nt of the Temporary Provisions. This could beconsidered the turning point for the government of Taiwan. With the lifting of the martiallaw, different groups that had amassed many assets which were put to use in voicingconcerns toward the political arena, now that the fear of reprisal was quelled. It alsobrought about the an opposition to the KMT that was recognized, the DDP or DemocraticProgressive Party. It also was brought about the first of many personnel changes in thegovernment, now that the emergency decree (threat of communism) had passed. Thenational elections took place in 1989, which was the first time a multiparty election hadever taken place in Taiwan. (Diamond 1999: 190) Three out of the five chambers weredecided that year, in which new representatives were put into power in the NationalAssembly, Control Yaun, and the Legislative Yaun. By 1996, the first direct presidentialelection took place, in which Lee Teng-hui, who was head of the KMT following thedeath of former president, walked away with the presidency with a victory over the DDPand various independent parties with about 54 percent of the popular vote. Much of thesupport Lee received could be attributed to his continuing stride toward bringing about amore democratic nature in Taiwan, as well as bringing about a plethora of diplomaticactivities with other nations. This election also was a message from the Taiwanese votersto the mainland China. China was against the democratic election that took place and toshow its displeasure with Taiwan, conducted military tests off the shores of Taiwanduring the days leading up to and of the election. However, the effect was the reverse ofwhat China intended, it strengthen the voters support for a more democratic Taiwan and afurther step away from the mainland. (Dickson, 1997: 214)So is Taiwan a democracy in the present time? If set to Dahls requirements,would Taiwan be considered a large scale democracy? The first r...
