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Taiwan's New Nationalists: Democracy with Taiwanese Characteristics

By Ian Buruma
July/August 1996
Article Summary and Author Biography

The Nationalist Party still holds the reins of government, but Lee Teng-hui, elected in Taiwan's first direct presidential contest in March, has brought the island a long way from the repressive regime of Chiang Kai-shek. Himself a native of Taiwan, Lee has opened up his party as well as the political system, divesting the mainlanders who arrived in 1949 and governed the country for decades of much of their power. Their dream of reunification has gone the way of their might, replaced by the native Taiwanese desire for an independent country. As Taiwan's newborn democracy matures, homegrown nationalism will carry the day.

Ian Buruma has published widely on Asia. His most recent book is The Missionary and the Libertine: Love and War Between East and West.

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