NGOs and Democratization in Taiwan: Their Interactive Roles in Building a Viable Civil Society

Since the early 1980s, Taiwan has experienced far-reaching changes in both the way it is governed and in the NGO sector. Regarding the former, it has gone from an authoritarian government which allowed little if any input from the grass roots, to a liberal democracy and a vibrant civil society. Regarding the latter, there has been great growth in the size, functions and realms of concern of the NGO sector. This chapter will argue that these twin changes are not independent but are interactive: the numerous social movements of the 1980s were a vital force in the gradual loosening up of the governance system which helped bring on the democratization of 1988 and the subsequent liberalization and consolidation of that democracy; and the democratization has legitimated the NGO sector and helped it to continue to grow. It will also analyze the NGO sector as it has developed since democratization in 1988 to the present.