This book assesses the forces that led to the election of Tsai Ing-wen and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2016 and re-election in 2020, and provides the first comprehensive treatment of this pivotal period in Taiwan's politics, policy, and international relations. The Democratic Progressive Party's victory in Taiwan's 2016 presidential and legislative elections marked several significant turning points. The third peaceful transition of power between political parties during Taiwan's democratic era heralded further consolidation of Taiwan's democracy, and Tsai Ing-wen's election gave the Republic of China its first female president. Her administration has pursued an ambitious agenda of domestic and foreign policy reforms, and has faced challenges that include steering through economic transitions, addressing contentious issues of social justice, national identity and cultural change, and navigating an external environment defined by an increasingly powerful and hostile China, and a more supportive but less predictable United States. In Taiwan in the Era of Tsai Ing-wen, leading experts from the US and Taiwan chart the progress and problems of Tsai's first term and the prospects for Taiwan during her second term and beyond. As a study of a crucial era of politics in Taiwan, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Taiwan studies, Political Science, Law, Economics and International Relations.

This book assesses the forces that led to the election of Tsai Ing-wen and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2016 and re-election in 2020, and provides the first comprehensive treatment of this pivotal period in Taiwan's politics, policy, and international relations. The Democratic Progressive Party's victory in Taiwan's 2016 presidential and legislative elections marked several significant turning points. The third peaceful transition of power between political parties during Taiwan's democratic era heralded further consolidation of Taiwan's democracy, and Tsai Ing-wen's election gave the Republic of China its first female president. Her administration has pursued an ambitious agenda of domestic and foreign policy reforms, and has faced challenges that include steering through economic transitions, addressing contentious issues of social justice, national identity and cultural change, and navigating an external environment defined by an increasingly powerful and hostile China, and a more supportive but less predictable United States. In Taiwan in the Era of Tsai Ing-wen, leading experts from the US and Taiwan chart the progress and problems of Tsai's first term and the prospects for Taiwan during her second term and beyond. As a study of a crucial era of politics in Taiwan, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Taiwan studies, Political Science, Law, Economics and International Relations.

In 2008 Ma Ying-jeou was elected President of Taiwan, and the Kuomintang (KMT) returned to power after eight years of rule by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Since taking power, the KMT has faced serious difficulties, as economic growth has been sluggish, society has been polarised over issues of identity and policy, and rapprochement between Taipei and Beijing has met with suspicion or reservation among large segments of Taiwanese society. Indeed, while improved relations with the United States have bolstered Taiwan's security, warming cross-Strait relations have in turn made Taiwan more dependent upon and vulnerable to an increasingly powerful China. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the return of the Kuomintang (KMT) to power, and examines the significant domestic political, economic, social and international challenges and changes that have characterized Taiwan since 2008. It identifies the major domestic, cross-Strait and foreign policy trends, and addresses key issues such as elections and Taiwan's party system; the role of the presidency and legislature; economic development; social movements; identity politics; developments in cross-Strait relations; Taiwan's security environment and national defence policies; relations with the US and Japan. In turn, the contributors look towards the final years of Ma's presidency and beyond, and the structural realities - both domestic and external - that will shape Taiwan's future. Political Changes in Taiwan Under Ma Ying-jeou will be of great interest to students and scholars of Taiwan studies, comparative politics, international relations, and economics. It will also appeal to policy makers working in the field.

In 2008 Ma Ying-jeou was elected President of Taiwan, and the Kuomintang (KMT) returned to power after eight years of rule by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Since taking power, the KMT has faced serious difficulties, as economic growth has been sluggish, society has been polarised over issues of identity and policy, and rapprochement between Taipei and Beijing has met with suspicion or reservation among large segments of Taiwanese society. Indeed, while improved relations with the United States have bolstered Taiwan s security, warming cross-Strait relations have in turn made Taiwan more dependent upon and vulnerable to an increasingly powerful China.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the return of the Kuomintang (KMT) to power, and examines the significant domestic political, economic, social and international challenges and changes that have characterized Taiwan since 2008. It identifies the major domestic, cross-Strait and foreign policy trends, and addresses key issues such as

• elections and Taiwan s party system;
• the role of the presidency and legislature;
• economic development; social movements;
• identity politics;
• developments in cross-Strait relations;
• Taiwan s security environment and national defence policies;
• relations with the US and Japan.

In turn, the contributors look towards the final years of Ma s presidency and beyond, and the structural realities both domestic and external that will shape Taiwan s future."

Political Changes in Taiwan Under Ma Ying-jeou" will be of great interest to students and scholars of Taiwan studies, comparative politics, international relations, and economics. It will also appeal to policy makers working in the field. "

Examining the past, current, and potential future roles of the Communist Party in governing China The Chinese Communist Party and its polices touch nearly every aspect of life in China and dominate some. An often-quoted current phrase-one with roots in the era of Mao Zedong-says "the Party leads all." Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, the Party determines much of what is permitted and prohibited in the country's social, economic, and political activity, as well as China's increasingly consequential foreign relations. Even so, the Communist Party always has faced limits on what it can control, and it may encounter new obstacles ahead. This book addresses important questions about the current and future roles of the party: Has Xi's tenure brought a qualitative increase in the pursuit, or achievement, of party control? How is party rule shaped and exercised by internal party dynamics, the party's control over the state, society, economy, foreign affairs, government institutions and rules, and ideology? How serious are the threats to party strength and success posed by Xi's approach to power, corruption in the party's ranks, a rapidly changing society, a fraught international environment, or a possibly overly ambitious agenda for party control? Leading scholars examine these questions from several disciplinary perspectives, each focusing on a key area of the party and its efforts to lead, control, or influence the world around it. This book offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the party's roles in China's economy, government, civil society, legal system, military affairs, and foreign policy. It does so at a critical moment, with the full contours of the Xi Jinping era in China becoming more evident and as the CCP reaches its 100th anniversary and nears three-quarters of a century in power. It will be essential reading for all scholars, students, and policy-makers interested in contemporary China.

