Chu Yun-han notes: "Taiwan is perhaps the only case in the world in which, after the fall of authoritarianism, the long-term ruling party was able to maintain power democratically." This could be because local elections had been in place for more than 30 years, giving people an outlet for their frustrations. The successful "Taiwanization" of the KMT under Chairman Lee Teng-hui was another factor.
「環顧全球，當威權的高牆倒下，長年一黨專政的執政黨居然還能保住政權的，恐怕只有台灣的國民政府了」，朱雲漢解析，地方自治已實施三十多年，各項選舉提供了民眾最好的渲洩管道；而李登輝擔任黨主席後的國民黨本土化政策成功，也是原因。