 Philippines 11 China
4 Singapore 12 Thailand
7 Indonesia 19 Japan

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 United Daily ( editorial 8-6-2020, opinion 8-3-2020)  :  Corruption in parliament seems never end.  Lawmakers in similar cases were judged not guilty or not decided yet after more than 10 years' investigations, therefore UDN questions "Does Taiwan's judiciary fail to find out the truth once facing lawmakers ??"  At Aug. 2, 2020, top presidential aide resigns amid nephew's ( a DPP lawmaker ) bribery allegations, the image of parliament and Taiwan's democracy tarnishes again after some lawmakers detained for graft probe at 8-4-2020.  The China Times  (8-6-2020) points out the ruling party DPP is good at winning the vote, instead of governing the state, huge expense spent for election needs to be 'returned', therefore, results in abusing their power and corruption.  In today's Taiwan, even county councilmen needs election expenses up to USD 3 millions, not to mention lawmakers or president.  Apple Daily, editorial, 8-3-2020: Lawmakers of same party share illegal benefits or cover each other, and usually won't disclose political rivals' greasy palms, that's Taiwan's political culture and 'ecology'. ( brief of  https://tw.appledaily.com/headline/20200803/BQXMSWTYOVERHBPGLUKPXAA5LQ/ Since 2018's basic-level election, totally 12 speakers/chairpersons of city council or county council handed in their position to relative or son. ( Apple Daily, editorial 8-4-2020 https://tw.appledaily.com/headline/20200804/FH6DI3F3CYJV2SOIIEGKRGDHKQ/ ;  for more Pork Barrel examples, see TVBS news, 12-10-2019 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY6TP7JW398  )  In addition to greedy politicians, Brookings (1-22-2021) : Only 23% Taiwanese people thought that democracy was more important than economic development, 16% believed that protecting political freedom was more important than reducing economic inequality. (brookings.edu/articles/taiwans-democracy-and-the-china-challenge/

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¡´ Democracy is harmed for national security, national security is harmed for democracy

Taiwan's democracy influences its national security.   N.Y. Times, 2022-6-19: A Looming Threat /  ...Taiwan is a democracy, and politicians have electoral considerations. Extending military conscription, for example, would probably not be very popular.
China keeps inching closer to Taiwan, hence western experts
(e.g., Foreign Policy, 10-28-2020, Financial Times (UK), 7-12-2020 ) warned Taiwan
to make urgent defense reforms such as increasing the existing four-month conscription and improving reservist systems , but, Taiwanese politicians are afraid to discuss these issues with the public for months because they believe Taiwanese people are not willing to sacrifice, and considering electoral realities, Taiwan¡¦s leaders don't want to shift from volunteer military service to mandatory military service with same training period as Singapore's or Korea's, because such a policy could be deeply unpopular among the young voters courted by the ruling party (DPP), according to Foreign Policy (10-19-2020).   New York Times (5-18-2017) criticized Taiwan's nearly two million reservists "exist in name only" - but nothing big has changed till present, in spite of western analyst's warning "With China¡¦s rapid military buildup, that may be time that Taiwan does not have.".  On the other hand, Taiwan's democracy is harmed in the name of national security.  An academic paper of NanHua University published in June 2020 concludes: Taiwan¡¦s democracy has shown a retrogressive trend in recent years, the freedom of speech, publication, assembly etc were persecuted by excuses such as national security. (Shih-Yueh Yang, Ph.D, Walish Temu)  United Daily, editorial,10-10-2020 (https://udn.com/news/story/7338/4924067): The democracy and freedom of speech are falling back for being threatened by "certain power".  Some western politicians giving Taiwan compliments or rhapsody are merely based on political purpose to needle China.  Taiwan deserves becoming a safe haven, but at the moment is far from "a beacon for democracy and human rights" or "a model democracy".  Global Times, 9-17-2020: The Taiwan authorities often brag about "freedom and democracy" in the island, which are self-comforting empty slogans.

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 pic. :  TOP rank "Taiwan democracy", on Microsoft Bing, 2023-5-1, 2023-2-28, 2023-1-21, 2023-1-1, 2022-9-9, 2022-6-12, 2022-5-29, 2022-3-21, 2022-2-10, 2022-1-31, 2022-1-2, 2021-12-28, 2021-11-28, 2021-11-15

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 pic. :  No.1 "Taiwan democracy", on Microsoft Bing, 2023-2-28, 2023-1-1, 2022-12-5, 2022-11-29, 2022-9-10, 2022-6-13, 2022-5-30, 2022-3-22, 2022-2-11, 2022-1-30, 2022-1-3, 2021-12-29, 2021-12-16, 2021-12-9, 2021-11-29, 2021-11-21, 2021-11-1, 2021-10-7, 2021-9-6, 2021-8-5, 2021-6-24, 2021-6-1, 2021-5-13, 2021-10-6, 2021-9-5, 2021-8-1, 2021-6-1, 2021-5-9, 3-12-2021, 2-28-2021, 2-12-2021, 1-27-2021, 1-24-2021, 1-11-2021, 01-01-2021;  top 2  "Taiwan democracy", on Microsoft Bing, 2022-10-19, 2022-10-10;

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pic. :  Topics on "Taiwan democracy" of  intlHumanRights.com ,  Microsoft Bing, 2022-9-10


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pic.: No.1 "Taiwan democracy" on Ecosia of Germany, 2022-6-13, 2022-5-30, 2022-3-22, 2022-2-11, 2022-1-30,  2022-1-3, 2021-12-29, 2021-11-29, 2021-11-15, 2021-5-31, 2021-5-9,  2-28-2021, 11-14-2020, 8-8-2020,  7-24-2020,  6-25-2020, 6-21-2020; among top ranks at 2023-2-28

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US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released at 2022-4-12 :  In 2020 presidential and legislative elections, President Tsai Ing-wen won re-election,...there were allegations of vote buying by candidates and supporters of both major political parties.
USA Country Reports on Human Rights practices,  2021-3-30 There were allegations of vote buying by candidates and supporters of both major political parties (KMT and DPP) in  Presidential election in 2020. 

N.Y. Times, 12-1-2019: the soft underbelly of Taiwanese politics: patronage networks. 
They continue to allow
community leaders, farmers¡¦ associations and even
 organized-crime figures to buy votes
 
( NY Times, opinion :
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/opinion/china-taiwan-election.html ).

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¡´ Scuffles are common in the parliament

The New York Times declared in a 1992 editorial : "Taiwan is now the most democratic society in the Chinese-speaking world¡¨.  The Sunday Guardian (UK) at 8-2-2020 notes that "it (Taiwan) could be a model of democracy for Chinese speakers.".  Both should be unbiased comments !  

