DirectDemocracyS

A truly democratic political system in the world

Taiwan

Comprehensive political, economic, financial and social plan

Current Situation Analysis, Criticism, and Specific Solutions

Core Principles Taiwan's wealth and decision-making power belong to the Taiwanese people forever and exclusively.

2026

Released globally by Taiwan DDS organization on behalf of DirectDemocracyS

Foreword: A Message to the People of Taiwan

This document, drafted by Romeo Ciminello, representative of DirectDemocracyS (DDS), on behalf of the global DDS community and its members in Taiwan, is presented to all citizens of Taiwan. This is not an external directive, but an invitation: an invitation for the people of Taiwan to reclaim full control over their own destiny through genuine, direct, and sustainable democracy.

DirectDemocracyS is a global political system built on an unshakeable foundation: the wealth and power to determine the future of each nation must belong forever and solely to its people. There are no exceptions. No foreign power, multinational corporation, financial magnate, or elite group has the right to interfere.

Taiwan is an extraordinary place: a pioneer of democracy, a technological powerhouse, and a vibrant civil society. However, like all existing political systems in the world, Taiwan's current representative democracy suffers from fundamental structural flaws, resulting in the near-silence of the people's voices outside of elections, with real decision-making power falling into the hands of a small number of party elites, conglomerates, and external pressure groups. This plan proposes concrete and feasible solutions to fundamentally change this reality.

 

Part One: A Comprehensive Analysis and Critique of the Current Situation in Taiwan

I. Current Political Situation: The Gap Between the Illusion of Democracy and Reality

1.1 Election Results and Political Landscape

On January 13, 2024, Taiwan held presidential and legislative elections, the results of which profoundly revealed the complex nature of Taiwan's democracy. Democratic Progressive Party candidate William Lai was elected president with 40.05% of the vote, becoming the first president in Taiwan's history to be elected with less than half the votes. This phenomenon clearly shows that over 60% of Taiwanese voters do not directly support the ruling party's core platform.

In the Legislative Yuan (a unicameral parliament with 113 seats), the election results are more complex:

• Democratic Progressive Party (DPP): 51 seats, losing its previous absolute majority.
• Kuomintang (KMT): 52 seats, becoming the largest party in the Legislative Yuan.
• Taiwan People's Party (TPP): 8 seats, becoming a key "kingmaker"

The tripartite balance of power and the weak opposition have created a serious legislative deadlock. Since Lai Ching-te took office in May 2024, the confrontation between the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan has continued to escalate, making it difficult to advance many important reform measures.

1.2 Structural Political Issues

Taiwan's current political system suffers from the following fundamental problems, which cannot be self-corrected within the existing framework:

• The inherent flaw of representative democracy is that citizens only have one chance to vote every four years, after which they lose any direct influence on policy-making. Once elected, legislators are not subject to daily oversight and constraints by voters.
• Party discipline overrides public opinion: Voting in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan is highly governed by party discipline, and individual legislators rarely make independent judgments that represent the will of the people in their constituencies rather than the will of their parties.
• Money in politics: The 2024 elections showed that a large amount of corporate donations flowed into major political parties, especially in key areas such as technology, real estate, and finance, seriously distorting policy orientation.
• Cross-strait issues hijack domestic affairs: The complex relationship between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China has long been a tool for political parties to manipulate voters' emotions, causing real domestic issues—housing, wages, environment, and education—to be marginalized.
• Systemic conflict between the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan: With the ruling party having a smaller share of power than the opposition, Taiwan is suffering from chronic political paralysis, and policy continuity cannot be guaranteed.
• Unequal distribution of resources between local and central governments: Taiwan's political resources are highly concentrated in Taipei, while southern and eastern counties and cities have long faced resource exploitation and policy neglect.

[DDS Critique] Taiwan's democratic system is a system of "periodic authorization," not "continuous participation." Election day is the people's only democratic moment; the rest of the time, they are merely bystanders. This is not true democracy, but rather an outsourcing of democracy.

1.3 Recent Political Crisis

Since May 2024, the most serious challenge facing the Lai Ching-te administration has been the debate over reform proposals for the Legislative Yuan. The "Blue-White Alliance," composed of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), pushed for the expansion of the Legislative Yuan's powers, attempting to grant it the power to summon administrative officials and private citizens for investigations and to impose criminal sanctions on those who refuse to cooperate. This move sparked massive public protests, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets, demonstrating the high level of activity in Taiwanese civil society, but also exposing the fundamental dilemma of the current system's inability to effectively reconcile public opinion.