From cooperation to a new cold war: is this the future for today's two great powers?. U.S. policy toward China is at an inflection point. For more than a generation, since the 1970s, a near-consensus view in the United States supported engagement with China, with the aim of integrating China into the U.S.-led international order. By the latter part of the 2010s, that consensus had collapsed as a much more powerful and increasingly assertive China was seen as a strategic rival to theUnited States. How the two countries tackle issues affecting the most important bilateral relationship in the world will significantly shape overall international relations for years to come.In this timely book, leading scholars of U.S.-China relations and China's foreign policy address recent changes in American assessments of China's capabilities and intentions and consider potential risks to international security, the significance of a shifting international distribution of power, problems of misperception, and the risk of conflicts. China's military modernization, its advancing technology, and its Belt and Road Initiative, as well as regional concerns, such as the South China Sea disputes, relations with Japan, and tensions on the Korean Peninsula, receive special focus.

Assessing prospects as China's reform enters middle age. In 1978, China's Deng Xiaoping launched the economic reforms that have resulted in one of history's most dramatic and profound national transformations. The reforms, which have evolved and expanded during the ensuing four decades, removed institutional and policy obstacles to economic growth, tapped China's immense reserves of labor and entrepreneurial talent, and opened the country to foreign capital and investment. China has developed a more high-tech and service-based economy currently the world's second-largest and it now sends companies and capital abroad in keeping with its new status as a leading force in international trade and investment. But China also faces daunting challenges in sustaining growth, continuing the unfinished agenda of economic transformation, addressing the adverse consequences of economic success, and dealing with mounting pressure and suspicion from the United States and other long-standing trade and investment partners. China also confronts uncertainties and risks stemming from the project to expand its influence across the globe, the so-called Belt and Road Initiative. In all these matters, China's current leader, Xi Jinping, seems determined to make his own lasting mark on the country and on the country's effort to become a leading global power. In this book, leading experts offer insights into the many difficult issues China now faces, including development of its rural economy, urban industrial policy, public finance, and international trade and investment. The authors drawing on perspectives from economics, political science, and policy analysis provide historical context, drawing lessons from four decades of reform in China, and they analyze the difficulties for China's economy as the reform era moves into its fifth decade. Readers looking for a comprehensive assessment of where China's economy stands today, and its future prospects will find it in this book.

The Internet and social media are pervasive and transformative forces in contemporary China. Nearly half of China's 1.3 billion citizens use the Internet, and tens of millions use Sina Weibo, a platform similar to Twitter or Facebook. Recently, Weixin/Wechat has become another major form of social media. While these services have allowed regular people to share information and opinions as never before, they also have changed the ways in which the Chinese authorities communicate with the people they rule. China's party-state now invests heavily in speaking to Chinese citizens through the Internet and social media, as well as controlling the speech that occurs in that space. At the same time, those authorities are wary of the Internet's ability to undermine the ruling party's power, organize dissent, or foment disorder. Nevertheless, policy debates and public discourse in China now regularly occur online, to an extent unimaginable a decade or two ago, profoundly altering the fabric of China's civil society, legal affairs, internal politics, and foreign relations. The Internet, Social Media, and a Changing China explores the changing relationship between China's cyberspace and its society, politics, legal system, and foreign relations. The chapters focus on three major policy areas-civil society, the roles of law, and the nationalist turn in Chinese foreign policy-and cover topics such as the Internet and authoritarianism, "uncivil society" online, empowerment through new media, civic engagement and digital activism, regulating speech in the age of the Internet, how the Internet affects public opinion, legal cases, and foreign policy, and how new media affects the relationship between Beijing and Chinese people abroad. Contributors: Anne S. Y. Cheung, Rogier Creemers, Jacques deLisle, Avery Goldstein, Peter Gries, Min Jiang, Dalei Jie, Ya-Wen Lei, James Reilly, Zengzhi Shi, Derek Steiger, Marina Svensson, Wang Tao, Guobin Yang, Chuanjie Zhang, Daniel Xiaodan Zhou.

Assessing China's rapidly changing role on the international stage China is again undergoing a period of significant transition. Internally, China's leaders are addressing challenges to the economy and other domestic issues after three decades of dramatic growth and reforms. President Xi Jinping and other leaders also are refashioning foreign policy to better fit what they see as China's place in the world. This has included a more proactive approach to trade and related international economic affairs, a more vigorous approach to security matters, and a more focused engagement on international cultural and educational affairs. In this volume, China specialists from around the world explore key issues raised by a changing China's interaction with a changing world. They chronicle China's emergence as a more capable actor whose engagement is reshaping international affairs in many dimensions. These include: global currency and trading systems; patterns of cooperation and competition in technological innovation; economic and political trends in the developing world; the American-led security order in the Asia-Pacific region; the practice of international military and humanitarian intervention; the use of naval power; the role of international law in persistent territorial and maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas; the international human rights regime; the circulation of Chinese talent trained abroad; a more globalized film industry; and programs to reshape global cultural awareness about China through educational initiatives. Across these diverse areas, China's capacity-and desire-to influence events and outcomes have risen markedly. The results so far are mixed, and the future trajectory remains uncertain. But across the wide range of issues addressed in this book, China has become a major and likely an enduring participant.