New York Times, 6-28-2020: Taiwan is a rambunctious democracy and fights and protests inside the parliament building are not an uncommon occurrence.   The Express (UK) and SCMP at 6-29-2020 : Taiwan¡¦s democracy is boisterous with fights and protests a common occurrence inside the parliament building... The ruling DPP's large parliamentary majority and obstinacy had left the KMT ( main opposition Kuomintang or Nationalist Party) with no alternative but to occupy the parliament ( Legislative Yuan ) to protest against government ¡§tyranny¡¨ ( AFP: KMT refuses the list of corrupt nominees, the Diplomat:  Chen Chu will not be impartial to head oversight board as she is top aide & advisor to President Tsai , Australian Associated Press: KMT has accused the DPP of cheating in part of the vote on nomination ).   A lot of scuffles erupted as lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) broke through barricades erected by KMT...  Such brawls are a fact of life in Taiwan and happened regularly for about 30 years in parliament, 40+ years in the streets ( Formosa TV, 7-2-2020, China Times, 7-4-2020 ). Two weeks later, more fighting as Taiwan opposition again occupies parliament,  Reuters, New York Times, 7-14-2020: Violence and protests inside the chamber are not unusual in Taiwan.  AFP UK, Australian Associated Press, CNA Singapore, 7-17-2020: Taiwan is a boisterous, sometimes unruly democracy.  France24,  AFP, 7-14-2020: Taiwan's parliament was once notorious for mass brawls among lawmakers and has been the location of frequent protests. Scuffles broke out over reform policies and pension cuts when President Tsai first took office four years ago...  After four months, chaotic clashes are seen again, French AFP and France 24 (11-27-2020) described scuffles in this time as "particularly novel", Guardian UK (11-27-2020) called it "disgusting  unlike hair pulling, throwing punches, chairs, eggs and even water balloons in previous protests, lawmakers hurl pig intestines, hearts, liver, lungs and other organs at their DPP rivals and exchange ham-fist punches, leaving the chamber's crimson carpet streaked with ropy strands of intestine and milky viscera for government's allowing imports of U.S. pork containing ractopamine, an additive that enhances leanness but is banned by More than 150 countries including European Union and China.  The KMT also accused DPP of hypocrisy because they were heavily against ractopamine while as opposition.  Reuters (11-23-2020) reports opposition's slogan "Taiwanese pigs don't eat ractopamine and yet you are asking Taiwanese people to?".  Washington Post (11-27-2020) : scholar says Taiwanese voters generally viewed brawls negatively but that they were important ways to send signals to each party's die-hard supporters.

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 L.A. Times, 11-22-2020: thousands march in Taiwan streets against US pork imports,  a giant inflatable pig (slogan: Betraying pig farmers) flown above the crowd.
www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-11-22/thousands-march-in-taiwan-streets-against-us-pork-imports
Guardian UK, 11-27-2020: Parliamentarians in Taiwan have thrown pig guts at each other before coming to blows over plans to allow US meat imports.  www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/27/taiwan-politicians-throw-pig-guts-meat-row
UDN 11-23-20: gov. refuses "import from US" mark and allows US pork on campus ( to smooth trade relations with the Trump adm.)
 ¡¹ Brookings,  2021-7-12:  if Taiwan voters reverse Tsai¡¦s pledge to open Taiwan¡¦s market to the same pork products that American citizens eat... would seal shut the door to anything more than incremental progress on U.S.-Taiwan trade relations...other major economies would follow suit.   brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/07/12/taiwan-voters-should-look-before-they-leap-on-pork-referendum/   

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In 2014, hundreds of students occupied parliament for weeks in protests
demanding KMT ruling party more transparent politics, some students became today's lawmakers.  But now DPP has accused the KMT of subverting the democratic process.  The Diplomat (7-16-2020) called the scuffles "the return of what was once an internationally known tradition in Taiwan: brawls in the legislature over controversial votes on bills or appointments",   "opposition parties have used violence to stop votes on laws or confirmations, with the KMT resorting to the tactic several times since the DPP gained a legislative majority in 2016".   N.Y. based Canadian media VICE analyzed at 6-30-2020 that lawmakers' apparently quick tempers ( vandalism, hurling chairs,  pulling hairs,  wrestling opponents to the ground...  according to a history compiled by the BBC ; punch, water balloons thrown, "bites" & stuck to lawmaker's arm, pulled across the ground, reported by AFP, Next TV ) are rather a form of political theater to show their voters and supporters who do buy the moves.  Brookings (1-22-2021) comments the performance of Taiwan's democracy the political system does not do so well on its "performance". This is partly because of a set of structural factors. Selecting the president and legislature on a majoritarian basis fosters a degree of polarization and complicates the crafting of policy compromises. (brookings.edu/articles/taiwans-democracy-and-the-china-challenge/

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¡´ Weak opposition

Taiwan lacks good separation & balance of powers between the ruling party and the opposition, the executive and the legislative, the government and the media.   Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun (¡m¤é¥»経済·s»D¡n, editorial, 5-21-2020 and Taiwan's Apple Daily ( editorial, 6-10-2020 ) :  Taiwan's democracy without a strong opposition to question the government and hold them accountable is in grave danger, the biggest opposition, KMT, needs to regain its strength.  But New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/06/28/world/asia/28reuters-taiwan-politics.html) and US News & World Report comment at 6-28-2020: The KMT is undergoing a policy revamp to try and win back popular support, but faces an uphill struggle.  such as:

¡»  al jazeera, 2022-5-30: Taiwan legislature erupts in violence over "secret expenses" bill KMT lawmakers try to block bill they say could be used to overturn ex-President Chen Shui-bian¡¦s corruption conviction Lawmakers armed with signs and loudspeakers, pushed and shoved each other and threw water and paper (fake money) to prevent a third reading of the bill.  Chen was found guilty of misusing funds by fake receipts etc.   brief from aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/30/brawl-breaks-out-in-taiwan-legislature    United Daily, Taiwan, 2022-5-31: A formal member of Special Investigation Division says if losing the last line of defense, there would be no law to punish president's connecting public monies with a private or personal burse...  udn.com/news/story/122808/6352386?from=udn_ch2cate6638sub122808_pulldownmenu_v2  

¡»  New York Times,  2-12-2021 (nytimes.com/2021/02/12/world/asia/taiwan-kuomintang-china.html) : The Beijing-friendly party, KMT has been criticized (1) out of touch with modern Taiwanese life  (2)  mind-set is more conservative (3) signal the identity crisis ... They have espoused democratic values and human rights, promised to recruit younger members and better engage the public, and sought to distance the party from Beijing.

¡»  National Interest,  2-4-2021 ( nationalinterest.org/feature/taiwan¡¦s-kmt-ideological-crossroads-177608?page=0%2C1 ): Taiwan¡¦s KMT Is at an Ideological Crossroads.  As China exerts immense pressure on Taiwan, the party will have to make a choice between more viable electorally or become a pro-Beijing wrecking ball?

¡» aljazeera 11-12-2020 (aljazeera.com/features/2020/11/12/why-are-taiwans-new-generation-a-test-for-the-kmt) points out the China-friendly party KMT is on the ropes in that the coffers are running dry, greying heavyweights're still trying to manipulate the agenda, and their patriarchal culture makes reforms difficult.  

