From Ming Empire remnants, to anti-Japanese rebels, the Island of Taiwan has a long history of self determination. 

When the remnants of the Republic of China fled the mainland to Taiwan in 1949, it was a republic in little but name. With corrupt elections, single party politics, and a byzantine electoral process, the average citizen had little chance of influencing politics.

In this episode we discuss the long, painful, and often bloody road by which Taiwan (ROC) exited martial law, reformed its politics, and created what is now possibly the most progressive and vibrant democracy in Asia (if not the world!).