represented the orthodoxy of China. Political opponents began to
initiate a series of political movements advocating a new ideology of
‘‘Taiwanese consciousness,’’ which enabled them to win more votes in
the successive elections of the 1980s.
In 1986, the Democratic Progressive Party, the first opposition
party in Taiwan, declared its establishment with the tacit permission
of President Chiang Ching-kuo. A variety of social movements
mushroomed in the new atmosphere of democracy, and the National
Government lifted martial law, which had been enforced for about
forty years. President Chiang died in 1988, and was succeeded by
Vice-President Lee Teng-hui.
The establishment of the Democratic Progressive Party had impor-
tant implications for the political modernization of Taiwan. It repre-
sented the institutionalization of centrifugal elites who advocated an
opposing ideology in the political market to compete with the ruling
party for the opportunity of holding the reins of government. But
the democratization of politics brought some unexpected conse-
quences to society. In comparison with the ‘‘Taiwanese consciousness’’
advocated by the Democratic Progressives for identification with
Taiwan, the ‘‘Chinese consciousness’’ insisted on by the Nationalists
for forty years became impractical and vulnerable to attack from
political opponents. As soon as Lee became president, he tried,
on the one hand, to adjust the Nationalist Party’s ideology to cope
with political change, but, on the other, he had to preserve national
symbols to deal with the conservatives in his party. His pragmatic
adjustments led him to a series of political struggles with other
Nationalist Party leaders. In order to consolidate his personal power
to deal with the challenges from the opposing party, and to expel
conservatives from the Nationalist Party, Lee began to foster the
power of local forces by strengthening the party’s connections with
local politicians and entrepreneurs. After the lifting of martial law,
numerous local politicians attempted to gain positions in the central
representative bodies, which had previously been occupied by the
privileged-class immigrants from China. With the tacit permission of
the Nationalists, they even tried to win elections by bribery. Many of
them originally accumulated their wealth and power by engaging in
land speculation, monopolizing public construction projects, or even
running illegal businesses. Once they occupied positions of central
power, their greed was stimulated.
136 Kwang-kuo Hwang