Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Recent efforts by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) government to emphasize Chinese studies in school curricula have led some people to warn of a possible “brainwashing” of the nation’s youth and the eventual dissolution of national identity. While the government’s measures are a cause for concern, their effectiveness in undermining Taiwanese identity is questionable.

Modern Taiwan might appear to have the trappings of a democratic system — such as popular elections and political parties — but the sad truth is that the country’s political and judicial systems are being manipulated in such a way that elections in Taiwan are not free and fair. Without free and fair elections, Taiwan is not a fully functioning democracy.

In the past 70 years, Taiwan has transformed dramatically: from part of the Japanese empire, to an authoritarian state governed under martial law, to having a president elected by popular vote for the first time in 1996.