Chiang Ching-kuo Research Articles

Farewell President! Political favoritism, economic inequality, and political polarization

This paper examines the effect of political favoritism on economic inequality in the short run and political polarization in the long run. We exploit the sudden death of an authoritarian leader – President Chiang Ching-Kuo of Taiwan – in 1988 to generate plausibly exogenous variation in partiality. We find that Chiang’s nationalist regime conducted political favoritism broadly toward political immigrants via cronyism (allocating public sector positions) and also differentially toward specific subgroups of political immigrants via wage discrimination (offering higher wages to these subgroups within the public sector). Favoritism led to a 7.2 percent immigrant wage premium, which accounted for nearly three quarters of the immigrant–native wage gap at the time. This in turn propelled overall income inequality by 4.5 percent. Moreover, political favoritism breeds political polarization in the long run by pulling apart the political views of immigrants and natives. Compared with natives, immigrants who were exposed to favoritism tend to adopt political positions that are aligned with the nationalist party today: they are more likely to support unification with China, and are more inclined to trust the mainland Chinese government and its citizens. Exposed immigrant (native) swing voters are also more (less) likely to vote for the nationalist party today.

Native Language-Centric Periodization of Television History in Taiwan: A Review of Chiang Kai-shek’s Regulations of Native Languages and Chiang Ching-kuo’s Taiwanization Policies

<p>本文藉統計三臺臺語節目比例及爬梳廣播安全會報等檔案，重建以本土語言為中心的電視史分期，強調應以產業發展視角重構電視史，並指出是蔣經國死後的還我母語運動，而非解嚴，才帶來《廣電法》語言禁令的解除。回訪電視史，有助反思黨國文化治理的三組課題：一是在黨國資本主義下傳播媒體如何運作的政治經濟學；二是強人領袖對於語言管制不尋常的沉默；三是蔣經國時期在宣稱與實作的虛實之間、政治與文化的領域之間、菁英與庶民的階級之間等三個層次呈現的雙面本土化。</p> <p> </p><p>This study used statistics and archived information to reconstruct the native language–centric periodization of television history in Taiwan. Three characteristics of the party-state cultural governance in post-war Taiwan were analyzed: the power of marketization and the political economy of communication under an authoritarian regime; the self-fulfilling prophecy of language regulation due to the unusual silence of the dictators; and Chiang Ching-kuo’s Taiwanization policies—co-operating with Taiwanese political elites while strictly controlling the mass usage of the native language in everyday, for example, in television programs.</p> <p> </p>

Deepening a Sense of Being Taiwanese

Abstract This paper examines how the Amis, the largest indigenous community in Taiwan, draw on their Catholic faith to understand what it means to be Taiwanese. For over a century, the Amis were treated as marginalised citizens by the Japanese colonial government and the Han-Chinese Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo. Their predicament changed when political priorities shifted from cultural assimilation to multiculturalism after 1987. Successive Taiwanese governments since then have actively sought to incorporate indigenous culture as a core part of Taiwanese identity. Focusing on how the Amis intertwined their adopted Catholic notions and practices with pre-Christian ideas, social structure, and rituals, this paper demonstrates the ways in which the Amis carve out a place for themselves in wider Taiwanese society. It adds to ongoing discussions about the relationship between conversion and cultural transformation in Oceania by arguing that Catholicism empowered the Amis to deepen their sense of belonging to the island republic and, for the first time, assert themselves fully as Taiwanese.

蔣経国の総統期における国防建設（1978～1988）――「台湾防衛」型の軍隊への改編と残存する「大陸反攻」の任務――

蔣経国の総統期における国防建設（1978～1988）――「台湾防衛」型の軍隊への改編と残存する「大陸反攻」の任務――

蔣経国の行政院長期における国防建設(1972–1978)―「攻守一体」戦略に基づく「大陸反攻」と「台湾防衛」の態勢

蔣経国の行政院長期における国防建設(1972–1978)―「攻守一体」戦略に基づく「大陸反攻」と「台湾防衛」の態勢

Good bye Chiang Kai-shek? The long-lasting effects of education under the authoritarian regime in Taiwan