¡» Diplomat,  4-21-2021: the ¡§pro-mainland¡¨ Kuomintang and Ko Wen-je¡¦s Taiwan People¡¦s Party pose no credible opposition against the prevailing ruling party (thediplomat.com/2021/04/beijings-military-heavy-approach-to-taiwan-locks-the-us-and-china-in-a-security-dilemma/ )
¡» United Daily, 11-14-2020 editorial,  (udn.com/news/story/7338/5014020?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2): the ruling party threatened the opposition to silence important issues like national security, food safety, economic industry chain, by "questioning the government is equal to anti-USA".
¡» Japan's Nikkei Asia (11-19-2020) notes that as China ramps up its threats against Taiwan, the KMT is "burdened" by its pro-China image.  the KMT believes maintaining the consensus brings stable cross-strait relations, although youngsters may say the KMT is old and conservative (e.g., on same-sex marriage issue).
¡»  South China Morning Post, 2-6-2021:"Taiwan needs a strong leader"! Jaw Shaw-kong's return to politics could spark infighting within KMT and would be a serious threat to the DPP if allowed to run for president.
¡»  China Times, 2021-6-18, editorial: opposition law makers now are even hard to to request for data files, not to mention to boycott the ruling party.    chinatimes.com/opinion/20210617005424-262101?chdtv

¡»  United Daily, 2021-8-1, editorial: KMT lacks aggressions, political landscape on political issues and agenda, its member put personal future above party's future.   udn.com/news/story/7338/5641637?from=udn_ch2_menu_v2_main_cate  (¥Á¶iÄÒ¥¢¼w¥¢¯à¥¢¬F)
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United Daily, 2021-7-12, editorial: Legislative Yuan (parliament) suppose is the highest public opinion institution, however, the leader of law-makers of ruling party is willing to follow president's intention and cover up administration's mistakes, opposition failed to stop they pass every their legal cases, Taiwan's democracy therefore is more and more opaque.  udn.com/news/story/7338/5594717?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2

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The China Times (chinatimes.com/opinion/20200806005356-262105?chdtv), opinion (8-7-2020): Originally the parliament provides effective checks and balances on the power of president, but 6-times amendments of the Constitution by former president Lee T.H. eliminated the key mechanism of democracy, balance of powers, therefore leads to endless corruptions - the "Sunshine Law" trickly Justifies taking bribes , and a weird phenomenon - the premier takes the responsibility but lacks of power, the president hold the power but no responsibility.  United Daily, 7-28-2020, editorial: CPP lawmakers in parliament are worse than a "rubber stamp", just followed every order the administration gave, therefore the parliament already lost its own voicesMoreover, the president seriously intervened Judicial Yuan, and the Control Yuan now becoming a oversight board with political inclination and partization.   Once all five powers are under president's control, how can we maintain a system of democracy & freedom ?   Therefore, even DPP friendly media, the Liberty Times, (editorial, 1-12-2020) criticized the ruling party (  dominance in power  ) was rotten and smells.   One example is the opposition DPP in 2012 staged a brute-force, five-day-four-night-long occupation of the Legislative Yuan podium to resist "toxic beef" ( US beef with Ractopamine ), but now in 2020 the ruling party DPP announced the decision on easing restrictions on US pork and beef imports without consulting parliament, legislative caucus, and farmers.  

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Taiwan midterm election 2022:  disastrous results for the ruling party
CNN (USA), 2022-11-27  Taiwan's President billed midterms as all about China. The DPP's losses come as a heavy blow for Tsai as she had tried to frame the election ¡V as a way to send a message against Beijing¡¦s rising bellicosity toward the island.   edition.cnn.com/2022/11/27/asia/taiwan-election-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html
BBC, 2022-11-26

The vote has drawn global attention as Taiwan becomes a bigger geopolitical flashpoint between China and the US.  bbc.com/news/world-asia-63768538

ABC News (USA), 2022-11-26  "...the DPP loses many county seats, then their ability to rule will face a very strong challenge¡¨ said the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation   abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/taiwan-votes-lower-voting-age-mayors-city-councils-93973508
CNN, 2022-11-25 Taiwan votes in local elections billed as message for China and the world   edition.cnn.com/2022/11/25/asia/taiwan-local-election-china-intl-hnk/index.html
ABC (Australia) , 2022-11-27 international observers and the ruling party have attempted to link the elections to the long-term existential threat ... Voters in Taiwan overwhelmingly chose the opposition Nationalist party in several major races in an election in which lingering concerns about threats from China took a back seat to more local issues.     abc.net.au/news/2022-11-27/taiwan-votes-for-opposition-nationalist-party-in-local-polls/101703012
Bloomberg (USA), 2022-11-27  The DPP needed to -- but largely failed to -- marshal a strong campaign in Taipei, the center of attention. Instead it got bogged down with negative campaigning;   Taiwan midterm elections set stage for tighter Presidential Race    news.yahoo.com/taiwan-elections-set-stage-tighter-090909384.html
Forbes (USA), 2022-11-27 Taiwan Ruling Party Drubbed In Local Vote; Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shi-chung  lost the race as his popularity dipped and the public lost patience with government Covid policies. msn.com/en-us/money/news/taiwan-ruling-party-drubbed-in-local-vote-ex-exec-at-tech-billionaire-terry-gou-e2-80-99s-foxconn-elected-chip-hub-mayor/ar-AA14BeBs

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¡´  Taiwan, the new democratic authoritarianism   (if the layout below still is bad, politics did it ! who has motive to do that ?)

Taiwan treats democracy as a tool, instead of a principle or value, to gain power or benefits.  Taiwan likes "villains" too, Japan Times (2022-4-6, japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2022/04/06/commentary/world-commentary/taiwans-fatal-attractions/) comments Taiwanese leaders lavished praise on people who undermined that democracy's security and gave financial supports to corrupt regime and "White Terror" operations in some countries;  further more, Taiwan is criticized or reported to be a  "Green Terror" by People's Daily, commentary, 10-15-2020  
♣  United Daily, 2021-12-28: The ruling party is burying Taiwan's democracy. "民進黨的鴨霸立法,正在埋葬憲政民主"

udn.com/news/story/7338/5992375?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2   ♣ 
 chinatimes.com/opinion/20211224003637-262101?chdtv
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"·m±Ï¥xÆW¥Á¥D"  chinatimes.com/opinion/20211225002933-262101?chdtv
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The recent issue of <Yazhou Zhoukan > (¨È¬w©P¥Z) published in Hong Kong depicts Taiwan president Tsai I. W. as an "Empress with Imperial robe and crown"¡A<DW> of Germany (Chinese edition, 12-25-2020) and <RFI> of France (Chinese edition, 12-27-2020) both quoted its reports such as the founder of DPP, the ruling party and former Taiwan president chastised the new democratic authoritarianism leading to a submissive Legislative Yuan and a yes-man judiciary, Taiwan became the first democratic country to shut a TV channel by denying the license renewal, and to abuse police power to investigate & interview ordinary people with opposing views which have snowballed......

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Who makes Taiwan's "democratic authoritarianism"
(1) The Liberty Times (pro-DPP) opinion
(12-31-2020 https://talk.ltn.com.tw/article/paper/1422461ª÷ùÚÞm) shifts the blame onto Lee Teng-hui (§õµn½÷) making the system and advises amending constitution to avoid next "elected emperor".