II. Current Economic Situation: The Dual Society Behind the Miracle

2.1 Macroeconomic Data

index	Data (2024-2025)
GDP growth rate (2024)	4.84% (revised upwards)
GDP growth rate (Q1 2025)	5.48% (significantly exceeding expectations)
Export growth (Q1 2025)	+20.29%
Manufacturing growth (Q1 2025)	+11.03%
unemployment rate	Approximately 2.9-3.5% (near full employment)
Semiconductor as a percentage of GDP (2024)	Approximately 20.7%
TSMC as a percentage of GDP	Approximately 8.9%
TSMC's market capitalization	More than 40%
Total exports (2025)	Approximately US$640.7 billion (+34.9%)

The surface figures are impressive. However, behind these dazzling numbers lies an increasingly severe social reality: Taiwan is forming a "dual society"—the gap between a small number of tech elites and the majority of ordinary workers is widening.

2.2 Fundamental Problems of Economic Structure

• The risk of a highly concentrated industrial structure with heavy reliance on semiconductors: More than two-thirds of Taiwan's exports are technology-related, with semiconductors dominating. This highly concentrated industrial structure makes Taiwan extremely vulnerable to geopolitical shocks and fluctuations in global demand. The rise and fall of TSMC alone can almost determine the direction of Taiwan's entire economy.
• Stagnant wage growth: Despite continued GDP growth, real wage increases in many industries in Taiwan have lagged far behind inflation and capital gains. Wage levels in labor-intensive sectors such as services, education, and healthcare have remained stagnant for a long time, resulting in obvious exploitation.
• Housing crisis: The price-to-income ratio in Taipei and New Taipei City is as high as 15 to 20 times, far exceeding the international warning line (5 to 6 times). The younger generation generally cannot afford to buy homes, and the phenomenon of "homeless snails" has become a serious social problem. The high degree of financialization of real estate has led to a continuous flow of capital from productive investment to speculative hoarding.
• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face structural pressures: SMEs constitute the main pillar of employment in Taiwan, but in the face of the reality that technology giants such as TSMC attract the vast majority of foreign investment and policy resources, SMEs face systemic disadvantages in terms of financing, talent, and market promotion.
• Energy Crisis: Taiwan has shut down some nuclear power units and plans to continue phasing out nuclear power, while lagging behind in the development of alternative energy sources, leading to frequent power shortages. With the dramatic increase in electricity consumption from AI computing and semiconductor manufacturing, energy issues will become one of the biggest bottlenecks to Taiwan's development.
• Caught between the US and China in a trade war: In 2025, the US will impose a 20% tariff on Taiwanese goods, severely impacting export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises. Taiwan is caught between two superpowers, the US and China, and must navigate a difficult balancing act between strategic autonomy and subsistence dependence.

[DDS Critique] Taiwan's "economic miracle" is increasingly becoming a miracle for a minority. When 40% of Taiwanese households admit to "financial anxiety," while the stock market continues to reach new highs, we must face this problem squarely: GDP growth does not equate to an improvement in people's quality of life. Wealth is concentrated in the hands of TSMC shareholders and tech elites, rather than being distributed equitably among all Taiwanese people.

III. Current Financial Situation: Risks of Wealth Concentration and Outflow

3.1 Financial Structure Issues

• Stock market bubble risk: TSMC alone accounts for over 40% of the market capitalization of the Taiwan stock market, creating a serious systemic concentration risk. Any negative event affecting TSMC could trigger a complete collapse of the Taiwan financial market.
• Foreign investment risk: Foreign institutional investors hold a significant proportion of the Taiwan stock market. When global risk sentiment shifts, large-scale capital flight poses a serious threat to the Taiwan dollar exchange rate and financial stability.
• Uneven corporate tax burden: Taiwan has a nominally reasonable corporate tax system, but in reality, large technology companies enjoy a lot of tax benefits, while small and medium-sized enterprises bear a heavier actual tax burden.
• The wealth gap is widening: rising land prices and soaring stock markets primarily benefit the wealthy who already own assets, while young wage earners without assets are caught in a cycle of "the harder they work, the poorer they become."
• Financial regulation is hollow: Taiwan's financial regulators often find themselves powerless when dealing with multinational financial groups and are unable to effectively protect consumers from predatory financial products.

IV. Current Social Situation: Population Crisis and Social Division

4.1 Population Crisis

Taiwan is facing one of the world's most severe demographic crises. In 2023, Taiwan's total fertility rate dropped to 0.87, far below the 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population, making it one of the lowest in the world. With its aging population, Taiwan is projected to officially enter a super-aged society after 2040, at which point the proportion of elderly people that each working person needs to support will rise sharply, placing enormous pressure on its pension, healthcare, and social welfare systems.

