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Stockton Observes Taiwanese Election First-Hand
1/28/2008
 Dr. Hans Stockton, associate professor in the Center for International Studies and director of Study Abroad, visited Taiwan in January to observe the nation’s legislative elections. As a member of an election observation team of American scholars invited by the Taiwan government to observe campaigning, voting on election day and the post-election environment, he has been to Taiwan for every democratic legislative and presidential election since 1992.
"One of the fascinating things about Taiwan's young democracy is that people there still hold a vibrant enthusiasm about the importance of democracy,” Stockton said. “They feel that it is still their democracy. This is in contrast to the jaded and pessimistic attitude many people take in older democratic systems.”
Stockton said that although he worries that legislative gridlock, partisan mistrust and corruption may be eating away at Taiwan's civil and civic foundations, the elections still remain free, fair and meaningful.
In 2006, Stockton conducted field research on Taiwan after being awarded a grant by the Ministry of Education through the Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston.
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