TAIPEI, Taiwan — As the Taiwanese government seeks to respond to China’s unification pressure campaign, a significant impediment is the self-governing island’s own political polarization — which, in some respects, is worsening.
Taiwan is a young democracy, having only held its first direct presidential election in 1996. For much of Taiwan’s history, it was under one-party authoritarian rule by the Kuomintang (KMT), now the main opposition party.
This recent history, as well as an identity crisis KMT is going through over its own long-term policy platform on relations with Beijing, have combined to make it more difficult for the government of President Tsai Ing-wen of the center-left Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to push through reforms aimed at curbing Chinese influence in Taiwanese society.