Does experiencing an authoritarian regime at an early age have long-lasting effects on people’s political outcomes through an educational channel? This paper aims to explore this causality by employing an example from Taiwan. After the former leader Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law in 1987, Taiwan ended the authoritarian regime and began democratization. During that period, the Ministry of Education removed the major part of ideological content rapidly in primary and secondary schools. Exploiting this historical event, we utilize cut-off birth dates for school enrollment that lead to variation in the length of exposure to the authoritarian education system from 1979 to 1987 within the same birth cohort. Based on around 2,000 observations from the Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS), we find that one additional academic year of exposure to authoritarian education during youth decreases political participation, increases the likelihood to support and vote for the KMT party, and drops the probability of self-declared Taiwanese identity rather than Chinese in later life. Our results persist after ruling out alternative interpretations and are robust to different sensitivity tests.

Who are we?

Abstract This paper analyzes how political aspirations and convictions during Taiwan’s authoritarian period (from the 1940s to 1996) are expressed through first-person plural pronouns. Combining both corpus-assisted method and discourse historical analysis (DHA, Wodak et al. 1999), we compared the speeches delivered by the presidents – Chiang Kai-shek (CKS, 1955–1975), Chiang Ching-kuo (CCK, 1978–1988), and Lee Teng-hui (LTH, 1989–1996) – from the one-party domination era to the time of the direct presidential elections in 1996. Moreover, by locating lexical items in the co-texts and checking the collocates, we have tried to find referents of we against changing socio-political contexts. The meaning of we has changed from representing Chinese compatriots on the Chinese mainland and the revolutionary militia in CKS’s speeches to an over-inclusion and more hearer-dominant (HD) we in CCK’s speeches. A “wandering we” was found in LTH’s speeches with which a well-defined national collectivity was difficult to identify in the late 1980s.

Farewell President! Political Favoritism, Economic Inequality, and Political Polarization

This paper examines the effect of political favoritism on economic inequality in the short run and political polarization in the long run. We exploit the sudden death of an authoritarian leader - President Chiang Ching-Kuo of Taiwan - in 1988 to generate plausibly exogenous variation in partiality. We find that Chiang's nationalist regime conducted political favoritism broadly toward political immigrants via cronyism (allocating public sector positions) and also differentially toward specific subgroups of political immigrants via wage discrimination (offering higher payroll to these subgroups within the public sector). Favoritism led to a 7.2 percent immigrant payroll premium, which accounted for nearly three quarters of the immigrant-native payroll gap at the time. This in turn propelled overall income inequality by 4.5 percent. Moreover, political favoritism breeds political polarization in the long run by pulling apart the political views of immigrants and natives. Compared with natives, immigrants who were exposed to favoritism tend to adopt political positions that are aligned with the nationalist party today: they are more likely to support unification with China, and are more inclined to trust the mainland Chinese government and its citizens. Exposed immigrant (native) swing voters are also more (less) likely to vote for the nationalist party today.