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(2) <RFI> 12-27-2020 : A highly esteemed academician of Sinica (¤¤¥¡¬ã¨s°|) points out: Containing China is the biggest goal of U.S. foreign policy, Taiwan's democracy good or bad is not the point for western media, therefore Taiwan president has a free hand and a strong backing to carry on authoritative or aggressive activities under the cloak of legality.  United Daily, editorial, 12-31-2020 (udn.com/news/story/7338/5135316?from=udn_ch2_menu_v2_main_cate) comments Western media have not seen those dark sides of Taiwan's "democratic authoritarianism".
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pic. :  Taiwan president Tsai I. W. was turning into
 
"Empress with Imperial robe and crown",

image of  "¥xÆW¥Á¿ï¿Wµô¹õ«á", Yazhou Zhoukan https://www.yzzk.com

 ref. to Euro. media Chinese edition - DW, https://www.dw.com/zh/½²­^¤å变½²¬Ó«Ò亚¬w©P¥Z§å½²­^¤å独µô/a-56059525
RFI,
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/专栏检¯Á/亚¬w©P¥Z/20201227-¥x湾¥Á选独µô¹õ¦Z¡A绿营·s«Â权¥D义现¶H
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United Daily, editorial, 2022-3-22: President Tsai has been repeating old day's authoritarian governance and
leading democratized Taiwan to a route of arbitrary
 
udn.com/news/story/7338/6181610?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2

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¡´  Foreign countries' influence  VS.  Taiwan's democracy
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Toronto Star (Canada), 2022-10-8: Yet in the West, discussions over the future of the island democracy too often exclude the voices of Taiwanese people...thestar.com/news/world/2022/10/08/who-do-the-taiwanese-think-they-are.html
Denmark's Democracy Perception Index 2021 ( DPI ) shows that
democracy in Taiwan was threatened by US: 58%, Russia: 20%,China : 65%, Foreign election interference -  agree 55%, unfair elections and/or election fraud - Agree 46%. allianceofdemocracies.org/initiatives/the-copenhagen-democracy-summit/dpi-2021/      After the ruling party DPP picked up legislative majorities. Lawmakers changed the law so as to easily recall current mayors or law-makers, which successfully ousted a China-friendly Kaohsiung mayor in June 2020, correspondingly,  the opposition KMT recently worked on recalls of pro-independence law-makers antagonistic toward China.  In Wall Street Journal at 2022-1-7 (wsj.com/articles/revenge-recalls-spark-debate-in-taiwan-how-much-democracy-is-too-much-11641558601), Lev Nachman at the Harvard thinks Taiwanese politicians should hopefully spend their time on Chinese infiltration and Taiwan preparedness for a potential Chinese invasion;  National Chengchi University's Mr. Lin Jia-he (ªL®a©M) said:¡§In Taiwan, opposing recalls means you're against democracy"
 
France 24, Reuters, 2021-12-18: Taiwan's opposition suffered a major setback on Saturday after voters rejected four referendums (france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20211218-taiwan-votes-against-referendums-on-us-trade-in-major-setback-for-opposition)  al jazeera , 2021-12-18: Referendums that, if approved, might have affected Taiwan's ties with key backer the United States and its energy security failed to pass on Saturday, in a major setback to the opposition which had cast the votes as a show of no-confidence in the government.  (aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/18/taiwan-referendums-fail-in-major-setback-for-opposition)  United Daily , editorial,  2021-12-19:  Pan-Blue (opposition) internally attacked each other, some among them intentionally kept a distance with four referendums ¡C(udn.com/news/story/7338/5972353?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2)   

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¡´  CovID-19  -  Taiwan's democracy

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United Daily(Áp¦X³ø) , 2022-5-30, 2022-5-29, editorial:  Taiwan premier Su (蘇貞昌 reprimands that a TV celebrity Antony Kuo (郭彥均)  sharing a message "Seeing so many children just past away like that" (¡u¬Ý¨ì³o»ò¦h«Ä¤l¡A´N³o¼Ë¨«¡v) on his Facebook, Su says the message is a rumor or incorrect information,  and will call him to account,  investigate and deal with the issue accordingly (斥責¡u不實ÁÁ¨¥¡v¡A±N¨s³d¬d¿ì) .   However, during the CovID Omicron outbreak since about April 2022, Taiwan's child case-fatality rate (½T¶E死亡率) is 10 times that of Japan and 8 times that of South Korea, and in Singapore, there's even no any child was dead for CovID-Omicron - therefore, " so many children just past away" is not a rumor or incorrect information.  The public feel disgusted, angry and intolerable at the government's reckless suppression of free speech.  How can Taiwan's adm. calls itself a "government of democracy".  

udn.com/news/story/7338/6349957?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2

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CovID-19   /    politicians abusing power  VS.  democracy

PIC. : Scuffles again in Taiwan parliament for CovID-19 surge, 2021-9-28

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nABC news, 9-29: Taiwan lawmakers brawl amid anger over COVID response.   The KMT party called recently shortened quarantine requirements for pilots a ¡§big breach¡¨.   many Youtubers' comments were supportive of the brawl. Some praised the Kuomingtang for ¡§becoming stronger.   abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/taiwan-lawmakers-break-brawl-policy-speech-80276994

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nReuters, 9-28: Scuffles in Taiwan parliament, premier blocked from podium in COVID dispute .  The KMT members then scuffled with DPP counterparts and threw things at the dais...Taiwan's legislature does see unruly scenes from time to time and rivals have been known to punch each other.  news.yahoo.com/scuffles-taiwan-parliament-premier-blocked-102314300.html

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PIC. : Scuffles in Taiwan parliament for CovID-19
 surge, 2021-9-28

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experts, scholars, media

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1   The Guardian, 2021-6-14    theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/14/how-taiwan-struggle-for-covid-vaccines-is-inflaming-tensions-with-china ¡§Pfizer and BioNTech have a huge incentive to ensure that the Fosun product is equivalent, so I would think there is no concern,¡¨   ... refusing it is ¡§entirely political¡¨. it still seemed ¡§in the DPP¡¦s electoral interest not to get any China vaccines¡¨. ¡§It would be foolish to say no
2 The Diplomat, 2021-9-10; thediplomat.com/2021/09/the-politics-of-taiwans-covid-19-response/ Vaccines are Probably used to make inroads on the youth vote ... High-ranking politicians were found to have violated the vaccination priority order to be vaccinated...Taiwan¡¦s first real COVID-19 outbreak engendered fierce political debates between the DPP and the KMT
3 China Times, editorial, 2021-9-8  chinatimes.com/opinion/20210907005525-262101?chdtv BNT-Pfizer doses are used to draw votes and please ruling party's base.  is "cold-blood", "losing their souls"
4 United Daily, editorial, 2021-9-12; udn.com/news/story/7338/5739883?from=udn-catelistnews_ch2 What the DPP¡¦s ruling party really cares about is how to grab votes;  Ignoring older populations and giving priority to teenagers and young students for inoculation obviously is an example of anti-science. 
5 National Taiwan University professor, King ChwanChuen (ª÷¶Ç¬K), 2021-9-1 CDC should not turn into a election campaign center, priority for youngsters is a wrong strategy totally(®Ú¥»¬O¿ù»~ªº¬Fµ¦, «ü´§¤¤¤ß¤£À³Åܦ¨¿ï²¼¤¤¤ß)
6 United Daily, May 2022 Some widely-known Law makers cut in queue to take PCR test, left behind lots of people (some are high risky) waiting and even died in long lines, sunny or rainy  udn.com/news/story/7338/6313780?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2    udn.com/news/story/11091/6325951?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2
7 ¾Ô°«ÂÅ»¯ ¤Ö±d  www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKhGXGiEdYA DPP law makers give directions to CDC and abuse the power of allocating vaccines to please and draw young people's votes (¥HBNT°t²¼? ¦Y¬ÛÃø¬Ý!  ºñ¥ß©e¤U«ü¾É´Ñ, ¬£¨tªv°ê, ¤£¦ý·m¥\, ÁÙ·m¤À°tÅv, §Æ°Q¦n¦~»´¤H)
8 CTV News, ¤¤µø, 2021-9-2,"±f¥Á¤jÀY®a", youtube.com/watch?v=C3KcfEW9Z4M No any country worldwide prioritized vaccine doses for those between the ages of 12 and 22, Western democratic countries prioritized the elders and the vulnerable. Obviously Taiwan's government does it on political purpose.
9 China Times, editorial, 2021-6-26 brief  https://www.chinatimes.com/opinion/20210625005286-262101?chdtv Taipei mayor Ko and New Taipei mayor Ho, as well as  Academic Sinica ³¯°ö­õ, etc were under horror-attacks by government's internet army/ on-line army (³£Ãø°kºô­x岀©ºªº®£©Æ©Ê§ðÀ») 
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 ¡¹   Taiwan government is state enemy !  if it still block civil organization to purchase western vaccines  


