Taiwan Politics - Background

(Photo of Chiang Kai Shek "The Generalissimo"
For many of you who are unaware of the situation in Taiwan, I will first give some background to the Political scene in Taiwan. There are basically two political parties, the KMT (Blue) and the DPP (Green). The KMT represent the Chiang Kai Shek crowd that fought for the Sun Yat Sen
idea of a Nationalist China after the fall of the Empire (1911) . They still commemorate this date and actually base their whole calendar on it, so it is not 2006 in Taiwan it is 95. Which is kinda cool because in 1995 we never said 1995 we said 95 so it is like going back to the future. 95 was a good year for me (ahh the good old days). Anyways, of course the KMT was OK when they were fighting the Commies in WWII but Chiang was an opportunist and a bit too soft on his enemies, he incorporated known gangsters into his outfit and tolerated corruption. The man himself was not corrupt, but he did not crack down on it hard enough. So when he lost and came to Taiwan in 1949 he really cracked down to establish himself. In 1949 people of Chinese heritage already lived here along with Native Islander peoples. Chiang and the Nationalists he brought with him from the mainland imposed martial law in the fear that Mao would attack (a reasonable fear at the time). When Chiang died in 1975 this was less likely. His son allowed some freedoms. By 1990 free elections were allowed for the first time and the DPP emerged as the main oppositon party to the KMT. The DPP stood for the local people of Taiwan (those who did not come over in 1949). They want Taiwan to be called Taiwan not the Republic of China, have a UN seat, and basically be independent. This is already true in fact but not in name. However addressing the truth is not communists strong suit, and China won't allow this. So some say if you live next to an angry dragon it's best not to make him angry. Others say Taiwan is independent and should be recognized as such. The average person in Taiwan probably would go for the former, but the DPP pushes the latter (which also makes the US angry who want to maintain the status quo). Anyways in 2000 the DPP won the election and again in 2004. However they don't have a majority in "the legislature" (nobody is sure if it is a congress or a parliament or what). So they can't push their agenda and the KMT votes against them at every turn. Gridlock. Sound familiar?