The Japan-Taiwan Relationship: An Unstable Stability

The Japan-Taiwan Relationship:An Unstable Stability June Teufel Dreyer (bio) Japan's relations with Taiwan (Republic of China, or ROC) have been shaped by both countries' relationships with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the United States. Despite President Chiang Kai-shek's adversarial relationship with Japan during World War II, relations between Japan and his ROC (first on the mainland and then on the island of Taiwan) were cordial during the postwar period. Shared opposition to Communism provided a common bond. An estimated twenty thousand Japanese troops under Japanese command wore Chinese Nationalist (Kuomintang, or KMT) uniforms and fought against the Chinese Communist troops until 1948.1 Strategic reasons also reinforced ties: the city of Hualien on Taiwan is but 69 miles from Japan's Yonaguni Island. Were Taiwan to be absorbed into the PRC, the territorial waters of Japan and China would be uncomfortably close. This essay argues that strategic calculations, shared democratic values, and generally pleasant memories of colonial history will foster the continued development of Taiwan-Japan relations, although these will remain constrained by each side's fear of unduly angering China. The first section situates the relationship in a historical context, while the second section examines the development of relations under Shinzo Abe and Tsai Ing-wen. The essay concludes by considering the outlook for the Taiwan-Japan relationship. The Past Is Prologue As the PRC began its ambitious industrialization program, Japanese businesses saw lucrative opportunities and pressed for the normalization of diplomatic relations that would facilitate these. Tokyo's 1972 derecognition of the ROC in favor of the PRC dealt a sharp blow to the Taipei government, but economic and other ties continued informally. When Chiang Kai-shek's son and heir Chiang Ching-kuo died in office in 1988, he was succeeded [End Page 161] by his Taiwanese vice president. Born in Taiwan when the island was a Japanese colony, Lee Teng-hui infuriated Beijing by saying, correctly, that he had been a Japanese citizen for most of his life. In deference to Japan's acceptance of Beijing's one-China policy, Lee agreed not to visit Japan officially so long as he was in office, though he was able to use his language fluency to arrange informal meetings with Japanese officials. Under his administration, the ban on Japanese-language media programming was lifted, with the Taiwanese quickly becoming enthusiastic consumers of the latest Japanese television programs as well as Japanese fads and fashions. A new Taiwanese word, harizu (Japan mania), came into being. After a Chinese show of force in the Taiwan Strait ahead of Taiwan's 1996 election, Japanese officials, aware of the implications for their own security, committed to the United States to help defend the shuhen jitai (the waters around Japan), refusing Beijing's demand that Taiwan be explicitly excluded from the definition thereof. By 1999, retired members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces had become frequent visitors to Taiwan. As China became less Communist and more prosperous, formerly anti-PRC elements in Taiwan became attracted by the mainland's nationalistic message. Overwhelmingly composed of those who had come to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek and their descendants, this group tended to identify as Chinese and favored unification with China, albeit under a variety of improbable scenarios (such as the PRC accepting ROC rule or the complete democratization of the PRC). Native-born Taiwanese, by contrast, were more resistant to incorporation into a country they had never been part of. The former became known as the "blues" and the latter as the "greens," with Lee, the first popularly elected president, as the standard bearer of the greens. In 2000, the term-limited Lee was succeeded by another Taiwanese, Chen Shui-bian, who continued his de-Sinification policy and moved still closer to Japan. These developments not only angered China, which from time to time accused Japan of wanting to bring Taiwan back under its control, but also upset the George H.W. Bush administration, which feared that Chen might provoke a war that could involve the United States. Chen's successor, Ma Ying-jeou, born to a family from the mainland, reversed this process, declaring unification...

Myth and Reality in Taiwan’s Democratisation

ABSTRACT Taiwan began democratisation in 1988 after the death of President Chiang Ching-kuo. However, even three decades later, a substantial number of Western scholars still argue that Chiang established democracy in Taiwan. This article demonstrates that Chiang Ching-kuo did not establish democracy. The article also examines related issues such as whether there are differences between “liberalisation” and democratisation and whether or not the regime of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo was colonial. Thirty years after democratisation in Taiwan, too many scholars still follow the false history that the former dictatorship mandated, but now, under democracy, scholars should have a much better understanding of Taiwan’s history and politics.

We believe in life before death: the Christian aid movement in Taiwan, 1970-78

Christian Aid, a faith-based anti-poverty charity based in the UK, origins lie in the reconstruction of Europe following the Second World War. In 1948, the organisation regrouped under the title: Inter-Church Aid and Refugee Service and its focus shifted towards worldwide poverty. The 1970s saw the organisation directly funding over 100 development projects in 40 different countries and by the 1990s Christian Aid was campaigning on global political issues that included (but not limited to) South African apartheid, Stop Climate Chaos, fair trade and trade justice movements. Without representatives overseas, Christian Aid works entirely through local structures, mainly churches and/or voluntary organisations; relying heavily on regional screening of projects by local experts. The collection used in this paper comprises of correspondences, minutes and reports. It draws on primary sources material (in both English and Chinese) that include: the Taroko Mountain Village Development Programme in 1973; the typhoon relief in 1973-74; Leadership and Community Development for East Coast Aborigines in 1972; the Training Centre for Handicapped People (est. 1972-73); Health Education Programme for East Coast Aborigines (1970-72); Social Service Centre (1970-71); Lotung Student Centre (1974-75); Vehicle repairing courses for tribal people, 1972-76; Aboriginal Agricultural Development Project–1975-76; among others. The paper is framed in the context of civil movements (in particular relief programmes), with the Taiwan indigenous peoples as a representative case study. Its main contribution is as a historical source; a comparative for present-day civil movements that have their routes in grassroots issues. In the case of Taiwan, much of the literature on the 1970s has tended (and perhaps rightfully so) concentrated on the change in representation at the United Nations Security Council in 1971; the US establishment of diplomatic ties with the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) in 1972; the passing of the Taiwan Relations Act in ‘1979; the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident; and the death of Chiang Kaishek and power transfer to Chiang Ching-kuo in ‘75 and ‘78 respectively. Little is known on social movements and development projects among the indigenous peoples during this ‘decade of change’. By addressing this overlooked aspect of the history of Taiwan civil movements, this paper will greatly contribute to existing knowledge on social movements, rights discourses and citizenship.