4.2 Social Inequality and Generational Conflicts

• Generational deprivation: Taiwan's younger generation generally feels deprived of opportunities by the old order. Unaffordable housing, stagnant wages, time-consuming and arduous work, and insecurity about future retirement security are eroding young people's trust in mainstream politics.
• Gender inequality: Despite Taiwan’s relatively good record in gender equality, gender pay gaps in the workplace, the glass ceiling effect, and unequal sharing of family care responsibilities are still prevalent.
• Indigenous rights gap: Taiwan’s 16 indigenous groups face long-term structural problems such as land expropriation, language endangerment, and economic marginalization. Although successive governments have made various promises, the degree of implementation has been seriously insufficient.
• Urban-rural disparity: There are huge gaps between Taipei and non-urban areas in terms of educational resources, medical quality, employment opportunities, and digital infrastructure, forming a de facto multi-speed Taiwan.
• New immigrants and foreign workers: Taiwan relies on a large number of foreign migrant workers (mainly from Southeast Asia) to maintain the operation of its manufacturing industry and long-term care system, but these people have long been marginalized due to insufficient legal protection and lack of social integration.

4.3 Education and Healthcare

• A rigid education system: Taiwan's education system overemphasizes exams and academic qualifications, resulting in insufficient cultivation of creativity and a lack of practical skills education. Higher education has expanded rapidly but its quality varies greatly, and the devaluation of many diplomas is widespread.
• Hidden Concerns about National Health Insurance: Taiwan's National Health Insurance is recognized globally as one of the best healthcare systems, but it faces long-term challenges to financial sustainability. Excessive overtime work and low salaries for healthcare workers have led to brain drain, and internal pressures on the healthcare system continue to accumulate.

4.4 Environmental Issues

• Air pollution: Taiwan's industrial concentration, coupled with unfavorable topography and airflow conditions, has led to long-term severe smog in the western plains, which has become a major threat to public health.
• Energy transition dilemma: While Taiwan is promoting the "nuclear-free homeland" policy, the construction of renewable energy is lagging behind, the dependence on fossil fuels has not been substantially reduced, and carbon emission targets are difficult to achieve.
• Land and water resource pressures: High-density industrial and agricultural water demand, as well as uneven drought and flooding caused by climate change, pose increasingly severe challenges to Taiwan's water resource management.

 

Part Two: The Complete DirectDemocracyS Solution

I. Political Reform: From Representative Democracy to Genuine and Continuous Direct Democracy

1.1 DDS Fractal Microgroup Structure

The core political architecture of DirectDemocracyS is the "Fractal Micro-Group" system, which is the most advanced, transparent, and inclusive model of political participation in human history.

Its basic structure is as follows:

5 people → 25 people → 125 people → 625 people → 3,125 people → ... → All 23,000,000 people in Taiwan are fully represented and mandated by the next level, forming a perfect democratic transmission chain.

1. Basic Microgroups (5 people): Each basic political unit consists of 5 verified DDS members. Through thorough discussion, information sharing, and consensus-building, this group elects one representative to speak on their behalf at a higher level. Representatives must strictly adhere to the group's mandate and cannot act arbitrarily.
2. Secondary Group (25 people): Representatives from the 5 basic groups form the secondary group. After thorough discussion, one representative is selected to advance to the next level.
3. Three-tier group (125 people): and so on, each level is a precise microcosm of the level before it, ensuring that everyone's voice can be transmitted through the democratic chain and ultimately influence the decision-making at the highest level.
4. National level: Across Taiwan, the highest level of representatives constitutes the DDS Taiwan National Committee, but all decisions of this committee are subject to immediate oversight and authorization from groups at all levels.

The revolutionary aspect of this system lies in the fact that decision-making power always flows downwards, rather than being centralized upwards. Any representative can be recalled at any time by their authorized group and replaced by another member. No one can monopolize political power for long.

1.2 Instant Electronic Direct Democracy

DDS, through the ddsAI platform and allddsAI technology, provides every Taiwanese citizen with a secure, verifiable, and real-time tool for democratic participation:

• Referendum: Any major policy decision can be decided by a national referendum through secure electronic voting, without having to wait for the next election.
• Citizen proposals for draft legislation: Any microgroup alliance that meets the threshold can propose a draft legislation, which can be submitted directly to the public for deliberation.
• Instant recall mechanism for officials: If any level of representative fails to fulfill their authority, the group can immediately initiate a recall vote without waiting for the end of the term.
• Policy impact assessment: Before a vote, all proposals must be fully presented to all citizens through ddsAI's neutral analysis system, ensuring that each citizen makes a decision with full knowledge.

[Specific Example] Suppose the Taiwanese government plans to build a new science park in Changhua County. Under the existing system, decisions are made by a small number of people in the Executive Yuan and Legislative Yuan, leaving Changhua County residents with almost no voice. Under the DDS system, every five residents of Changhua County form a microgroup to fully discuss and express their opinions. Through this process, decisions are ultimately formed based on genuine public opinion, ensuring that the entire process is open, verifiable, and tamper-proof.

