Taiwan has once again deeply impressed the international community as a shining example of democracy with the success of its "three-in-one" local government elections Saturday, according to a Washington-based China expert.
Alan Romberg, director of the East Asia Program of the Henry L. Stimson Center, said during an exclusive interview that US political observers are impressed with the success of the polls, viewing it as a deepening of democracy in Taiwan.
"While, as also happens in American elections, there were features of some campaigns that were negative, the basic democratic process worked once again," he said.
Romberg further said that Americans will remain attentive to whether there is good governance in Taiwan.
"This is, obviously, first and foremost a matter for people in Taiwan to deal with. But given the deep level of involvement between our societies and our economies, it does matter to Americans whether Taiwan is successful at all levels," he added.
As to the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) major setback in the elections, he noted that many DPP officials have already said publicly that the party needs to reflect on why it was so broadly rejected by the voters.
At the same time, Romberg suggested that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) needs to reflect on why it won and avoid the pitfall of assuming its impressive victory means that voters will automatically support it in upcoming elections.
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