Government

Taiwan's national government is based on the constitution of 1947 (amended in 1992, 1994, and 1997), which was drawn up to govern the whole of China; when the Nationalist government moved to Taiwan in 1949, most countries still recognized it as the government of all China, and it has continued to assert that claim, regarding Taiwan itself as only a province.

The national government is made up of five yuan, or branches. The Executive yuan, where the greatest political power rests, is similar to a cabinet and is headed by a popularly elected president; the Legislative yuan, whose 225 members are elected (most directly from multimember districts; the rest proportionally), handles all legislation; the Judicial yuan is appointed by the president and serves as the highest judicial authority; the Control yuan is in charge of censorship and such political matters as censure and impeachment; and the Examination yuan supervises examinations for government positions. Amendments to the constitution passed in 2005 will reduce the number of members of the legislature to 113, with some elected directly and the rest chosen proportionally. The dominant political party was long the conservative Kuomintang (KMT; Nationalist party); the Democratic Progressive party, formed in Oct., 1986, is the other main party.

Theoretically separate from the national government is the government of Taiwan province, which includes all of Taiwan except for the cities of Taipei and Kaohsing and a few island off the mainland coast. The province is administered by a governor, which in 1994 became an elective post, and a 79-member provincial assembly.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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