Taiwan has undergone a peaceful transition to democracy over a period of more than a decade. Nowadays, Taiwan can be regarded as one of the freest and competitive democracies in Asia. However, Taiwan's democratic development is still being subject to harsh internal and external tests.

The Democracy in Taiwan Project is sponsored by the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), in interaction with the Hoover Institution. Initiated in the Fall of 2005, the program expands and institutionalizes activities that both the Institute for International Studies and the Hoover Institution had been sponsoring on democratic political and social change and the regional and international challenges confronting democracy in Taiwan (including the problem of cross-Strait relations).

The principal elements of the project are as follows:

• Annual Symposium on Taiwan Democracy: Each year the project organizes at least one public symposium addressing some of the challenges confronting Taiwan's democratic development, in comparative perspective.
• Seminar Series: The project hosts lectures and seminars by Taiwanese public officials, intellectuals, and scholars, and by U.S.-based scholars of Taiwan and of cross-strait relations. Previous speakers have addressed a wide range of topics including Taiwan's democracy and cross-strait relations, Taiwan's foreign policy and quest for international space, Taiwan's constitutional reforms, Taiwan's 2008 presidential and legislative elections, development of Taiwan's judicial politics, and the cross-strait economic relationship.
• Visiting Scholar and Summer Undergraduate Intern: The project also hosts occasional visiting scholars who are researching and writing about various aspects of the Taiwan's democratic development. Additionally, through the selection process of the Stanford in Government International Fellowship Program, the project also funds a Stanford undergraduate intern to work at Taiwan Foundation for Democracy during the summer. Please visit Stanford in Government Fellowship for more details about this internship opportunity.