This paper proposes that the political difficulties and challenges faced currently by Taiwan are due mainly to events following the transfer of power to the opposition in 2000. These difficulties can be attributed to the dysfunction of party politics rather than the functioning or the values of a democratic system being called into question. After 2000, Taiwan politics were deadlocked due to problems that arose from the difficulty of defining and adjusting to each party's allotted role within the democratic system, and from inter-party friction and bickering. The deficiencies in the present constitutional system have made it even more difficult for political parties to extricate themselves from a vicious struggle.