Localizing the Reynolds case: a comparison of two American military atrocities in the Far East in Cold War 1957

ABSTRACT This paper’s main focus is the case of the killing of Chinese citizen Liu Ziran by the American soldier Robert G. Reynolds in Taipei on March 20, 1957. Following this unfortunate event, a United States court-martial was inappropriately held in Taiwan. Reynolds’ acquittal provoked a violent response from the Chinese people. The riot on May 24, 1957, is best interpreted within a framework of nationalism rather than Cold War discourse. That same year, in the Girard case, another American soldier killed a Japanese woman in Japan. Due to the unequal positions of Taiwan and Japan in US Cold War strategy, these two killings were handled differently and led to dissimilar reactions. Washington viewed Taipei as somewhat of a troublemaker rather than a reliable ally and expressed great suspicion of Chiang Kai-shek and his eldest son, Chiang Ching-kuo. The US government had already declined to support Chiang Kai-shek’s plan for parachute raids in China. Meanwhile, Chiang’s authoritarian regime created a hotbed for the outbreak of nationalism. The people of Taiwan experienced a “pawn complex” and, in the Reynolds case, gave vent to accumulated ideological and social pressures.

Lineages of Dissent: Popular and Artistic Resistance to Imperialism and Extraction on 'The Beautiful Island'

Lineages of Dissent: Popular and Artistic Resistance to Imperialism and Extraction on 'The Beautiful Island'

Culture heritage and identity – some cases in Taiwan on the protection of cultural heritage

Abstract. The protection of cultural heritage relates to an issue of identity. How a nation or a state tries to face to its history is often revealed on the protection of cultural heritage. Taiwan is as a country with complex history, especially the period after World War II. This article will work on some significant cases, regarded as ideological representation of identity. This article works on the cultural identity by observing and analyzing different cases of classified Historic Monuments. In different political periods, we see how the government tries to fabricate on the identity issue by working on Historic Monuments preservation. During the presidency of Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo, the classification of Historic Monuments tried to focus on those make by former Chinese migrants. They tried hard to establish and reaffirm the ever existing “fact” of people in Taiwan. Whereas after the late 1980s and 1990s, after Chiang’s reign, local conscience has been awaken. Political ambience turned to a new era. This freedom of speech of post-Chiang’s reign encourages people to seek on their identity. The complex political situation of Taiwan makes this seeking cultural identity related to the seeking of independence of Taiwan. The respect to the aboriginal people also reoriented to include the preservation of their tribes and villages.

TAIWAN POLITICAL PATTERN AND GEOPOLITICAL WEAKNESS: IMPLICATIONS FOR TAIWAN TO SEE THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE CROSS-STRAIT-RELATIONS AND SINO-RUSSIAN RELATIONS UNDER THE THEME OF SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION (SCO)

Taiwan media reflects the diversity and chaos of Ideology after the political reform from the end of 1980’s when the leader of Taiwan Chiang Ching-kuo announced the lifting of martial law on July 15, 1987. The democracy promoted the exchanging situation between Taiwan and Mainland China. The importance of Taiwan’s geopolitical position is disappearing by time. To integrate into the broadened AsianPacific region in the era of China’s uprising and Taiwan’s closed economic cooperation with Mainland China under its military threat is a new trend for Taiwan’s foreign policy. With the returning back of Putin to the presidency of Russia and his Asian cooperation strategy, Taiwan could understand the role of Russia appropriately to think about how to participate in this regional cooperation and consolidate the national security in the cross-strait region. The attitude of Russia toward the SCO should be paid attention to from the side of Taiwan authority. The author found that in the bigger geopolitical pattern in Asian-Pacific region that Russia plays more and more stable and positive role in the regional security under the competition with USA. The competition between USA and Russia is the new world geopolitical pattern for both Taiwan and Mainland China. This paper is divided into two parts from the aspect of Taiwan political and geopolitical changes to examine the problems of the cross-strait relations and SinoRussian relations under the theme of SCO in East Asia. The author assumes that Russia’s Asian Strategy will strengthen Russia’s influence on the cross-strait relations deeply and Russia will play the more and more important role in regional security and economic cooperation in East Asia.

