“分立政府”對於兩岸政策影響之初探：以1996-2004年行政與立法互動關係為例

Abstract

Divided government exists where different political parties control the executive and legislative branches in a political system. This has become a common feature of Taiwan's national and local political landscape. In the literature, scholars tend to disagree with each other concerning whether divided government leads to dysfunctional politics. This study attempts to shed some light on the issue by exploring the effects of divided government at the central-level on the Cross-Strait policies between Taiwan and Mainland China. We take advantage of the new s reports of Cross-Strait policies in United Daily News and China Times from May 1996 to May 2004 and examine the executive-legislative relations which are classified into three categories-”consensus,” ”consultation” and ”disagreement.” Our findings indicate that the frequencies of consensus are indeed higher under unified government and it implies the executive-legislative relations are much more harmonious, while the disagreements and confrontations are common under divided government. We conclude that divided government is a field worthy of continued research on the part of comparative political scientists.