Taiwan’s year of living democracy

2008 was a landmark year for Taiwan – the small but incredibly wealthy island just south of Japan, nestled alongside its massive neighbour and frequent agitator, China. With its fourth direct democratic presidential election, the self-governing island that China considers part of its territory saw its second fully democratic change in power. This time though, instead of the need for allied warships to be parked offshore to ease tensions, China let democracy take its course across the strait – and the Taiwanese people obliged by installing a China-friendly leadership.

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Taiwan’s DPP fails parliamentary test

The ruling party of Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian has suffered a massive loss in the weekend’s parliamentary elections. The nationalist Kuomintang, or KMT, and its smaller allies, captured a total of 86 seats in the 113-member parliament – to just 27 for President Chen’s Democratic Progressive Party. On Saturday night, the president resigned as chairman of his party.

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