1.3 Three-Code Identity Verification System

DDS's political participation is built upon a secure and trusted authentication system, while maximizing the protection of individual privacy:

• First Code (Public Code): Used for public community interaction, allowing anyone to see your public code and your public stance.
• The second code (group code): Visible only within your microgroup, ensuring genuine accountability within the group.
• The third code (personal private password): held only by the system, used for the final verification of the authenticity of the ballot. Individuals can check at any time whether their vote has been recorded correctly, but no one else (including the government) can track an individual's ballot.

This system guarantees authenticity, uniqueness, and verifiability—while remaining completely anonymous. Any act of election fraud cannot be verified by the system.

1.4 Expert Committee System

True democracy is not just about vote counting, but also about informed participation. DDS establishes committees composed of genuine experts in every policy area:

• Taiwan's Science and Technology and Semiconductor Policy Committee: Composed of engineers, scientists, and industry professionals, it is responsible for analyzing semiconductor industry policies and providing neutral and easy-to-understand technical explanations to the general public.
• The Taiwan Cross-Strait Relations Analysis Committee, composed of historians, diplomats, and security analysts, is responsible for providing de-ideologized analysis of the cross-strait situation.
• Taiwan's Environmental Science Committee, Social Welfare Committee, Education Reform Committee, and other committees in various fields.

All committees are service-oriented, not decision-making bodies. Decision-making always belongs to the people; expert committees merely ensure that the people have complete, accurate, and neutral information when making decisions.

1.5 Anti-manipulation protection mechanism

Taiwan's information environment has long been affected by media manipulation, disinformation, and cognitive warfare from various sources. DDS's platform employs the following mechanisms to provide protection:

• allddsAI Information Verification System: Multiple independent AI systems cross-verify all information disseminated on the platform, and any information that fails verification must be marked "Pending Verification".
• Information diversification requirement: The platform requires that all discussions on important topics must present multiple perspectives and sources, and prohibits the "echo chamber" effect caused by algorithm-driven push notifications.
• Ad-free principle: The DDS platform does not accept any advertisements. All fees are voluntarily donated by members, eliminating the distortion of information flow caused by commercial advertising.
• Balancing accountability with anonymity: Group discussions have appropriate accountability mechanisms to prevent malicious manipulation, but individuals' final voting choices are fully protected.

II. Economic Reform: Comprehensive Rebalancing

2.1 Breaking the single dependence on semiconductors

One of Taiwan's core challenges is transforming its economic model, which relies solely on a few tech giants, into a diversified and balanced economy that benefits all Taiwanese. DDS proposes the following specific pathways:

5. Establish a "National Strategic Diversification Fund": allocate 5% to 8% of Taiwan's export surplus (approximately US$320 to US$500 billion) annually to support research and development, education, and infrastructure in non-semiconductor industries, with the goal of increasing the contribution of non-technology industries to GDP from less than 50% to 65% within 10 years.
6. Agricultural Technology Upgrade Plan: Taiwan's agriculture possesses rich traditional knowledge, but has long been sacrificed on the altar of industrialization. The DDS plan promotes a "precision agriculture revolution," combining the ddsAI system with local agricultural wisdom to build Taiwan into an Asian export center for organic and high-end agricultural products, while ensuring that food self-sufficiency increases from the current approximately 35% to over 60%.
7. Cultural Creativity and the Knowledge Economy: Taiwan boasts rich cultural diversity (Hokkien, Hakka, Indigenous, and Mainland Chinese cultures) and a highly skilled creative workforce. The DDS project invests significant resources to develop Taiwan into a major center for Asian cultural and creative exports, rather than merely a chip manufacturing base.
8. Green manufacturing transformation: Provide tax incentives and technical support to encourage Taiwan's manufacturing industry to transform towards high value-added and low-carbon emissions, producing sustainable industrial equipment, environmentally friendly materials and clean energy technologies.

2.2 Semiconductor Sovereignty Protection

TSMC is one of Taiwan's most important national assets, but its current management poses a fundamental sovereignty risk. DDS proposes the following protective measures:

• We firmly oppose the outflow of technology transfer: Any pressure to transfer Taiwan's advanced semiconductor technology overseas (whether from the United States, China, or any other party) must be subject to direct democratic deliberation by the Taiwanese people, not private decisions by the Executive Yuan or a few officials. Taiwan's technological sovereignty cannot be converted into diplomatic leverage.
• Establish a national strategic reserve for semiconductors: require TSMC and other major semiconductor companies to maintain a minimum proportion of their production bases in Taiwan (at least 70%) to ensure that Taiwan's strategic advantages are not hollowed out by commercial interests.
• National Benefit Mechanism: Establish a "Semiconductor National Benefit" system, extracting a certain percentage from the excess profits of TSMC and major technology companies and distributing it to all permanent residents of Taiwan, ensuring that the benefits of technology truly reach all people and not just shareholders.

