Confucianism with a Liberal Face: The Meaning of Democratic Politics in Postcolonial Taiwan

Abstract

Neither cultural conversion to Western liberalism nor resort to local traditions such as Confucianism adequately deals with the hybrid nature of democratization in a postcolonial context. With its assortment of Chinese, Japanese, American, and Taiwanese hegemonic legacies, Taiwan offers a case in point. Its version of democratic politics operates across three contending normative domains: liberal political institutions, Confucian rationales for power, and Taiwanese nativist/nationalist sensibilities. Some may despair at this “distortion” of the (Western) liberal democratic ideal. We suggest, alternatively, that the contentious and unstable nature of liberal politics in Taiwan may render its polity more open-ended and organic, with simultaneous potential for both authoritarianism and democratization.

The Paradox of Middle-Class Attitudes in China: Democracy, Social Stability, and Reform

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“…However, as Singapore -a decidedly less democratic but equally successful state -was not included and the work originated from Taiwan, caution should be exercised in accepting their interpretations. Others have argued that much of the democratisation occurring in East Asia is 'Confucianism with a liberal face' (Ling & Shih, 1998). As Fukuyama predicted nearly two decades ago, changes in political institutions will not necessarily affect the integrated Confucian social order (Fukuyama, 1995).…”

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“…As an image is built, the seeming pursuit of an identity meets, in actuality, the need for an image to have an identity. Accordingly, an enhanced awareness of liberal value does not mean enhanced liberalism, but rather an enhanced need for an image of being liberal (Lin 1974;Goldman et al 1993;Ling and Shih 1998;Calichman 2004). The 4 May movement of 1919 was one typical example of performing an individualist salvation for the sake of collectivistic salvation.…”