Policy Powerhouses

Policy Powerhouses This article was written by Jim Hwang and published by the Taiwan Review on September 1, 2005. It is the second of two interesting articles that explore the nature of Taiwan's think tanks.

This article focuses on party-affiliated think tanks. In the past, whether supported by the government or the private sector, think tanks mainly focused on academic research, and their links to their patrons drew very little attention from the public.

But things have changed since Taiwan began to have legal opposition parties. One good example is the National Policy Foundation, which was formed in July 2000 after the Kuomintang (KMT) lost that year's presidential election to Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The KMT reorganized the Lien Chen-tung Cultural and Educational Foundation to form the National Policy Foundation, and later donated NT$1 billion (US$31.7 million) to it. Moreover, KMT's chairman Lien Chan, son of Lien Chen-tung, became the head of the foundation.

The KMT established the National Policy Foundation to house its former government officials. As a result, the foundation benefits from the governing experiences of these individuals and serves as a training ground for them to return to government. The foundation probably also has the most qualified staff in terms of government or legislative experience.

The DPP, on the other hand, established the Taiwan Thinktank in December 2001. While the organization does not receive any donations directly from the DPP, it is believed that it has close ties to the party. President Chen Shui-bian has also expressed his hope in public that the think tank could help generate a new generation of leaders.

The article compares the National Policy Foundation with the Taiwan Thinktank in their views on various political and economic issues. It concludes that "as Taiwanese politics becomes more policy-based, reviewing and drawing up bills often require expertise that is beyond the ability of legislators and their assistants. The work of think tanks, then, is becoming an increasingly important support mechanism for lawmakers". The close relationships between Taiwan's think tanks and political parties is a perfect reflection of the nation's current political needs.