Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Taiwan in the 21st Century
Chen would serve Taiwan as president for eight years, during which time many long-
term trends in politics and society became settled and mainstream. By the end of Chen's
second term, for example, both the military and the civil service had generally become
neutral bodies, loyal to the country and not just the KMT. Judicial reforms gave people
Miranda Rights (such as the right to an attorney) but attempts at education reform, land
use legislation, police reform and streamlining government either failed or stalled.
Lee Teng-hui's localisation and de-sinicisation policies were kicked up a notch and the
names of many public companies and institutions were changed from 'China' to
'Taiwan'. Chiang Kai-shek International Airport was renamed Taoyuan International
Airport, though attempts to rename CKS Memorial Hall resulted in a backlash. Still, in-
creasingly, Taiwanese of all stripes began more and more to identify with Taiwan; even
the children of mainlanders began to call themselves Taiwanese and not Chinese.
Jonathan Manthorpe's Forbidden Nation is a very readable overview of Taiwan's history,
with plenty of informed opinions and balanced analyses of the political status of Taiwan.
To many, though, it sometimes seemed this era was nothing but pure chaos. It began
well. Recognising that he had won less than 50% of the vote and lacked a clear mandate
(to say nothing of lacking control of the legislative, civil service or military), Chen filled
his cabinet with many KMT appointees. He spoke of representing all Taiwanese, includ-
ing mainlanders and his message to China was simple: don't attack us and we won't de-
clare formal independence. The president's initial approval rating reached 80%.
Things began to slide when Chen cancelled construction of the fourth nuclear power
plant in October 2000, incensing the KMT whose patronage networks across Taiwan are
intimately linked to big construction projects. The following year Taiwan was hit with
two economic whammies: the fallout in the agricultural sector from admission to the
WTO (Taiwan was forced to open its markets to imported rice) and a recession that resul-
ted from the dot.com bust. As is usual in Taiwan, the president was blamed, and many
people openly wondered if the DPP could be trusted to run the economy.
In terms of economic policy, Chen moved away from Lee's slow and careful invest-
ment approach to China and there was an exodus of business, talent and investment
across the Strait. Though GDP growth remained reasonably good in Taiwan, stagnating
wages and opportunities again left many critical of the president. Among the economic
success of the Chen years, the creation of a tourism industry ranks high. Inbound tourist
numbers doubled from 2002 to 2008 and continue to rise today.
 
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