Legal system:
based on civil law system
Suffrage:
20 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President CHEN Shui-bian (since 20 May 2000) and
Vice President Annette LU (LU Hsiu-lien) (since 20 May 2000)
head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) SU
Tseng-chang (since 25 January 2006) and Vice Premier (Vice President
of the Executive Yuan) TSAI Ing-wen (since 25 January 2006)
cabinet: Executive Yuan appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket
by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term);
election last held 20 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008);
premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the
president on the recommendation of the premier
election results: CHEN Shui-bian re-elected president; percent of
vote - CHEN Shui-bian (DPP) 50.1%, LIEN Chan (KMT) 49.9%
Legislative branch:
Legislative Yuan (225 seats - 168 elected by popular vote, 41
elected on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by
participating political parties, eight elected from overseas Chinese
constituencies on basis of proportion of island-wide votes received
by participating political parties, eight elected by popular vote
among aboriginal populations; members serve three-year terms);
National Assembly (300 seat nonstanding body; delegates nominated by
parties and elected by proportional representation six to nine
months after Legislative Yuan calls to amend Constitution, impeach
president, or change national borders) - see note
note: as a result of constitutional amendments approved by National
Assembly in June 2005, number of seats in legislature will be
reduced from 225 to 113 beginning with election in 2007; amendments
also eliminated National Assembly thus giving Taiwan a unicameral
legislature
elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 11 December 2004 (next to be
held in December 2007); National Assembly - last held 14 May 2005;
dissolved in June 2005
election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - DPP
38%, KMT 35%, PFP 15%, TSU 8%, other parties and independents 4%;
seats by party - DPP 89, KMT 79, PFP 34, TSU 12, other parties 7,
independents 4; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - DPP
42.5%, KMT 38.9%, TSU 7%, PFP 6%, others 6.6%; seats by party - DPP
127, KMT 117, TSU 21, PFP 18, others 17 (2005)
Judicial branch:
Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of
the Legislative Yuan)
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [YU Shyi-kun]; Kuomintang or
KMT (Nationalist Party) [MA Ying-jeou]; People First Party or PFP
[James SOONG (SOONG Chu-yu)]; Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [SU
Chin-chiang]; other minor parties including the Chinese New Party or
NP
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental
groups
note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the
mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization
and the increased representation of opposition parties in Taiwan's
legislature have opened public debate on the island's national
identity; a broad popular consensus has developed that Taiwan
currently enjoys de facto independence and - whatever the ultimate
outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's
people must have the deciding voice; advocates of Taiwan
independence oppose the stand that the island will eventually unify
with mainland China; goals of the Taiwan independence movement
include establishing a sovereign nation on Taiwan and entering the
UN; other organizations supporting Taiwan independence include the
World United Formosans for Independence and the Organization for
Taiwan Nation Building
International organization participation:
APEC, AsDB, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFRCS, IOC, WCL, WTO
note: Taiwan has acquired observer status on the competition
committee and special observer status on the Trade Committee of the
OECD, and is seeking observer status with the backing of the US in
WHO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people
of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US
with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 12
other US cities
Diplomatic representation from the US: none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and Taiwan; US office at 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1700, Arlington, VA 22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385); Taiwan offices at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2) 2162-2000, FAX: [886] (2) 2162-2251; #2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor, Kao-hsiung, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (7) 238-7744, FAX: [886] (7) 238-5237; and the American Trade Center, Room 3208 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548, telephone: [886] (2) 2720-1550, FAX: [886] (2) 2757-7162