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on the other hand, contends that national unity should be preconditioned for
democracy, which means the priority of national unity should be over democracy.
For the case of Taiwan, Alan Wachman argues that the issue of Taiwan’s ethnopolitics
and national identity actually appeared after the island’s regime transformation from
authoritarianism to democracy (1994: 4-5, 261). Taiwan may have successfully
gone through the process of democratization, but the ethnicity-related issues have not
yet been well resolved.
The issue of justice thus figures prominently. From an optimistic perspective
or the view of modernization theory, Taiwan would have the possibility to become a
liberal democracy, because the sustained democratization in Taiwan would help
manage the issue of justice on the island. This means the problems of social
injustice and power imbalance would eventually be solved under the popularly
acknowledged rules and norms. Conversely, the issue of justice would be further
elevated should Taiwan’s democracy be not consolidated. This implies that Taiwan’s
democratic mechanisms and institutions are not yet fully established and thus ethnic
conflicts would continue to happen on the island.
In sum, justice is crucial to Taiwan’s prospect of democratic consolidation, yet
the elevation of justice also hinges upon democratic consolidation. This symbiotic
relationship can find some empirical support, as seen in opinion polls, to which our
Convention