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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TALENT: Chen Ming-chang (music: Last Train to SuAo); Professor Shih Cheng-feng, member of Taiwan’s Council for Indigenous Peoples; Jay Chou (music: Dragon Fist); Alan Romberg, director of East Asia program, Henry L Stimson Center; Arthur Waldron, lauder professor of international relations, University of Pennsylvania; Peng Hung-chih, artist, Beijing; Chen Lung-kuo, editor-in-chief of China Times newspaper; Chen Shui-bian, former president of Taiwan; General Chen Bingde, China’s People’s Liberation Army; Ma Ying-jeou, president of Taiwan; Wang Dun, Chinese dissident and former student leader; Douglas Paal, former director of American Institute in Taiwan and former consulate worker US embassy in Beijing; Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party; Professor Bruce Jacobs, Monash University; Chen Shui-bian (music: Lovers’ Pilllow).
