Democracy, Divided National Identity, and Taiwan's National Security

Cheng-Yi Lin ； Wen-Cheng Lin

《Taiwan Journal of Democracy》 Volume 1 Issue 2 (2005/12) Pp. 69-87

https://doi.org/10.29654/TJD.200512.0004

Parallel abstracts

Taiwan has become a full-fledged democracy. But democracy has failed to reduce social divisions and partisan confrontation in Taiwan. In fact, some observers have begun to use the terms ”suicide” or ”self-destruction” to describe Taiwan's political development. This article studies the problems in Taiwan's democracy, and argues that the key problem is Taiwan's division in terms of national identity. Hence, democracy has become a disintegrating factor for Taiwan's society. The article further suggests that the island is playing an asymmetrical game against a rising China, and internal quarrels further weaken Taiwan. Taiwan's national security faces serious challenges ahead, but the internal division is the factor which is fatal to Taiwan's survival.

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