Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is governed in a framework of a representative democratic republic under a five-power system. The president is the head of state, with the premier as the head of government, currently ruled by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) since 2016. Taiwan's 6 major cities, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, and Taoyuan, are special municipalities. The rest of the country is divided into 3 cities and 13 counties.
The Republic of China was established in 1912 in Nanjing. In 1949, the government relocated to Taiwan because of its military losses in the Chinese Civil War, and was internationally recognized as the official government of China until 1971 by the United Nations and until 1979 by the United States. Prior to the constitutional reforms in 1991, the political system of Taiwan took place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the President served a primarily ceremonial role as head of state. Legislative power is formally vested in both the government and its tricameral parliament: the National Assembly which elects the President and Vice President as well as makes major constitutional amendments, the Control Yuan and the Legislative Yuan.
Until the end of the martial law period in 1987, the Taiwanese political system under the KMT Dang Guo regime and White Terror was authoritarian, whereby political opposition was harshly suppressed, all religious activity controlled by the KMT, dissent not permitted, and civil rights curtailed. After democratization in the 1990s, new political parties became legal, and restrictions on free speech and civil rights were lifted. According to the V-Dem Democracy indices Taiwan was 2023 the second most electoral democratic country in Asia.
Constitution
Taiwan is governed under the Constitution of the Republic of China, which was drafted in 1947 before the fall of the mainland China to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the full retreat of the ROC government to Taiwan. The Constitution outlined a government intended for Greater China, with territorial considerations encompassing mainland China, Mongolia, Taiwan, and other Qing-ruled areas. Significant amendments were made to the Constitution in 1991, and there have been a number of judicial interpretations made to take into account the fact that the Constitution covers a much smaller area than originally envisioned.
As the Kuomintang (KMT) government continued to insist that it was the only legitimate government of Greater China, when the KMT retreated to Taipei in 1949, it re-established the full array of central political bodies which existed in mainland China in the de jure capital of Nanjing (Nanking). While much of this structure remains in place, in 1991 President Lee Teng-hui unofficially abandoned the government's claim of sovereignty over mainland China by stating that Taiwan does not "dispute the fact that the Communists control mainland China." However, the National Assembly has not officially altered the nominal national borders, since to do so might be viewed as a prelude to formal Taiwanese independence. The People's Republic of China has several times threatened to start a war if the government of Taiwan formalizes independence, as codified in its Anti-Secession Law. Neither the National Assembly nor the Supreme Court has defined the term "existing national boundaries," as stated in the constitution. The latter refused to do so, noting it was a "significant political question."
Amending the ROC constitution now requires the approval of three-fourths of the quorum of members of the Legislative Yuan. This quorum requires at least three-fourths of all members of the Legislature. After passing by the legislature, the amendment needs ratification in a referendum from at least fifty percent of all eligible voters of the ROC regardless of voter turnout.
Administrative divisions
Since the de facto end of the Chinese Civil War and the retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan, the modern-day ROC, or the "free area", has consisted of Taiwan Island, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and several smaller islands, including Taiping Island in the South China Sea. The whole country is divided into two streamlined provinces (Taiwan and Fukien) and six special municipalities. Since the provinces are streamlined and the de facto dissolution of the provincial governments, the cities and counties are directly governed by the central government, namely Executive Yuan. The central governed administrative divisions are listed below. Six special municipalities: Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, and Taoyuan. Two non-functioning provinces: Fukien and Taiwan Three provincial cities: Chiayi, Keelung, Hsinchu. Thirteen counties: Changhua, Chiayi, Hsinchu, Hualien, Kinmen, Lienchiang, Miaoli, Nantou, Penghu, Pingtung, Taitung, Yilan and Yunlin.
Government Under the current constitutional amendments, the government is run under a de facto semi-presidential system, consisting of the presidency and five branches (Yuan; , literally "Government Agency"): the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Examination Yuan, and Control Yuan, modeled on Sun Yat-sen's political philosophy of Three Principles of the People.
The president may appoint the premier, the head of government, without the consent of the legislature, but they share limitations found in other semi-presidential systems, including the lack of a strong veto and no direct control of most administrative policy. Executive power is exercised by the Executive Yuan. Legislative power is vested primarily in the Legislative Yuan. Taiwan's judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. In addition, the Examination Yuan is in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants, and the Control Yuan inspects, reviews, and audits the policies and operations of the government. Since the 2005 amendments of the Additional Articles of the Constitution, the Legislative Yuan has been the de facto unicameral parliamentary body of the country.
