Environmental Politics In Taiwan

Three decades of rapid industrialization until the lifting of martial law in 1987, with little or no concern for the environment, have made Taiwan’s environmental degradation a serious problem. In the past twenty years, Taiwan has seen a surge of environmental organizations, which to a certain degree have enjoyed a remarkable success in fighting polluting industries or affecting policies on behalf of the environment. This book aims to analyse environmental governance mechanisms and actors in Taiwan through a multi-disciplinary research approach. Based on extensive and original research, it includes four different case studies, which have all taken place since 2011. It focuses on four major elements of governance - specifically norms, actors, processes, and outcomes - to examine Taiwan’s national and local environmental governance in the post-2008 period. The book shows how the painful lessons Taiwan has learned throughout its transition should be of interest to other developing countries, illustrating how these positive transformations have managed to bring about a more ecologically friendly mode of economic development. Demonstrating that the battle to further ecological sustainability is also a battle to further democratisation, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Taiwan Studies, Developmental Studies and Environmental Studies.

Introduction : Taiwan at a crossroads / Cal Clark, Alexander C. Tan, and Karl Ho -- Public policy preferences revealed in referendum voting : the case of Taiwan / Chi Huang, Tzu-ching Kuo, and Yu-heng Jung -- Leftist proclivity in Taiwan's political development / Wei-chin Lee -- In the eye of the storm : Taiwan, China, and the U.S. in challenging times / Steve Chan -- Taiwan's military posture toward China's confrontational stance / Elizabeth Freund Larus and Agata Wictoria Zietek -- Inconsistent struggle shadowed by the dragon : Taiwan's defence under the Tsai Ing-wen administration / Shang-su Wu -- U.S.-China relations from Trump to Biden : a systems theory assessment / John F. Copper -- Partisan polarization and fragmentation in the Taiwanese electorate : evidence from the 2020 elections / Cal Clark, Alexander C. Tan, and Karl Ho -- An etiology of party system development and voter alignments in democratic Taiwan : stability before the storm / Alexander C. Tan -- Taiwanese party manifestos and their purposes : some initial findings and thoughts / Alexander C. Tan and Boyu Chen -- Revisiting Taiwan's semi-presidentialism at a critical juncture / Yu-shan Wu -- Institutional resilience and change : the case of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan / John Fuh-sheng Hsieh -- Mr. President Democracy : a political life in modern constitutionalism / David K.C. Huang and Nigel N.T. Li -- Opposition to gender equity in Taiwan : a linguistic perspective of social conservative language on Facebook / Ping-Hsuan Wang.

This book examines the causes of Taiwan's environmental predicament, engaging in Taiwan's unique geological, geographical, demographical, political, industrial, historical and economic circumstances with a view to what can be done to improve Taiwan's environmental future.

Lukang is a sleepy provincial town on the east coast of Taiwan. The Lukang "rebellion" was a series of well-organised mass demonstrations in 1986 and 1987 to block construction by the DuPont Corporation of a titanium dioxide plant nearby. If this protest had occurred just a few years earlier, no doubt it would have been crushed by a powerful government determined to promote development at any cost. If it had been a few years later, it probably would have passed unnoticed. But it came at a time just when environmental consciousness in Taiwan had reached a critical mass and as the government was introducing political reforms allowing unprecendented scope to new forms of civil action. In this atmosphere, a handful of determined, capable activists, bent on keeping a giant multinational corporation out of their "old home", focused the attention of the entire island on Lukang, raised the national consciousness about threats to the natural environment, and challenged the rules that government officials and industrial leaders in Taiwan had come to take for granted. The Lukang rebellion was one of those small events with large consequences that make for interesting and significant history.

Written in a readable and concise manner, Governance of Biodiversity Conservation in China and Taiwan makes an interesting contribution to the study of Chinese environmental politics. Kathleen Burton, The China Quarterly McBeath and Leng s work on contemporary Chinese environmental governance and conservation provides an excellent overview of the key issues in the People s Republic as well as a timely comparison with environmental issues in Taiwan. . . McBeath and Leng s book is written in an concise and readable manner appropriate for undergraduate courses, while the breadth and depth of information makes it equally useful for graduate research. This book on China s environment makes a worthy contribution to contemporary conservation studies and policy issues, and should be essential reading for specialists and students working on biodiversity governance issues in China. Jack Patrick Hayes, Pacific Affairs This fascinating volume highlights the ongoing conflict between economic development and environmental protection in both mainland China and Taiwan. The authors value biological diversity and examine its loss and conservation from historical and comparative perspectives. Despite significant differences in institutional frameworks and environmental NGOs on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the authors also note a similar approach to biodiversity conservation and the entailed success or failure. This volume is a must read for people who are concerned with the endangered global ecosystem. Students in public policy comparison may find this volume instructive in combining institutional analysis with behavioral observation. Lin Gang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, People s Republic of China China and Taiwan have roughly one-eighth of the world s known species. Their approaches to biodiversity issues thus have global as well as national repercussions. Gerald McBeath and Tse-Kang Leng explore the ongoing conflicts between economic development, typically pursued by businesses and governments, and communities seeking to preserve and protect local human and ecosystem values. China and Taiwan have sharply different political and economic systems. In Taiwan, a public relatively more supportive of sustainable development, a free press, a more transparent decision-making process, and an autonomous civil society have influenced governance. Yet democratization has not guaranteed better environmental outcomes. In China, on the other hand, fragmentation of power and softer forms of authoritarianism than in the Maoist era have created openings for NGOs, scientists, journalists, and officials seeking a sustainable future to participate in the environmental policy making process. The authors provide an explicit and comparative treatment of the national policies preserving rare, threatened, and endangered species and ecosystems. Considerable attention is paid to the actors involved in policy formation and implementation as well as to recent cases concerning biodiversity conservation in China and Taiwan. This comprehensive volume will appeal to students and researchers in the areas of political science, environmental science and politics, environmental activists in national and international NGOs, and members of multinational corporations working in developing countries.

Examining the Green Party Taiwan (GPT) since its establishment through the aftermath of the most recent national elections in January 2020, this book focuses on Taiwan’s most important movement party over the last two and a half decades. Despite its limited electoral impact, its leaders have played a critical role in a range of social movements, including anti-nuclear and LGBT rights campaigns. Plotting the party’s evolution in electoral politics as well as its engagement with the global green movement, this volume analyses key patterns of party change in electoral campaign appeals, organisation and its human face. The second half of the volume concentrates on explaining both the party’s electoral impact and why the party has adjusted ideologically and organisationally over time. Based on a wide range of material collected, including focus groups, interviews and political communication data, the research relies heavily on analysis of campaign material and the voices of party activists and also considers other Green Parties, such as the splinter Trees Party and GPT-Social Democratic Alliance. Applying a wide range of theoretical frameworks to plot and explain small party development, this book will appeal both to students and scholars of Taiwan’s politics and civil society but also to readers with an interest in small parties and particularly environmental parties and movements.

Through a focus on three environmental policy areas exhibiting different levels of success, this Element shows how governments in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have been able to craft pro-environmental policy by working in collaboration with business and societal interests.