How Democracy Emerged in Taiwan: How the KMT Let Go

The Kuomintang or KMT ruled Taiwan for several decades with an iron fist. Sharing many of the Leninist principles with that of the Chinese Communist Party, the KMT took every chance it could to keep itself in power.

At the start of the 1980s however, KMT party leader Chiang Ching-kuo decided to start the party and the country on a path towards the democracy it has today. What made him decide on this? In this video, we look at the external and internal pressures that eventually caused the KMT to slowly loosen the grip on power.

[Fashda]

Your content is really good. The only thing I can recommend is perhaps taking more than one take of your script so you can iron out your mistakes rather than just leaving in the awkward pauses. If you can invest in a better mic as well, you have real potential for growth! I look forward to following your progress.

[bernardfinucane]

I lived in Taipei in the mid to late 80s. As I recall, the KMT was considered a joke and a lot of people were very annoyed by the lack of competent governance.

[jordanlaramore]

Can you make a video about South Korea's transfer to Democracy? I know this happened around the same time as Taiwan's but that's about all I know.

[zacheryhernandez]

this is a valuable channel, please never stop making high quality content like this

[faisaloishik]

The mistakes makes it feel like more down to earth so I'm not complaining

[Idk-sjly]

I actually live in Taiwan, so this is very interesting to me...

[christophersomeus]

Thanks for your videos, your content is really interesting ! You should deserve way more subscribers

[chrisharmon]

I'd say the Taiwanese natives were much less wiped out than those in America. In fact, out on the east coast and in the mountains, the natives were able to live in their traditional way until the Japanese changed that around 1915...they were hunting heads in the 1900s.

[tyvamakes]

I always felt that Chiang Ching Kuo followed the three stages of national revolution.

[CSmith-hxpm]

Hey, great video overall but there is a repeated mistake. The Leninist vanguard party model does not claim to be representative of the entire country, it claims to be representative of the overwhelming majority of the country as the leadership of the proletariat and oppressed people. The CPC in China would only begin its talk of representing *everyone* post-Mao after the restoration of capitalism. A more precise common ground between the Kuomintang and the CPC is the use of democratic centralism as the principal by which the party functions, which does have its foundation in Marxism but goes further back before Lenin. Again- overall a great video but I wanted to help out on this point.

Thanks for doing what you do. Your content is very good!

[eruno_]

I would love to see you do historical video on DPP. It seems there isn't much information in western sources how it was formed and how exactly it developed from tangwai movement. Would also love to learn how DPP ideology drifted from initial democratisation and hardcore independence cause to modern social liberal status quo preservation.

[PeterLiuIsBeast]

7:29 I think you mean June 4th. May 4th is the movement in 1921 partially against the Versaille decision to give Shandong to Japan.

[timtu]

So much more to Chiang Ching-kuo people don’t appreciate.

[cyanfloy]

Father:strong dictatorship
Son:No more, demoncracy time
Kim family:

[jiaweizhang]

I wouldn't label Abraham Lincoln as authoritarian while fighting a civil war against slavery. ROC should be considered a functional democracy when KMT and its president nominee Chiang Kai Shek were popularly elected in 1948. The main problem was that after communist takeover, election of the National Congress was no longer possible. As a result it stayed the way as was first elected into office.

[ZyozyoPadilla]

Excellent analysis of geopolitical factors!

[BillHimmel]

That power is voluntarily rendered is almost too hard to believe!

[thursmornsunlight]

First Nations in Taiwan were purged many times in Taiwan. Would say it happened many times. Portuguese and Dutch Trade. Then Ming(Pretender) and Qing Dynasty invasions. Then Japanese Empire. And finally KMT. But yeah, there are still some first Nations left. A lot of people currently in Taiwan even though they're of Han origin, they have blood ties with first Nations as well. So all good for now but not that great since natives usually live in bad conditions.

[cymbalspecialist]

It's interesting what you stated near the end, that the KMT would step aside and allow the democratic process to take place, therefore putting country before their own ideological power.

[sarcasmo]

I hope the PRC can undergo extensive political reform in such a way. Seems recently they are more fascist than anything else.