Taiwan

臺灣 « TAI³⁵ UAN³⁵ »
— Also: 台灣 / 台湾 « Tai³⁵ Uan³⁵ » / « T‛ai³⁵ Uan⁵ ».
— Officially: 中華民國 / 中华民国 « Tioŋ¹ Hua³⁵ Bin³⁵ Kok¹ » / « Çuŋ⁵ Xua³⁵ Min³⁵ Kuo³⁵ ».
— English: Taiwan.
— Seat of government: 臺北 / 台北 « Tai³⁵ Pak¹ ».
— Status: Democratic.
— Structure: The president is elected directly. The rest of the government comprises five 院 « ĩ³ »: the 行政院 « Heŋ³⁵ Ceŋ²¹ Ĩ³ » (Executive), 立法院 « Lip¹ Huat¹ Ĩ³ » (Legislative), 司法院 « Su⁴ Huat³² Ĩ³ » (Judicial), 考試院 « K‛ə⁴¹ C‛i¹ Ĩ³ » (Examination, or civil service testing), and 監察院 « Kam¹ C‛at³² Ĩ³ » (Control, or auditing). The legislature is elected in geographical constituencies modified by party-list proportional representation, with some reserved aboriginal seats. The executive is appointed by the president; the prime minister is officially the president of the 行政院 « Heŋ³⁵ Ceŋ²¹ Ĩ³ ».
— Governing party: 國民黨 « Kuo³⁵ Min³⁵ Taŋ²¹⁴ ».
— Heads of government: 馬英九 « Ma²¹⁴ Iŋ⁵ Ćiou²¹⁴ », president; 毛治國 « Mau³⁵ Çr⁵¹ Kuo³⁵ », prime minister.
— Chief opposition party: 民主進步黨 « Bin³⁵ Cu⁵³ Ćin²¹ Pò³ Toŋ⁵³ ».
— Recent history: Government in recent years has been strongly contested, with alternate elections being won by the pro-independence 泛綠軍 « Huan²¹ Leɔk⁵ Kun¹ » (民主進步黨 « Bin³⁵ Cu⁵³ Ćin²¹ Pò³ Toŋ⁵³ » and 台灣團結聯盟 « Tai³⁵ Uan³⁵ T‛uan³⁵ Kiat¹ Lian³⁵ Beŋ³⁵ ») and the conservative, pro-unification 泛藍軍 « Fan⁵¹ Lan³⁵ Ćün⁵ » (國民黨 « Kuo³⁵ Min³⁵ Taŋ²¹⁴ » and 親民黨 « Ć‛in⁵ Min³⁵ Taŋ²¹⁴ »). The 2000 presidential election of 陳水扁 « Tan³⁵ Cui⁵³ Pĩ⁵³ » (2000-8) of the 民進黨 « Bin³⁵ Ćin²¹ Toŋ⁵³ » defied both 中國 « Çuŋ⁵ Kuo³⁵ » and the long-ruling 國民黨 « Kuo³⁵ Min³⁵ Taŋ²¹⁴ ». The 民進黨 « Bin³⁵ Ćin²¹ Toŋ⁵³ » won a plurality in the 2001 legislative elections, but the 泛藍軍 « Fan⁵¹ Lan³⁵ Ćün⁵ » still had a combined majority. 陳 Tan³⁵, who wavered from his prior stance for independence but then returned to it, was reelected by a small (and disputed) margin in 2004; to defuse a corruption scandal, he eventually delegated much of his power to prime ministers 蘇貞昌 « Sò⁵ Teŋ¹ Ć‛ioŋ¹ » (2006-7) and 張俊雄 « Tiũ⁵ Cun²¹ Hioŋ³⁵ » (2007-8), also of the 民進黨 « Bin³⁵ Ćin²¹ Toŋ⁵³ ». The 泛藍軍 « Fan⁵¹ Lan³⁵ Ćün⁵ » maintained control of the parliament in 2004. While the 泛綠軍 « Huan²¹ Leɔk⁵ Kun¹ » fared better in a 2005 election for a special constitutional assembly (held using a party-list proportional representation system), that body led to temporary alliances across coalition lines in favor of reforms to the parliamentary system to force the smaller parties out; accordingly, the 國民黨 « Kuo³⁵ Min³⁵ Taŋ²¹⁴ » won 81 of 113 seats in the 2008 legislative elections, with the 民進黨 « Bin³⁵ Ćin²¹ Toŋ⁵³ » taking 27. 馬 « Ma²¹⁴ » of the 國民黨 « Kuo³⁵ Min³⁵ Taŋ²¹⁴ » then won a convincing victory in the 2008 presidential election. He was reelected with a small majority in 2012, and the 國民黨 « Kuo³⁵ Min³⁵ Taŋ²¹⁴ » won a decreased majority in the legislature during the same election.
— FH: 2-1, free. Econ: 7.82 (33), flawed democracy.
— Updated: 2015 March 25.

O.T. FORD