Democracy in Taiwan: Media, Elections, and America

2024/09/19

The politics of immigrant societies and the politics of immigrants' countries of origin are originally separate fields of expertise. However, cases like the United States and Taiwan, which mutually recognize dual citizenship, do not necessarily fit within that "framework."

A quarter-century ago, I served as a liaison for the Taiwan lobby in a U.S. House of Representatives office and was responsible for strategies to attract Asian American votes, including those of Chinese descent, at a Senate campaign headquarters in New York. Many Taiwanese Americans with dual citizenship vote in the presidential election in Taipei and then vote in the U.S. presidential election in the fall of the same year. Behind Taiwanese diplomats, who are not embassy staff, are Taiwanese American voters with U.S. citizenship, who cannot be ignored in local outreach. It was necessary to bring the divide between the Kuomintang and the Democratic Progressive Party into the divide between the Republican and Democratic parties in its purest form, and to be well-versed in Taiwanese politics for Asian American vote-gathering.

This practical experience in U.S. politics culminated in doctoral dissertation research using voter outreach within Asian American communities as a case study. In that sense, U.S. immigrant politics and overseas politics are two sides of the same coin specifically for the Taiwanese, and this book is an "internal expansion" of U.S. studies, but also a "return to origins."

In U.S. political communication theory, there is research on the "Americanization of elections and media" around the world. However, previous studies have focused on cases in the English-speaking world and Latin America, and comparisons with Asia have been limited due to cultural and linguistic barriers. This book clarifies the unique process by which "American-style" elections and media are not just one-sided transplants from the U.S., but permeate through the democratization process with immigrant networks in the U.S. acting as a catalyst. On the other hand, one cannot overlook the local political cultures that reject the import of "American-style" methods. Door-to-door visits by supporters are popular in the U.S., but they did not suit Taiwanese interpersonal relationships, leading to the creation of unique "motorcade campaigning." Even in similar multi-ethnic societies, the value and constraints of ethno-linguistic multilingual media differ. Public speaking in Taiwanese is a revival of a "forbidden language" and carries a historical political nature distinct from public speaking in Spanish in the United States.

I became absorbed in the research because the "Asian uniqueness" that resists the "Americanization" of election campaigns and media was so fascinating. This book is a new form of U.S. studies and Taiwan studies that bridges comparative politics and regional studies based on ten years of field research in Taiwan.

It is a great honor to be able to present this book to the world from SFC, the cutting edge of interdisciplinary research, at Keio University, which leads political science and regional studies in Japan.

Democracy in Taiwan: Media, Elections, and America

Masahito Watanabe

Chuko Shinsho

336 pages, 1,188 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and job titles are as of the time of publication.