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I'm no expert, but it's my impression that the faction that ended up controlling Taiwan is not the "culture of old China". It's the westernized elite that was trying to reform China as a democracy.

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The only person in the world who is respected by both the government of PRC and ROC (Republic of China/Taiwan) is Sun Yat Sen. He's the man who wanted to reform China and remove the corruption associated with the previous Dynasties. Each respective government interpreted this in their own way but, it has to be remembered, that Taiwan was also a dictatorship under the White Terror until just over 30 years ago.

Taiwan became a democracy because because the people of Taiwan asked for it and the regime at the time, the Kuomintang, wished to seek democratic legitimacy in response to these demands. Since then, Taiwan has grown to become one of the most socially liberal societies in Asia.

That sounds right. But it's my impression that the Taiwanese aren't much like old China. They went from Japanese occupation to ROC occupation.

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