Taiwan: A Different Way to Play Politics

The opposition gets a chance to challenge the old guard

National elections in Taiwan have long been routine affairs. The Kuomintang, the dominant political party, regularly wins an overwhelming majority in the two elected houses, the Legislative Yuan and the National Assembly. In the past only independent candidates and two small government-approved opposition parties—which usually support the K.M.T.—have been permitted to compete. Last week, however, for the first time in 41 years of K.M.T. rule, an unsanctioned political group, the Democratic Progressive Party, successfully challenged the government. The party, formed only in September, won twelve of 73 open seats in the legislature and eleven of 84 in the assembly. It also...

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