From authoritarian policing to democratic policing: a case study of Taiwan

The literature of democratic policing has neglected the case study of unique geopolitical situation. This study examines Taiwan, one of the few countries that has experienced a relatively peaceful transition from authoritarian policing to democratic policing. While the push from the dangwai movement was necessary, democratisation could not be so peaceful without benign concession from ex-president Chiang Ching-Kuo and his hand-picked successor Li Denghui. The article then contrasts the essential characteristics of democratic policing with these of authoritarian policing before the lifting of martial law in 1987. We contend that to endure democracy, the police must accept and embody democratic values in their practices. The difficulties to democratic reforms come from both despotic past and jaundiced interpretation of Confucianism. The essay represents a systematic attempt to explore the spread of democratic policing to a post-Confucian society.

Conceptions of Chinese Democracy: Reading Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, and Chiang Ching-kuo, by David J. Lorenzo. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. x + 257 pp. US$60.00 (hardcover), US$29.95 (paperback and eBook).

Previous articleNext article No AccessReviewsConceptions of Chinese Democracy: Reading Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, and Chiang Ching-kuo, by David J. Lorenzo. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. x + 257 pp. US$60.00 (hardcover), US$29.95 (paperback and eBook).Edmund S. K. FungEdmund S. K. FungThe University of Western Sydney Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The China Journal Volume 72July 2014 Published on behalf of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/677117 Views: 73Total views on this site Copyright 2014 by The Australian National University. All rights reserved. For permission to reuse, please contact [email protected]PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Taiwan: nation-state or province?

CHAPTER 1. The Land and the People Physical Setting Climate, Soil, and Natural Resources Population Ethnic Groups Culture Transportation and Communications The Media Tourism Notes CHAPTER 2. History Prehistory and Early History Western and Chinese Rule Part of the Japanese Empire World War II Part of China Again Taiwan as the Republic of China Taiwan Ruled by Chiang Ching-kuo Taiwan under Lee Teng-hui Chen Shui-bian's Taiwan Notes CHAPTER 3. Society Social Structure and Order Ethnic Issues Languages and Religions Early Forces of Social Change Development and Social Change Education Social Welfare Other Social Problems Notes CHAPTER 4. Political System Political Culture and Tradition The Constitution The National Assembly and the Presidency The Five-Branch Government Local Government Political Parties Elections Ideology, Modernization, and the Future Notes CHAPTER 5. The Economy The Economy to 1950 The Economy: 1950--2000 Growth Strategies Key Industries and the Taiwan Economic Miracle The Labor Force Trade, Investment, and Energy A Model of Development The economy under Chen Shui-bian Notes CHAPTER 6. Foreign and Military Policies Background Diplomatic Decline and Partial Recovery Domestic Affairs and Foreign Policy Taiwan's National Security Policy Taiwan and the United States Taiwan and the People's Republic of China Taiwan and the Rest of the World Ties with International Organizations Notes CHAPTER 7. The Future Beginning Assumptions External or Global Variables Internal or Domestic Variables Alternative Futures Summing Up

