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POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY

POLITICAL SYSTEM

POLITICAL SYSTEM

The president and vice president are directly elected every four years.
In Taiwan’s legislative elections, each voter casts one ballot for their district and another for at-large seats.

The constitution, promulgated Jan. 1, 1947, did not begin to serve as the foundation for democratic governance and rule of law until after 1987, when martial law was lifted in Taiwan. It was revised in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2005.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The ROC Taiwan is a sovereign and independent state that maintains its own national defense and conducts its own foreign affairs. As enshrined in the constitution, the country aims to “cultivate good-neighborliness with other nations, and respect treaties and the Charter of the UN ... promote international cooperation, advance international justice and ensure world peace.” The ultimate goal of foreign policy is to ensure a favorable environment for the nation’s long-term development.

CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS

CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS

The following are President Lai Ching-te’s Four Pillars of Peace:

Since the ROC government relocated to Taiwan in 1949, it has exercised jurisdiction over Taiwan Island, Penghu Islands, Kinmen Islands, Matsu Islands and a number of smaller islets, while China has been under the control of the authorities in Beijing. With the acceleration of Taiwan’s democratization in the late 1980s, many restrictions on civil exchanges with China were lifted. Between 1991 and the end of December 2024, approved investment in China comprised 45,833 cases totaling US$210.02 billion and the value of cross-strait trade in 2024 reached US$176.28 billion.