[Specific Examples and Expected Effects] Assuming the establishment of a semiconductor universal income dividend mechanism: If 10% of TSMC's excess profits are extracted annually (estimated at approximately US$12 billion based on 2024 profits, or about US$1.2 billion), and distributed to the 23 million residents of Taiwan, each person would receive approximately US$52 (about NT$1,600) annually. Combined with other social policies, this could serve as the starting point for a DDS universal minimum income plan.

2.3 Small and Medium Enterprise Revitalization Plan

• The "Bank for All" plan aims to establish a network of non-profit credit cooperatives regulated by DDS to provide financing to small and medium-sized enterprises at near-zero interest rates, breaking the monopoly of large commercial banks on financing channels.
• The "Local Priority" procurement policy requires all government procurement and public works to prioritize local SMEs and sets a clear target for the proportion of local procurement (at least 60%).
• Digital Transformation Support for SMEs: Through the DDS platform and ddsAI tools, we provide free digital transformation consulting, e-commerce training and marketing resources to help Taiwanese SMEs enter the international market.
• Collaborative Production Network: Assisting Taiwanese SMEs in establishing "industry alliances" to jointly conduct research and development, share resources, and develop joint brands, thereby collectively countering the competitive pressure from large multinational corporations.

2.4 The Salary Justice Revolution

9. Progressive minimum wage system: Abolish the concept of a uniform national minimum wage, and instead establish differentiated minimum wage standards based on local cost of living, industry profit levels, and enterprise size to ensure that every worker's salary can truly cover the basic cost of living in their locality.
10. Mandatory profit-sharing mechanism: Legislation requires all companies with more than 50 employees to transparently distribute at least 5% to 10% of their annual pre-tax profits to all employees (not just executives), directly linking salary increases to company growth.
11. Systematic elimination of overtime work: Taiwan's infamous reputation as an "island of working hours" must not continue. By gradually shortening legal working hours through legislation and establishing a strict overtime pay calculation mechanism, the practice of companies substituting low wages for reasonable salaries by adding overtime hours can be fundamentally eliminated.
12. Implementation of equal pay for equal work: Formulate legally binding laws on equal pay for equal work and establish a transparent salary disclosure mechanism, requiring companies to disclose the salary range for each position, thereby eliminating the breeding ground for salary discrimination.

III. Financial Reform: Democratization of Wealth and Protection of Sovereignty

3.1 Establish a Taiwan sovereign wealth fund

Taiwan possesses one of the world's largest foreign exchange reserves (over US$560 billion), but its management lacks transparency and citizen participation. DDS Project:

• The management of existing foreign exchange reserves will be transferred to a democratic management committee elected by the people, which will disclose the complete asset status and investment decisions to all citizens every quarter.
• Establish the "Taiwan Intergenerational Fund": 20% of the annual investment returns from foreign exchange reserves will be allocated to long-term development—renewable energy, education, and next-generation technology research and development—to ensure that today's wealth serves future generations, rather than being squandered by contemporary politicians or profited by foreign financial institutions.
• Sovereign wealth funds are prohibited from investing in any asset class that exacerbates social inequality in Taiwan (such as real estate speculation) or harms Taiwan's strategic interests.

3.2 De-speculation in housing finance

Taiwan's housing problem is essentially a financial policy issue, not a construction volume issue.

13. Progressive Vacancy Tax: A high progressive tax is levied on those who own three or more residential properties that remain vacant for extended periods (2% of the current value of the property each year starting with the third property; increasing to 5% from the fifth property onwards), fundamentally eliminating the financial incentive to hoard homes.
14. Large-scale expansion of social housing: The goal is to increase the stock of social housing from less than 3% to 15% within 10 years, with direct government investment and construction, without relying on private developers, to ensure the housing rights of vulnerable groups, young people and newlyweds.
15. Foreigners are prohibited from purchasing farmland and residential properties in Taiwan: This is to protect Taiwan's land resources from being acquired by foreign capital and to ensure that the land belongs to the people of Taiwan.
16. Mortgage interest rate control: Provide low-interest mortgages with government guarantees for first-time homebuyers, with the maximum loan amount linked to the loan interest rate, to prevent excessive credit expansion from driving up housing prices.

3.3 Financial Democratization

• Establish a citizen-run financial oversight body: An independent financial oversight committee composed of representatives elected by the public would directly supervise financial regulatory agencies and prevent financial regulation from being "captured" by large financial institutions.
• Promote community banks and credit unions: Encourage and support non-profit community financial institutions to provide equitable financial services to individuals and small businesses, and combat the monopoly of large commercial banks.
• Financial product transparency requirements: All financial products aimed at ordinary consumers must explain all risks and fees in simple and easy-to-understand language, and hidden fees and complex and misleading terms are prohibited.

