Political party as an institution is essential to the functioning of modern representative democracy. This institution is highly distrusted and even strongly condemned in democratic Taiwan. There is nothing peculiar to this phenomenon. The party system everywhere (even in mature democracies) has rarely enjoyed a high level of public confidence. In fact, the party system in Taiwan is quite well developed and institutionalized, unlike its counterparts in other newly installed or restored Asian democracies, like Korea, the Philippines and Thailand, where political parties are fluid, inchoate, and fragmented. The national identity issue, though, has been polarizing the party system in Taiwan. Consequently political parties in Taiwan have mastered the art of electoral mobilization and are yet to hone their skills and expertise in policy deliberation.