However, Taiwan's government 
deliberately to place obstacles (certificate of authorization is needed) for non-governmental organisations, such as Foxconn founder Gou, and some Buddhist groups, etc  to purchase Western vaccines, but according to the law (¡mÃĨƪk¡n©M¡m¯S©wÃĪ«±M®×®Ö­ã»s³y¤Î¿é¤J¿ìªk¡n) , in case of emergency, certificate of authorization is not required.  United Daily, editorial, 2021-6-4 criticizes the purpose of creating difficulties for Foxconn is to save Taiwan government's political face, ignoring more and more deaths is nothing but a 'state enemy'.  udn.com/news/story/7338/5507706?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2

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No.1 "Taiwan democracy" on Lycos, 2022-2-10,  2021-6-1, 11-14-2020, 8-8-2020,  7-24-2020, 6-25-2020,  6-21-2020; ; No.2 at 2022-6-13;

 No.1 "Taiwan democracy" on SearchEncrpt, 2022-2-10, 2021-6-1, 11-14-2020,  8-9-2020;No.2 at 2022-6-13

 

pic.: No.1 "Taiwan democracy" on Ekoru (New Zealand), 2022-2-10, 2021-6-1,11-14-2020, 8-9-2020; ;No.2 at 2022-6-13

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pic.: No.1 "Taiwan democracy" on US Yahoo search, 2022-2-11, 2022-1-2, 2021-12-29, 10-14-2020, 9-19-2020, 9-15-2020, 9-9-2020; No.2 at  2021-9-6, 2021-8-5, 2021-6-1; among top ranks at 2022-3-22

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pic.: No.1 "Taiwan democracy" on Yahoo (Taiwan), 2021-6-1, 2-7-2021, 11-14-2020, 10-8-2020, 9-5-2020,  8-19-2020,
 8-8-2020, 
7-26-2020,  6-28-2020, 6-25-2020, 6-21-2020; top 3 at 2022-6-13

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  pic. :  No.1 "Taiwan democracy & freedom", on Yahoo search engine,  
2022-2-11, 2022-1-1, 2021-12-29, 2021-8-5, 2021-5-9, 3-12-2021, 2-28-2021, 2-12-2021, 1-27-2021, 1-12-2021, 1-24-2021 ; No.2 at 2021-11-15, 2021-10-7, 2021-9-6 

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pic.: No.1 "Taiwan democracy" on US Bing, 2021-5-31, 2021-5-9, 2-28-2021, 1-11-2021, 12-15-2020, 11-28-2020, 11-14-2020, 10-25-2020, 10-10-2020, 9-19-2020 9-5-2020,
8-19-2020, 8-8-2020, 8-6-2020, 7-24-2020, 7-4-2020, 6-28-2020, 6-22-2020

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violence in Taiwan chamber

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¡» Express (UK), 6-29-2020:  KMT described the government "more tyrannical than before", such as
 forcing bills through and nominating President's senior aide Chen Chu to head the government watchdog, Control Yuan...

 ( https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3090980/fighting-erupts-taiwans-parliament-after-opposition-kmt  https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1302350/taiwan-news-protest-kuomintang-democratic-progressive-party-latest) 

  After lots of scuffles and shouting between KMT and DPP lawmakers in parliament,  KMT eventually withdrew and denounced
 the violence used by the ruling party DPP.  


¡» VICE 6-30-2020 listed some other chaos : in 2017, lawmakers were actually hurling chairs at each other and wrestling opponents to the ground
in an effort to block an infrastructure spending bill,  in 2004, one parliamentarian snatch the bill in question and attempt to actually eat it, but opposition members 
 try to force her to spit out the document by pulling her hair.  In another incident, at least one person was hospitalized, etc,
according to a handy history compiled by BBC.

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¡» SETN 7-2-2020: KMT law maker will bring a lawsuit against DPP law maker for neck strangling, an intentional fatal action
¡» Formosa TV news, 7-2-2020: all KMT law makers' body are covered with wounded scares or bruises, scrapes
(ps: might be evidence to bring more criminal law-suits)

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¡»  pic. taken from the net
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DaQxo0RM4w    LTN 6-29-2020

https://news.tvbs.com.tw/politics/1346247    TVBS 6-29-2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojZ6YnvxAyY   Ettoday  6-28-2020

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3azae3/a-fight-broke-out-among-lawmakers-in-taiwans-parliament-again VICE 6-30-2020

https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/multimedia/photo/07/17/20/taiwan-lawmakers-scuffle-in-parliament    AFP 7-17-2020,  ABS-CBN News

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                     caricature cartoon

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¡»  AFP, france24, 7-14-2020:    "We refuse the list of corrupt nominees... ", "Out of 27 nominees for Control Yuan members, 24 have close ties with the DPP,"
 statements by Taiwan main opposition, KMT

¡»  rfi  France, 7-13-2020:  Taiwan parliament was seething ! KMT staged a show to encircle Control Yuan nominee Chen Chu
¡» The Straits Times 7-14-2020:  Chen Chu: the opposition can only make smears and accusations, using irrational methods ...

Pic. left: Like
the tank man in the Tiananmen Square protests (1989), The Diplomat, 7-16-2020: some opposition lawmakers laid on a driveway to block vehicles
with Control Yuan nominees Chen Chu from entering the chamber Legislative Yuan  
https://focustaiwan.tw/photos/20200714ENP0004m
pic. right:   caricature cartoon was used by KMT to mock Chen Chu.   Years ago famous artist Picasso had this sort of drawing to mock his 'councilman'

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¡»  New York Times, Reuters, 7-14-2020:  More fighting as Taiwan opposition again occupies parliament
(
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/07/14/world/asia/14reuters-taiwan-politics.html)
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¡»   france24, 7-14-2020 (ref.) 
 Lawmakers from both sides scuffled with each other, one lawmaker (
Alex Fai) with ligament injury and bleeding like a stuck pig was sent to hospital , some others suffered minor injuries, one female lawmaker accused being sexual harassed during the chaos  (www.rfi.fr/tw/¬Fªv/20200714-°ê¥ÁÄÒij­û­È©]¯ZÂí¦u¥ßªk°|-¤Ñ«G«á¦óºØ³õ­±¤Þ»EµJ)
photo: Reuters,
 https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/202007140018.aspx

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TTV news  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyyzKU9RQhE 
DPP lawmakers lifted white board to protect themselves from water balloons thrown by KMT in chamber (7-17-2020)

