Politics of Taiwan

The Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan, operates as a representative democratic republic with a five-power system. The president serves as head of state, while the premier leads the government. Since 2016, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has held power. The country includes six special municipalities—Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, and Taoyuan—alongside three cities and thirteen counties.

The ROC was founded in 1912 in Nanjing. After losing the Chinese Civil War, its government relocated to Taiwan in 1949. Until 1971, the United Nations recognized it as China’s legitimate government, and the United States did so until 1979. Before constitutional reforms in 1991, the political system was a parliamentary representative democratic republic with a largely ceremonial president. Legislative authority was shared by the government and a tricameral parliament: the National Assembly (which elected the president and vice president and handled constitutional amendments), the Control Yuan, and the Legislative Yuan.

Under the Kuomintang’s Dang Guo regime and White Terror, Taiwan’s political system was authoritarian until martial law ended in 1987. Opposition was harshly suppressed, religious activity controlled, dissent banned, and civil rights limited. Democratization in the 1990s legalized new political parties and lifted restrictions on free speech and civil rights. In 2022, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Taiwan 8th globally as a “full democracy.” According to the V-Dem Democracy indices, Taiwan was the second most electoral democratic country in Asia in 2023.

**Constitution** Taiwan is governed by the Constitution of the Republic of China, drafted in 1947 before the Chinese Communist Party took control of the mainland and the ROC government fully retreated to Taiwan. The original constitution was designed for a Greater China, covering mainland China, Mongolia, Taiwan, and other Qing-era territories. Major amendments were made in 1991, and judicial interpretations have since adjusted the document to reflect the smaller area under actual control.

After retreating to Taipei in 1949, the Kuomintang government re-established all central political bodies that had existed in the de jure capital, Nanjing, insisting it remained the sole legitimate government of Greater China. Much of this structure persists. In 1991, President Lee Teng-hui effectively abandoned the claim to mainland China by stating Taiwan does not “dispute the fact that the Communists control mainland China.” However, the National Assembly has not officially altered the nominal borders, as doing so might be seen as a step toward formal independence. The People’s Republic of China has repeatedly threatened war if Taiwan formalizes independence, as codified in its Anti-Secession Law. Neither the National Assembly nor the Supreme Court has defined the constitutional term “existing national boundaries”; the court declined, calling it a “significant political question.” Today, amending the constitution requires approval from three-fourths of the quorum of the Legislative Yuan (which itself needs at least three-fourths of all members), followed by ratification in a referendum with at least fifty percent of all eligible voters supporting it, regardless of turnout.

**Administrative divisions** Since the Chinese Civil War effectively ended and the ROC government retreated, the modern “free area” includes Taiwan Island, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and several smaller islands, such as Taiping Island in the South China Sea. The country is divided into two streamlined provinces (Taiwan and Fukien) and six special municipalities. Because the provinces are streamlined and their governments have been effectively dissolved, cities and counties are directly administered by the central government, specifically the Executive Yuan. The central-governed divisions are: six special municipalities (Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, Taoyuan); two non-functioning provinces (Fukien, Taiwan); three provincial cities (Chiayi, Keelung, Hsinchu); and thirteen counties (Changhua, Chiayi, Hsinchu, Hualien, Kinmen, Lienchiang, Miaoli, Nantou, Penghu, Pingtung, Taitung, Yilan, Yunlin).

**Government** Under current constitutional amendments, Taiwan operates as a de facto semi-presidential system. It includes a presidency and five branches, or Yuan (literally “Government Agency”): the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Examination Yuan, and Control Yuan. This structure is modeled on Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People. The president appoints the premier (head of government) without legislative consent, but shares limitations common in other semi-presidential systems—such as lacking a strong veto and having no direct control over most administrative policy. Executive power lies with the Executive Yuan, while legislative power is mainly vested in the Legislative Yuan. The judiciary is independent of both the executive and legislature. The Examination Yuan validates civil servant qualifications, and the Control Yuan inspects, reviews, and audits government operations.