Presidency
The President is the head of state of the Republic of China and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Based on the Constitution of the Republic of China, the head of state is the president, who is elected by popular vote for a four-year term on the same ticket as the vice-president. The leadership of the country consists of the two top officials that is directly and jointly elected by citizens of the Republic of China residing in the Taiwan Area.
The president has authority over the five administrative branches (Yuan): Executive, Legislative, Control, Judicial, and Examination. The president appoints the members of the Executive Yuan as the cabinet, including a premier, who is officially the president of the Executive Yuan; members are responsible for policy and administration. Under the president, two advisory and administrative agencies are established to support the work of the president.
Executive Yuan
The Executive Yuan comprises the premier, vice-premier, and the cabinet members who are responsible for policy and administration. However, the ROC's political system does not fit traditional models. The premier is selected by the president without the need for approval from the Legislature, but the Legislature can pass laws without regard for the president, as neither the president nor the premier wields veto power. Thus, there is little incentive for the president and the legislature to negotiate on legislation if they are of opposing parties. During the tenure of the pan-Green's Chen Shui-bian the continued control of the Legislative Yuan by the pan-Blue majority caused legislation to repeatedly stall, as the two sides were deadlocked.
There is another curiosity of the ROC system; because the ROC was previously dominated by strongman one-party politics, real power in the system shifted from one position to another, depending on what position was currently occupied by the leader of the state (Chiang Kai-shek and later his son, Chiang Ching-kuo). This legacy has resulted in executive powers currently being concentrated in the office of the president rather than the premier.
Legislative Yuan
The main legislative body is the unicameral Legislative Yuan with one hundred and thirteen seats. Seventy-three are elected in single member districts; thirty-four are elected based on the proportion of nationwide votes received by participating political parties, and six seats are reserved to represent aboriginal groups. Members serve four-year terms. Although sometimes referred to as a "parliament", the Legislative Yuan, under Sun's political theory, is a branch of government, while only the National Assembly of the Republic of China, which is now abolished, with the power to amend the constitution and formerly to elect the president and vice president, could be considered a parliament. However, after constitutional amendments effectively transferring almost all of the National Assembly's powers to the Legislative Yuan in the late 1990s, it has become more common for newspapers in Taiwan to refer to the Legislative Yuan as the nation's "parliament" (國會, guóhuì).
The first LY had 773 seats and was viewed as a "rubber stamp" institution. Like the National Assembly, representatives elected in 1947–48 held these seats "indefinitely" until the 1991 ruling. The second LY was elected in 1992. The third LY, elected in 1995, had 157 members serving 3-year terms. The fourth LY, elected in 1998, was expanded to 225 members. The LY has greatly enhanced its standing in relation to the Executive Yuan and has established itself as an important player on the central level. Along with increasing strength and size this body is beginning to reflect the recently liberalized political system.
In the 1992 and 1995 elections, the main opposition party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), challenged the KMT dominance of the Legislature. In both elections the DPP won a significant share of the LY seats, and the KMT held only half the seats in the LY. In 1998, however, the KMT increased its LY majority from 50% to 55% and continued to play a dominant role in the legislature as the leading opposition party. In the 2001 election, the DPP became the largest party after large losses suffered by the KMT. Control of the Yuan swung back to the KMT after the 2008 elections, while in 2016 the DPP regained the status as the largest party and achieved a majority for the first time in history.
Judicial Yuan
The Judicial Yuan is the ROC's highest judiciary. The President and vice-president of the Judicial Yuan and fifteen Justices form the Council of Grand Justices. Grand Justices are appointed by the President, with the consent of the Legislative Yuan, to eight-year terms. The highest court, the Supreme Court, consists of a number of civil and criminal divisions, each of which is formed by a presiding Judge and four Associate Judges, all appointed for life.
In 1993, a separate constitutional court was established to resolve constitutional disputes, regulate the activities of political parties and accelerate the democratization process. There is no trial by jury but the right to a fair and public trial is protected by law and respected in practice; many cases are presided over by multiple judges. Capital punishment is legal. Efforts have been made by the government to reduce the number of executions, although they have not been able to completely abolish the punishment. As of 2006, about 80% of Taiwanese want to keep the death penalty.
Examination Yuan