IV. Social Reform: Holistic Human Development

4.1 DDS (Guaranteed Minimum Income)

DirectDemocracyS's global program includes a core social policy—Guaranteed Universal Minimum Income - Structured Volunteering (GUMI-SV). This system will be implemented in Taiwan in the following form:

• Coverage Amount: All adult citizens of Taiwan will receive a guaranteed monthly income sufficient to cover their basic living expenses. Based on the cost of living in different parts of Taiwan, the initial estimate is NT$12,000 to NT$18,000 per month (adjusted according to the city of residence).
• Structured linkages in volunteer service: Income is guaranteed and linked to voluntary service, but the definition of service is extremely broad—including community education, elderly care, environmental cleaning, cultural preservation, and skills training assistance. Citizens have complete freedom to choose the type of service they wish to provide, but the connection with the community forms the moral foundation of the entire system.
• Funding sources: The main sources include semiconductor excess profit tax (15%), vacant house tax revenue, financial transaction tax (0.1%), progressive inheritance tax optimization, and savings from eliminating existing inefficient subsidy programs.

[Expected Outcomes] The implementation of GUMI-SV will fundamentally eliminate absolute poverty in Taiwan, while liberating citizens to pursue creativity, care for their families, and engage in community service without being forced to accept any harsh working conditions for basic survival. It will also significantly boost consumer demand in Taiwan, stimulate the healthy development of the domestic market, and reduce excessive reliance on exports.

4.2 Housing rights protection

• Declaring housing a fundamental constitutional right: Promoting constitutional amendments to explicitly list "adequate housing" as a fundamental constitutional right of Taiwanese citizens, thus imposing clear legal obligations on the government regarding housing policy.
• Democratization of social housing allocation: The allocation of social housing is managed by an open, verifiable, and fair lottery system on the DDS platform, completely eliminating the possibility of rent-seeking by officials and administrative bias.
• The "Rent Before Buy" program provides social housing tenants with a priority purchase option, allowing them to purchase the property at a discounted market price after a long-term lease.

4.3 A Revolutionary Restructuring of Population Policy

Taiwan's low birth rate stems from structural, not cultural, causes. DDS's proposed solution is not to subsidize childbirth, but to eliminate the structural barriers to childlessness:

17. Fully paid parental leave: Both parents are entitled to 18 months of paid parental leave (80% of their salary), and the law explicitly prohibits discrimination against employees for this purpose. Losses incurred by the company during this period will be compensated by the national treasury.
18. To promote quality public childcare: Within five years, sufficient public kindergartens will be established in all counties and cities in Taiwan, with the goal of ensuring that the cost of public childcare for children aged 0 to 6 does not exceed 5% of the family's monthly income.
19. Support for only children and extended families: Provide substantial tax credits and priority eligibility for social services, but fully respect individual reproductive choices and do not impose any penalties or moral pressure on "not having children".
20. Modernize immigration policies: Attract global talent to settle in Taiwan with a more open and fair approach, and provide reasonable permanent residency and citizenship pathways for foreign migrant workers who work in Taiwan long-term, thereby enriching Taiwan's population structure.

4.4 Restoration of Indigenous Sovereignty

• The genuine return of land rights: Under the DDS framework, the sovereignty claims of Taiwan's 16 indigenous groups over their traditional territories will receive genuine legal recognition and protection through democratic consultation procedures, rather than merely remaining at the level of moral pronouncements.
• Indigenous political self-determination: Each Indigenous group forms an independent, autonomous micro-group alliance within the DDS system, enjoying genuine self-determination over its own affairs, including choices regarding education, culture, land management, and economic development models.
• Indigenous Language Preservation and Revitalization: Investing significant resources in promoting Indigenous languages through the education system and digital media, with the goal of ensuring that each Indigenous language has a sufficient number of speakers to sustain its vitality within 20 years.

4.5 Healthcare Reform

• Reforming the sustainability of National Health Insurance: While maintaining the principle of universal coverage, ensure the long-term financial sustainability of National Health Insurance through a more progressive premium system (higher-income earners pay a higher percentage of premiums) and centralized negotiations for drug procurement.
• Improving healthcare worker salaries and working conditions: This is fundamental to the sustainability of universal healthcare. Significantly increase the salaries of primary care healthcare workers and strictly limit mandatory overtime work to stop the outflow of healthcare talent.
• Investment in preventive medicine: Shifting the focus of Taiwan's health policy from "treating disease" to "preventing disease" by investing heavily in public health education, regular health screenings, mental health support, and the mandatory enforcement of workplace health standards.
• Destigmatizing Mental Health: Taiwan's mental health services are severely inadequate. The DDS project significantly increases public psychological counseling resources and promotes mental health education in schools, communities, and workplaces, viewing mental illness with a scientific rather than morally judgmental attitude.

