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 « Ma2145 Ćiou214 », president; 毛治國 « Mau35 Çr51 Kuo35 », prime minister.
Chief opposition party: 民主進步黨 « Bin35 Cu53 Ćin213 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 Ćin213 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 Cui5353 » (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