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pic. :  BBC 6-29-2020,  (Chinese version) :  KMT (Nationalists Party) law makers occupied parliament, demanding the president withdraw the nomination of  Chen
 (³¯µâ) as Control Yuan president because  her team has 58 cases for investigations¡A30  cases for correction, 3 Impeachments under way in Control Yuan
, when Chen was Kaohsiung City mayor.   KMT doubts once Chen
takes office in Control Yuan, she may not take the necessary steps to charge those crimes !  https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/chinese-news-53220360;  https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20200629000901-260407?chdtv;https://udn.com/news/story/121440/4665776

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pic. left: a police was attacked by neck strangling, another one was attacked by rope-around-neck in "Sun Flower" students movement, 2014
pic. right: students occupied parliament by 'violence', some students became law-makers now
police's forcing out is state violence ? according to UDN 10-31-2019, the Taipei courthouse judgment is political, and inconsistent
https://udn.com/news/story/120805/4135688

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¡´ Ethics

Furthermore, The Liberty Times, editorial (7-21-2020) reports only 2.3% Taiwanese politicians are trustworthy and have professional ethics, according to a survey half year ago,  56% Taiwanese note elected representatives (lawmakers, councilman, etc) care their own interest, only 9.3% think they care "national interest".  Washington Post (7-22-2020) reports:  In a major speech in January 2019, Xi (Chinese president) offered an ultimatum to Taiwan to come to the table for unification talks or face annexation by force.  Then, in Mar., the PLA warplane crossed the Taiwan Strait "median line" that has served as a "de facto border" (Newsweek, 8-11-2020) or "the de facto cease-fire line" ( Japan's asia nikkei review, 8-13-2020) for the first time since the end of Chinese civil war in 1949 (Newsweek, 8-12-2020). However, Taiwan's government was tight-lipped about this ultimatum, a everyone's life-and-death issue, otherwise pro-Independence Tsai I. W. may not easily continue in presidential office in Jan. 2020, because, according to National Interest (6-16-2020): more than 60.3 percent of the respondents opposed Taiwan's independence if it is followed by China¡¦s military invasion...  The government likes to hold referendum but ignores the democratic results such as issues of fossil-fuel power station, using nuclear to nourish renewables, same-sex marriage.  Pork barrel appointments to offer rich patronage benefits to its own men and creating false public opinions by internet army also drew a lot of critiques.  

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¡´  Taiwan "democracy index"  ...

Brookings, April 2021 (brookings.edu/events/difficult-choices-taiwans-quest-for-security-and-the-good-life/ ), notes Taiwan's elections are free, civil and political rights are protected; However, sustaining economic growth, caring for an aging population, and reducing inequality are continuous challenges. As for China¡¦s ambition, Taiwan¡¦s political system has, at times, made implementing solutions more difficult.

Reuters Institute, 2021 (reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2021/taiwan) : Taiwanese citizens have historically low trust in the news but the media's role in emphasising public health messages may have contributed to a significant rise this year.
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Trust in news ?   Reuters Institute, 2021

Trust in news overall    31% Trust in news I used   38%
Trust in news  in search 29% Trust in social media   21%
Public service television remains the most trusted in our survey, followed by the economic news media (CommonWealth and Business Weekly). The rest of the news brands in the polarised media landscape are trusted by one group, but distrusted by another.

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Taipei Times, 2021-12-30:  A Poll conducted by the ruling party  showed that 53.2 percent of respondents are satisfied with Taiwan¡¦s democratic practices, while 40.6 percent are dissatisfied, with respondents in their 20s being the most satisfied, and those aged 60 or older the most dissatisfied.  taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/12/30/2003770419

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According to Economist EIU (UK) Democracy Index '19 released in 2020, Taiwan is a "Flawed democracy" country, its overall score is not better than those in previous 5 years,  "political culture" score (5.63) is same as that of Liberia ¡BKenya ¡B Cambodia ¡BMyanmar, etc; "political participation" score (6.11) is even less than that of Kenya or Lebanon; but the score of  "Electoral process and pluralism" and "Civil libertie" reached 9  Economist "In Sickness and In Health ?"  ( economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/02/02/global-democracy-has-a-very-bad-year) Democracy Index 2020 (published in 2021) gives Taiwan full democracy status  (Electoral process & pluralism 10, Functioning of gov. 9.64, Political participation 7.22, Political culture 8.13 )According to Nikkei Asia (Japan, 2-4-2021 asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Taiwan-leapfrogs-Japan-and-South-Korea-to-top-Asia-democracy-table ), NTU professor says the rise of Taiwan's ranking was mainly driven by higher scores in the functioning of government ( a better job in containing the pandemic ) and the political culture (President Tsai Ing-wen does not accept a "one country, two systems" arrangement with Beijing in early 2019 ).  However, some emperor could do a good job in both - containing the pandemic and dealing with China, not to mention Taiwanese government hid Beijing's ultimatum issued in January 2019 (according to Washington Post , 7-22-2020) to Taiwan from Taiwanese.   TIME, 2021-5-20: a False Sense of Security, and a Little Secret Tea, Broke Down Taiwan's COVID-19 Defenses time.com/6050316/taiwan-covid-19-outbreak-tea/

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Democracy Index 2021: the China challenge
eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2021/

¡@ score rank Electoral process and pluralism Functioning of government Political participation Political culture Civil liberties
Norway 9.75 1 10 9.64 10 10 9.12
NZ 9.37 2 10 8.93 9.44 8.75 9.71
TW 8.99 8 10 9.64 7.78 8.13 9.41
Australia 8.9 9 10 8.57 7.78 8.75 9.41
Korea 8.16 16 9.58 8.57 7.22 7.5 7.94
Japan 8.15 17 9.17 8.57 6.67 8.13 8.24
Flawed democracy
USA 7.85 26 9.17 6.43 8.89 6.25 8.53
Singapore 6.23 66 4.83 8.21 4.44 7.5 6.18

ps: The China Times, editorial, 2022-2-14 ( chinatimes.com/opinion/20220213002834-262101?chdtvcomment that Taiwan's moving upward has benefited from some other democratic countries' (such as Nederland, Canada, Australia) lockdown which affects their scores on "civil liberty".  Drawing Taiwan in anti-China campaign is possibly a motivation.   Actually Taiwan is electoral authoritarianism instead of democracy. They take innovative and meticulous method to cover democracy's falling back.

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¡@ Economist EIU Democracy Index, released in 2020 Korea  Taiwan  Norway
Overall Score   8  7.73  9.87
Electoral  process and  pluralism  9.17 9.58  10
Political  participation        7.22   6.11  10
Political culture  7.5   5.63  10
Civil libertie    8.24      9.12       9.71
Functioning of government  7.86    8.21   9.64
rank 23 31 1
EIU: at a minimum, the fundamental features of a democracy include government based on majority rule and the consent of the governed; the existence of free and fair elections; the protection of minority rights; and respect for basic human rights. 