4.6 Fundamental Transformation of the Education System

21. Abolish the culture of "exams determine one's future": Gradually abolish the system that determines a student's fate based on a single exam result, establish a diversified assessment system, and emphasize critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and practical skills.
22. Critical Civic Education: Introducing the democratic education curriculum advocated by DDS into all grades to cultivate Taiwanese citizens' ability to understand the political system, evaluate information, identify manipulation, and actively participate in community affairs from elementary school onwards.
23. Upgrading of technical and vocational education: Make comprehensive investments in technical and vocational education, eliminate the social prejudice of "second-class technical and vocational education", and enable technical and vocational education to enjoy the same social prestige and salary level as university education.
24. Teachers' dignity and salaries: Significantly increase the salaries of teachers at all levels in Taiwan (aiming to put teachers' salaries in the top 25% of the salary distribution of workers in their age group), while giving teachers greater autonomy in teaching and reducing administrative burdens.

V. Environment and Energy: Sustainable Taiwan

5.1 Energy Independence Plan

Taiwan's energy problem is one of the decisive challenges for the next 10 years. DDS has proposed the "Taiwan Energy Sovereignty Plan":

25. Large-scale offshore wind power construction: The Taiwan Strait is one of the world's richest sea areas in terms of wind energy. The plan is to complete at least 30GW of offshore wind power installations by 2035, investing 1% of GDP (approximately US$9 billion) annually for this purpose, and requiring major development contracts to include at least 60% domestic manufacturing to drive the development of related industrial chains.
26. Rooftop solar power to be universally available: Mandatory installation of solar panels during renovations of all residential and commercial buildings, with full subsidies for low-income households, aiming to enable 80% of buildings to generate some of their own electricity by 2032.
27. Investment in energy storage technologies: Large-scale investment in grid-scale energy storage technologies (pumped hydro storage, lithium batteries, hydrogen storage) to solve the problem of intermittent renewable energy and ensure stable power supply.
28. Democratic decision-making on nuclear energy: Taiwan's nuclear energy policy should not be decided unilaterally by any political party. The DDS demands a fully informed national referendum on this issue, allowing the people of Taiwan to decide the future role of nuclear power themselves.

5.2 Carbon Neutralization Pathway

• Achieve carbon neutrality by 2040: Establish a legally binding carbon neutrality target, set up a strict progress review mechanism, and ensure that emission reduction milestones are achieved every year.
• Carbon tax and universal benefit: A carbon tax mechanism is introduced, but all carbon tax revenue is returned to every Taiwanese citizen in the form of an equal "carbon dividend" to ensure that the regressive effect of the carbon tax does not harm low-income groups.
• Support for the transformation of high-carbon industries: Provide transformation grants and retraining programs for workers and businesses in high-carbon industries to ensure that green transformation does not create new social inequalities.

5.3 Agricultural and Food Sovereignty

• Organic Agriculture Transition Subsidy: Provides a 5-year transition subsidy for Taiwanese farmers who are willing to switch to organic agriculture, with the goal of increasing the area of organic agriculture in Taiwan to 20% of all farmland by 2035.
• Prohibit speculation on agricultural land: Strictly restrict the procedures for converting farmland to non-agricultural use, and levy a tax on the purpose of holding farmland to ensure that farmland is used for agricultural production rather than land speculation.
• Community-supported agriculture promotion: Through the DDS platform, the "producer-consumer cooperative" model is promoted, enabling Taiwanese consumers to establish long-term supply relationships directly with local farmers, shortening the food journey, improving food security, and increasing farmers' income.

 

Part Three: DDS Implementation Path in Taiwan

I. Phased Implementation Plan

Phase 1 (1 to 3 years): Establishing the Foundation

29. Establish the DDS Taiwan Digital Platform: Utilize Taiwan's most advanced information security technology to build a complete DDS platform, including an authentication system, microgroup management tools, real-time voting mechanisms, and an information dissemination system.
30. Seed Microgroup Formation: The first batch of 5,000 basic microgroups (25,000 people) were recruited from all over Taiwan to ensure diversity in geography, ethnicity, age and occupation, forming the first layer of the DDS Taiwan network.
31. Establishment of ddsAI Taiwan Node: Construct a fully self-operated ddsAI infrastructure within Taiwan to ensure the sovereignty and independence of Taiwan's data and to avoid reliance on foreign cloud services.
32. Pilot policy proposals: Select 2 to 3 of Taiwan's most pressing issues (such as housing, wages, or energy policies) and conduct public discussions and policy proposals through the DDS platform to demonstrate the actual operation of direct democracy.
33. Civic Education Movement: Massive promotion of civic education based on the DDS principles, using community discussions, school curricula, and online content to help Taiwanese citizens understand the possibility of true democracy.