Guest Editors’ Words

Three of the four essays that appear here under the title “Confucian and Liberal Perspectives on Family, State, and Civil Society” were selected from a group of thirteen papers originally presented at a conference with the same name, which was held at City University of Hong Kong in December of 2010. The fourth, the contribution by KIM Sungmoon, was written especially for this collection. After receiving the criticisms, ideas, and impressions of colleagues at the conference, the editors selected the four papers and provided the authors with detailed comments and suggestions. After completing a round of revision and editing, we approached Professor Fred Dallmayr and asked him to write a set of critical comments on the essays in our collection. We were honored and delighted that he agreed. The revised essays and commentary were then presented to Professor HUANG Yong, editor of Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy, who sent them out for blind review. After another round of revision and editing, the articles were accepted and attained their present form. We would like to thank all of our contributors, the participants of the original conference, the blind referees, and especially Professor HUANG Yong for helping to develop, refine, and bring to completion this set of essays. We acknowledge and express our profound gratitude to the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange for its generous support of the conference at which these essays were first presented. We also thank the Department of Public and Social Administration at City University of Hong Kong for its subsequent support of the production of this volume. Dao (2012) 11:273 DOI 10.1007/s11712-012-9277-y

Democracy’s Dharma: Religious Renaissance and Political Development in Taiwan (review)

Reviewed by: Democracy’s Dharma: Religious Renaissance and Political Development in Taiwan Philip Clart (bio) Richard Madsen. Democracy’s Dharma: Religious Renaissance and Political Development in Taiwan. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. xxvi, 191 pp. Hardcover $60.00, ISBN 978-0-520-25227-1. Paperback $26.95, ISBN 978-0-520-25228-8. After more than forty years of single-party rule under the Kuomintang (KMT), headed first by Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975), then by his son Chiang Ching-kuo (1910–1988), the lifting of the state of martial law in 1987 set off a dynamic democratic development that led in 2000 to the first election of an opposition candidate to the presidency of the Republic of China on Taiwan. The rapid transformation of the Taiwanese political system has attracted the attention of many social scientists interested in the democratization of a non-Communist authoritarian regime roughly contemporary with the breakdown of the Communist party-states in Eastern Europe, especially because of its potential as a model for political change in mainland China. The role of religious institutions was one of the key research areas in the study of European democratization. While the churches (especially Protestant and Catholic) played important civil society roles and were crucial agents of political change in some Soviet bloc countries (such as East Germany and Poland), their positive influence in other countries was less noticeable (e.g., in the USSR or under the clerico-fascist Franco regime in Spain). What, then, was the role of religious institutions in the development of liberal democracy in Taiwan? This is Richard Madsen’s central question, for which he provides a number of thought-provoking answers. As a coauthor (with Robert N. Bellah and others) of Habits of the Heart,1 Madsen belongs to a school of sociology long concerned with the role of religion in the public life of liberal democracies. While not rejecting the Enlightenment critique of the divisive public role of religions and the resultant view of modernization as ineluctably linked to secularization (in the sense of the privatization of religion and its exclusion from the public sphere), these scholars seek to balance the picture with an emphasis on the continuing need, even of secular democracies, to establish a moral consensus and an ultimate source of legitimation. Among other contributions, this school of thought gave us the controversial civil religion concept. It is significant that both Bellah and Madsen have a research background in East Asian societies, Japan in the case of Bellah, China in that of Madsen — significant because the East Asian history of religions provides test cases and possibly alternatives for largely Western-focused secularization theories. Herein lies one of the attractions that post–martial law Taiwan has for Richard Madsen and other social scientists. Given the minor role of religious groups in the pre-1987 opposition movement (largely limited to a liberal faction in the Presbyterian Church), Madsen focuses his attention on the contributions of four major religious institutions in the democratization process after 1987. The four groups are the Buddhist Tzu Chi [End Page 214] Foundation, Buddha’s Light Mountain, Dharma Drum Mountain, and the Daoist Enacting Heaven Temple (more on the problematic nature of this Daoist label below). Madsen summarizes his two main themes as follows: “By studying several prominent religious groups in Taiwan, I want to show more generally how religion affects movements towards democracy. I also want to demonstrate how progressive forms of religion grow” (p. xxiii). For the first theme, Madsen seeks to combat the general skepticism among mainstream scholars about the capacity of religion to play a positive public role in the building of modern, liberal democratic institutions. This case [i.e., that of Taiwan, reviewer’s note], however, is another piece of evidence for what my co-authors and I argued in Habits of the Heart and The Good Society: A purely secular liberalism — a liberalism founded simply on the rational self-interest of individual citizens — is not a basis for a viable, robust polity. It is evidence for the notion that all coherent states rest on holy ground. (p. xxiii) Madsen’s second theme is encapsulated in what he calls “a search for...