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EIU Democracy Index
Overall Score  on recent yrs

2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
Korea   8   8   8   7.92 7.97
Taiwan  7.73 7.73 7.73  7.79 7.83

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pic.: No.1 "Taiwan democracy" on Dogpile, 2022-2-10, 2021-6-1, 2021-5-9, 2-6-2021, 11-14-2020, 8-8-2020, 7-24-2020, 7-7-2020, 6-25-2020, 6-21-2020;pic.: No.1 "Taiwan democracy" on Excite,  2022-2-10, 2021-6-1, 11-14-2020, 8-8-2020,  7-24-2020,  6-25-2020, 6-21-2020  ( items above are ads );pic.: No.1 "Taiwan democracy" on Givewater, 2022-2-10, 2021-6-1,11-14-2020, 8-10-2020

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CNBC 7-3-2020: Taiwan slams Hong Kong national security law!  However, Taiwan Yahoo News and Liberty Times  (7-8-2020) reported that KMT and former president Ma noted Taiwan's security laws (National Security 5 laws, Anti-infiltration Act) is about same as Hong Kong national security law ( https://talk.ltn.com.tw/article/paper/1384937; tw.news.yahoo.com/´ä¥x-¼Ë-°ê¥ÁÄÒ-½²­^¤å°ê¦w¤­ªk-©ö³´¤H©ó¸o-111255474.html; www.dw.com/zh/¥x湾国¦w¤­ªk­×²¦¤U¤@¨B¨¾­S¥~国¥N²z¤H/a-49549462) , Taiwan's security law with vague definition can incriminate people easily.

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Taiwan's practice has been worse and darker than HK security law's  "People suspected of breaking the law can be wire-tapped and put under surveillance" (BBC 6-30-2020: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52765838)  !?    United Daily (9-19-2018): Taiwan's "secret police" (¡uªF¼t­Ì¡v) were already active around us.  Apple Daily  (5-28-2018) , NTU professor ªLà±¶¯: We are on the route against EU General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR.   United Daily editorial, (3-31-2019) Taiwan Legislative Yuan (parliament) withdrew  "Staking Prevention Act."... (see Taiwanese privacy).   Apple Daily, editorial, 12-14-2019 : Since DPP took office in 2016,  political culture of authoritarianism («ÂÅv¦¡¬Fªv¤å¤Æ) gradually showed up in Taiwan.    (https://tw.appledaily.com/headline/daily/20190329/38294369/)  United Daily, editorial, 6-23-2019: mega-data became politician's instrument to control public opinions, Taiwanese democracy falling back can't find a way out... (brief).  The China Times,  3-29-2019, headline news:  democracy in name only is not acceptable.   United Daily, opinion, 12-20-2017: Abusing power to invade citizen's rights, going old route of anti-democracy is their nature. etc.

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Denmark's Democracy Perception Index 2021 ( DPI ) shows:

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State of democracy

country N my country is democratic Perceived Democratic Deficit There is "not enough democracy" "The right amount of democracy"
US 1049  50% 28% 45% 39%
Taiwan 1031 71% 12% 12% 66%
S. Korea 1051 68% 19% 12% 75%
Japan 1050 48% 13% 24% 67%
China 1082 71% 14% 13% 71%

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According to Denmark's Democracy Perception Index 2020 ( DPI ) , the largest annual study on democracy, conducted & released by Dalia etc at 6-15-2020: 

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Democracy Perception Index, released in 6-15-2020  Taiwan China Korea  Hong Kong Japan Singapore USA
My country is democratic 78% 73 75 37 46 65 49
Democracy is important 85% 84  85 64 60 80 73
% believe there is not enough democracy in their country 9% 10 7 45 23 21 36
interference from a foreign power will likely influence the results of their country 's next election 57 omitted 60 omitted 45 omitted omitted
https://daliaresearch.com/blog/democracy-perception-index-2020/

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Why do 78% Taiwanese believe Taiwan is a democratic country, 73% Chinese think their country is democratic, but only 49% American, 46% Japanese believe so?  there're many reasons, such as some people set higher or better standards, some are ignorant, etc ...
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¡´ Freedom and democracy are at surface level
EIU: Although the terms ¡§freedom¡¨ and ¡§democracy¡¨ are often used interchangeably,
Democracy can be seen as a set of practices and principles that institutionalise, and thereby, ultimately, protect freedom.   Taiwan is a country of freedom and democracy at surface level.  In outward way, Taiwan volunteers to be a "tool" under US deep control in that Taiwan can't compete with China in both hard power and soft power.  Inwardly,  ――  Physicians, nurses complaining about shortage of masks, medical experts suggesting Corona-virus general testing, all hence were attacked by internet army ( United Daily, 6-30-2020, editorial, Next TV news (³ü¹qµø) 3-10-2020  ).  Taiwanese government even hides basic information about epidemic from the public to intentionally endanger all !   (  UDN Áp¦X³ø, editorial,  3-27-2020  https://udn.com/news/story/7338/4446968 Is Taiwan a free-speech or democratic country ?  China Times (11-23-2020, https://www.chinatimes.com/opinion/20201123004041-262103?chdtv ) reports that Taiwan president Tsai I.W. volunteered to be American's "pawn", ... the US directly designated Tsai to Presidential Office (¬ü°êª½±µÂI¦W­n½²³s¥ô).  

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¡´  perfume of democracy still works ?

Dr. Joseph Nye ( former Dean of the Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, an American political scientist ) stated at Dec. 8, 2010 : "The answer is as long as Taiwan stands for democracy and human rights, that will be impossible ( the Americans make a deal and sell out Taiwan for something that they want from China) in American political culture.¡¨Bloomberg, 8-20-2020: there is a three-fold rationale for helping Taiwan defend itself... One of them is to demonstrates that the Chinese Communist Party has long argued that democracy and Chinese culture are incompatible, is nothing but a nonsense.  White House 10-24-2019: America will always believe that Taiwan¡¦s embrace of democracy shows a better path for all the Chinese people.   Glaser of the German Marshall Fund said. ¡§We would lose all credibility as a leader and an ally,¡¨ especially if Washington didn¡¦t act to support a fellow democracy. (VOX 2021-5-5, vox.com/22405553/taiwan-china-war-joe-biden-strategic-ambiguity)  Weekend Australian , 2021-5-8: a paper of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute argued the Americans would be determined to keep Taiwan out of Beijing¡¦s control - one among 4 reasons is the principle of democracy. (theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/thinking-the-unthinkable-about-china-and-taiwan-is-part-of-deterrence/news-story/0eee328f13d7864fe702a27faacbe2e5)
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Therefore, Taiwan prefers being called "democracy" rather than "Taiwan" in order to survive
China's aggression In Washington Examiner (12-7-2020 ), Taiwan told the UK-based Guardian that  ¡§We have the responsibility of safeguarding our own democracy to show to the international community that democracy can survive and democracy is a better path for mankind.¡¨   Washington Times (12-17-2020 ): Taiwan's de facto U.S. ambassador says "We are determined to defend that democracy" , instead of "defend Taiwan"¡C But, actually, Taiwan has not intended to promote a truly democracy, instead, repeatedly suppress democratic voices.  Taiwan needs "democracy" on purpose

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However, National Interest (
12-22-2020, https://nationalinterest.org/feature/strategic-dilemma-taiwan%E2%80%99s-democracy-174953advises "Taiwan cannot assume that its democracy guarantees either its security or its sovereignty".  "Taipei cannot escape the reality and the proximity of China¡¦s power; the diplomatic and material constraints on U.S. power; and the economic interdependence both Taiwan and the United States have with China".  Economist, 2021-5-1 (economist.com/briefing/2021/05/01/chinas-growing-military-confidence-puts-taiwan-at-risk) also mentions Taiwan¡¦s government is painfully aware that preserving their democracy is not in itself a vital national interest for anyone else.  Instead, Taiwan stresses the importance of its semiconductor industry.  ( but those chips are hard to exchange Pfizer vaccines which most Taiwanese want.)

