The List: Five Elections to Watch in 2008

Foreign Policy ^ | January 2008 | Staff

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Election mania is gripping the United States, where Americans are turning out in droves for one of the most exciting primary seasons in memory. But elsewhere in the world, voters are looking at their own electoral contests with a dollop of trepidation and, in some cases, a healthy dose of dread.

Taiwan Parliamentary elections on Jan. 12 and presidential elections on Mar. 22

The contenders: The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its presidential candidate, former Prime Minister Frank Hsieh, square off against former Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou and his opposition Kuomintang Party (KMT), which supports improved relations with mainland China.

Why it matters: The stability of the Taiwan Strait hangs in the balance. Since losing power for the first time in 2000, the KMT has watched nervously as President Chen Shui-Bian repeatedly provoked the mainland’s wrath in his quest for independence. Most analysts expect the KMT to increase its majority in parliament—bad news for Taiwanese nationalists. But Chen cleverly set up a referendum, to be held during the presidential contest, asking voters to allow the government to apply for U.N. membership as “Taiwan” rather than “the Republic of China.” That could boost turnout in the DPP’s favor, tilting the elections to Hsieh—and prompting a few thunderbolts from Beijing.

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Worldwide elections.

[RachelFaith]

We owe it to REAL China to support them until Communist China goes the way of the Soviet Union.