Political analysts should look for general statistics for the ROC in Taiwan. They will be surprised, they will discover a model of democratic excellence, economic success, social benefit and human aggrandizement.
Statistics on the political and democratic quality of Taiwan They are contained in the annual report of the prestigious English magazine “The Economist”. This year, Taiwan remained the most democratic country in Asia and number ten in the world.
The report evaluates 167 countries in five categories: civil liberties, electoral process and pluralism, political culture, functioning of government and political participation. Taiwan obtained a perfect score in electoral process and pluralism, and high marks in the rest.
Taiwan’s democratic quality is more notable when we take into account that only Japan and South Korea join it in Asia as the only full democracies. “The Economist” reveals that Only 7.8% of the world’s population lives in a full democracy39.4% live under authoritarian governments and the rest are governed by flawed democracies or hybrid regimes.
In press freedom, Reporters Without Borders ranks it 35th in the world, ahead of Spain, Italy and the United States, and first place in Asia.
Taiwan’s economic statistics are better known. It is currently ranked as the 14th economy in the world, with a per capita Gross Domestic Product of $32,756 and monetary reserves of $560 billion.
In quality of life, the Expats index ranks Taiwan in second place in the world, only behind Spain. In the health and wellness subcategory, it is rated number one and dominates all of its measurement factors. Expats gave 100% on affordable healthcare, compared to 61% globally. And in widely available health services, it received 98% compared to 73% globally. In the important category of personal safety, it rates number one. 84% of Taiwanese said they felt completely safe compared to 47% globally.
For the international firm Numbeo, on a scale from zero to one hundred, where one hundred is total satisfaction in medical care, Taiwan scores 86, ahead of South Korea, Japan, the Netherlands and France.
Its educational system is of the first order. Taiwanese students achieve the highest scores in math and science exams worldwide. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) rates them third in mathematics, fourth in science and fifth in reading.
With all these exceptional statistics, no one can doubt that Taiwan is a model for the rest of the world. Objectively, if communist China chose to copy it, all its fanciful programs to surpass the United States—and become the first world power—then they could be realized.
* Luis Zúñiga is a political analyst and former diplomat.
