SOAS Research Online

Abstract

When Taiwan began its democratic transition in the late 1980s, political communication was still largely monopolised by the authoritarian party state. Since then there has been a remarkable transformation in political campaigning. Televised electoral debates have become a central feature in Taiwanese election campaigns. They are routinely held at the national level for presidential and parliamentary elections, as well as for local executive contests. Over time, televised debates have also been adopted for referendums and inner-party leadership elections. This chapter first discusses the evolution of televised debates in the initial period of multiparty politics. This is followed by an outline of the operation and effect of such debates once they had become a more widely accepted element of Taiwan’s democracy in the post 2000 era.