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¡´ Taiwan democracy & gangsters

¡»  DPP - United Daily, editorial, 2021-5-7: The underworld gang links with the legal syndicate, or the gangsters parasitize the political party, which certainly leads to deviation and collapse of the adm. order(udn.com/news/story/7338/5439377?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2)   Apple Daily, 2021-5-7: Many citizens are still blind to DPP ruling the country by "black-gold" gangsters and bureaucratic factions. The "big guys" of gangs such as ¶À©Ó°ê can decide or influence which democratical representatives will reach the stage of electoral campaigns for law-makers, city-councilors, even president.  President Tsai won't be able to crack down gangsters. (tw.appledaily.com/forum/20210507/AWDMO7WLEBCAZCIYHGO7UBA4DA/  »¯¤Ö±d)
¡»  KMT - Wikipedia : 'The Kuomintang (KMT; Chinese Nationalist Party) has frequently been criticized in Taiwan for its connections to gangsters and black gold. The party has had a long association with underground societies, and its founder Sun Yat-sen had joined the Triads to gain support for the Republican Revolution'.   One big case is Taiwan sent some gangsters to politically murder an American writer Henry Liu (Chiang Nan, "¦¿«n",  or Liú Yíliáng,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Liu ) in the U.S. to stop his new book to be published ,  under strong pressure from the US , eventually Taiwan's highest ranking intel. official was heavy punished.   The Liberty Times, editorial, 2021-5-5: KMT got more underworld gang issues.  (talk.ltn.com.tw/article/paper/1446916)

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¡´ Press Freedom

<Reporters Sans Frontieres> (RSF, France, 2021-4-20) comments Taiwan¡¦s journalists are suffering from a very polarised media environment dominated by sensationalism and the pursuit of profit. Although President Tsai Ing-wen has said she wants to continue developing press freedom in Taiwan, few concrete measures have been taken to improve journalists¡¦ editorial independence and encourage media to raise the quality of the public debate.  <Reporters Sans Frontieres> (RSF, France, 5-16-2020) comments Taiwan's unhealthy ¡§blue-green¡¨ political polarization hinders journalism in its role as a balancing power Digital News Report (June, 2020) by University of Oxford (UK), Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism: Only 24% Taiwanese trust in news which remains one of the lowest in Oxford survey.  Taiwan's Apple Daily, editorial, 6-16-2020: Taiwan's politics still intervene or meddle media.  Apple Daily, editorial, 7-19-2020: distortional and deteriorated media-politics connections are everywhere which hurt Taiwan's democracy.  
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2021 World Press Freedom Index,  RSF (Reporters without Borders)

Country /  Ranks  in recent yrs.

2021 2020 2019 2018
Norway No. 1 No. 1 No. 1 No. 1
Korea   No. 42   No. 42   No. 41   No. 43 
Taiwan  No. 43 No. 43  No. 42   No. 42 

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Taiwan Shuts Pro-China TV Channel in Battle over Press Freedom
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media

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NCC side

Reuters 11-18-2020 ...citing evidence of interference from a Beijing-friendly tycoon amid fears over China's campaign to win support on the island.
there was no evidence that CTi had received Chinese government funding.  and key shareholder Tsai has previously rejected accusations of newroom interference.

Taiwan's main opposition party, said it opposed the decision, as it could have a "chilling effect, strongly impacting press freedom"

CTi had been fined for several violations such as failure to check facts and endangering the public interest
Bloomberg 11-18-2020 Taiwan Shuts Pro-China TV Channel in Battle over Press Freedom
TV station says its closure is politically motivated
the latest example of the often fraught relationship between press freedom and concerns over Chinese influence in Taiwan¡¦s fiercely competitive media landscape.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-18/f-16-disappears-off-taiwan-s-eastern-coast-fate-still-unclear
NCC says Chung T¡¦ien News violated broadcast regulations     The key issue is its largest shareholder Tsai Eng-meng is directly and indirectly involved in the production of news programs
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Guardian, 11-18-2020 ¡§Today is the darkest day for freedom of the press and freedom of speech in the 30 years since Taiwan¡¦s liberation,¡¨
CTi has been accused of acting as a mouthpiece for Beijing and lobbying against the Democratic Progressive party (DPP) government, led by Tsai Ing-wen, and in favour of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT)
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/18/pro-china-tv-station-in-taiwan-ordered-off-air-over-disinformation
Pro-China TV station in Taiwan ordered off air  after Taiwan¡¦s media regulator found it had failed to address serious and frequent findings of bias and disinformation.
CTi had devoted 70% of its airtime to the KMT mayor of Kaohsiung, Han Kuo-yu, who unsuccessfully challenged Tsai in the presidential election. In January, CTi was fined  for airing false statements by a KMT politician without factchecking or interrogating the claims before broadcast
AFP, Yahoo News Australia, 11-18-2020 Many of the large media outlets are openly partisan, backing Beijing-friendly politicians or their opponents
"It is completely and utterly hypocritical for governments to invoke press freedom only when it fits their agenda," tweeted KMT chairman Johnny Chiang.
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It called for NCC to make public all the evidence it examined and apply the same standards to all future license reviews regardless of their political orientation.https://au.news.yahoo.com/taiwan-pulls-plug-china-friendly-100647362.html 
He has sparked criticism in the past for being overtly pro-Beijing and imposing his political preferences on the media outlets he owns.
The NCC accused Tsai of making direct and indirect interventions in news coverage by CTi.

One example was a false report that local farmers had to dump massive quantities of pomelo fruit last year because they were unable to sell their produce to mainland China as relations soured.

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Focus on Taiwan, 11-18-2020 at the time of the hearing that the Tsai Ing-wen (½²­^¤å) government was looking to close the station, effectively threatening Taiwan's media freedom
CTiTV called the day "the darkest" for the freedom of press and speech since martial law was lifted over 30 years ago.
In denying the license renewal based on two reasons -- the number of complaints that led to fines imposed on the station and the interference of a major shareholder -- the NCC "ignored the issue of political manipulation and disregarded communication theory and practice," CTiTV said.
"Under the NCC's current standards, every news stations in Taiwan should be shut down,"
Though CTi News submitted eight measures during the review process to improve the situation, Chen contended that none of them would have eliminated the interference of major shareholders in its news.
China Times, editorial 11-19-2020
Freedom of the press is dead! ! !
The ruling authorities ignored the Constitution's guarantees for freedom of speech. The National Communications Commission (NCC) betrayed the establishment purpose of the Constitutional Freedom of Speech stipulated in Article 1 of its Organic Law and decided to shut down the CTI News Channel. This was a naked, a blatant political ruling.  NCC finished the assignment Taiwan president Tsai gave.

In the 2018 elections, CTI TV stood on the opposite side of the ruling party. As a result, the DPP suffered a fiasco, the authorities grew enmity and decided to revenge CTI.

The reasons NCC claimed for shutting down the CTI  are completely ignorant of media practice and even violate the basic principles of communication. If the same standards are used,  should all news stations in Taiwan be shut down?  The gov, wants to kill one to scare many, and forces all media to follow the authorities, otherwise the same would be the case.

  United Daily, China Times, Apple Daily, Liberty Times
are four major news in Taiwan.  Cti and China Times
 are belong to same media group