Where to start? Maybe with Chiang Kai-shek and his troops taking refuge from the Communists on the Island of Taiwan in 1949. They established the “provisional” Republic of China (ROC) here, hoping to return soon to the mainland. That, of course, never happened. Since then Taiwan’s political system was controlled by the Kuomintang (KMT) and the KMTs chairman was also the leader of Taiwan. The party was in complete political control of the island, which remained under martial law for almost four decades until 1987.
During the 80s, however, first steps towards democratization were taken, such as ending the restrictions on the press and the acceptance of a new party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which was formed by opposition groups in 1986 and was legalized under the Civic Organizations Law of 1989. The DPP increased its influence throughout the 1990s and in March 2000, DPP candidate Chen Shui-bian became the first DPP president. In 2008, the KMT reclaimed the political leadership after their candidate Ma Ying-jeou won a decisive victory.
