Democracy in Peril

Despite the warm reception in world capitals and favorable press coverage the cross-strait policies of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou have received since he came into office on May 20, 2008, there is something rotten in Taipei. In just one year, the cost of closer relations with Beijing has become increasingly obvious in Taiwan, the small, officially unrecognized democracy of 23 million people, where police brutality, government meddling in the media and political persecution are reawakening the specter of its authoritarian past.

In a timely collection of essays and reportage written during the last 18 months of the Chen Shui-bian administration and Ma's first year in office, Democracy in Peril offers a history of the present in Taiwan as this vibrant democracy and economic powerhouse strives for international recognition under the constant fear of Chinese invasion. It shows how the greatest threat to the nation's survival now possibly comes from within, under a government that has proven divisive and whose efforts to improve relations with China could come at an unbearable price - not only to Taiwanese, but to the entire world.