Phase Two (3 to 8 years): Expansion and Deepening

34. Expanding coverage to 1 million members: Through word of mouth and systematic promotion, the DDS Taiwan network will be expanded to 1 million members, forming a civil society force capable of exerting a substantial influence on the existing political system.
35. Implementation at the local government level: Establish "democratic co-governance" pilot projects in county and municipal governments that are willing to cooperate with DDS, allowing DDS microgroups to directly participate in the local government's policy-making process and accumulate practical governance experience.
36. The semiconductor public dividend is launched: legislation is completed, and public dividends are extracted from excess technology profits and distributed transparently through the DDS platform to build public trust in the system.
37. GUMI-SV Pilot Program: To pilot the universal minimum income guarantee program in one or two counties and cities, collect data, adjust parameters, and prepare for nationwide rollout.

Phase Three (8 to 15 years): Comprehensive Transformation

38. DDS has become a major political force in Taiwan: Through the gradual accumulation of public trust and practical policy achievements, DDS has become an important voice that cannot be ignored in Taiwan's political landscape, and has promoted fundamental reforms of the existing representative system, incorporating more direct democratic mechanisms.
39. The GUMI-SV program is being fully implemented across Taiwan: a universal minimum income guarantee is being implemented throughout Taiwan to completely eliminate absolute poverty and ensure that every Taiwanese citizen has basic material security and dignity.
40. Taiwan achieves energy independence: the proportion of renewable energy reaches over 70%, Taiwan no longer relies on fossil fuel imports, and its energy sovereignty is guaranteed.
41. Export of the democratic model: Taiwan has become a model of true democracy in Asia, sharing the successful experience of the DDS model with other Asia-Pacific countries.

II. AllddsAI's role in Taiwan

allddsAI is DDS's artificial intelligence democracy system, which will play a key role in its implementation in Taiwan.

• Multilingual services: allddsAI will provide full services in Traditional Chinese, Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, English and indigenous languages to ensure that linguistic diversity does not become an obstacle to democratic participation.
• Policy Impact Simulation: Whenever there is an important policy proposal, allddsAI automatically generates a detailed policy impact assessment report, including short-term, medium-term, and long-term economic, social, and environmental impact analyses, presented in language that ordinary citizens can understand.
• Fake news detection: Continuously monitors the flow of information on the platform, automatically flags suspicious and misleading content, and provides verified alternative information.
• Population demand analysis: Through anonymized data analysis, we identify the differences in policy needs among different regions and groups in Taiwan, helping microgroups to discuss specific local issues more accurately.

Key principle: allddsAI will always only provide suggestions and information support; it will never make final decisions. All decision-making power always belongs to the citizens of Taiwan. Artificial intelligence serves the people, not replaces their thinking.

III. DDS Positioning in the Geopolitical Context of Taiwan

Taiwan faces a unique geopolitical situation: navigating between the People's Republic of China's persistent territorial claims and the strategic support of the United States for its survival and development. The DDS has a clear position on this:

• The Taiwanese people's self-determination is not subject to interference: Taiwan's future political status can only be determined by the Taiwanese people through a completely free, fully informed, and democratic process free from any external coercion. The People's Republic of China has no right to interfere, nor does any other foreign power.
• Rejecting any form of external control: DDS's core principle applies to Taiwan: Taiwan's wealth and decision-making power must forever belong to the people of Taiwan. This means that DDS also opposes Taiwan being controlled by American multinational corporations or swayed by political pressure from the Chinese Communist Party. Only through Taiwan's autonomy can it truly interact with the world on an independent footing.
• Deterring threats with genuine democratic power: A Taiwan truly ruled by its people is the strongest example of democracy and the most powerful response to authoritarianism. Taiwan's strongest defense is not military force, but rather ensuring that every citizen truly feels that this society is worth defending because it truly belongs to them.
• Peaceful Diplomacy and People-to-People Exchanges: DDS supports Taiwan in establishing friendly relations with people around the world (including the people of mainland China) through people-to-people exchanges, cultural diplomacy and business cooperation, under the premise of sovereignty, and putting people-to-people connections above the opposition of political ideologies.

 

Part Four: Expected Outcomes and Specific Benefits

I. Short-term benefits (1 to 5 years)

field	Expected Results
Political transparency	All major policy decisions are made public on the DDS platform, and citizens can access them instantly.
Salary Justice	The minimum wage across Taiwan has increased by 20% to 35% in real terms, and overtime work has decreased significantly.
Housing burden	Social housing supply increased by 50%, vacant house tax curbs hoarding.
Semiconductor industry benefits for all	Each Taiwanese citizen receives an annual distribution of technology dividends.
civic education	The school's democratic education curriculum has been fully established.
Medical and nursing benefits	Salary increases for healthcare workers reverse the trend of brain drain.

II. Medium-term benefits (5 to 15 years)

field	Expected Results
Industrial diversification	The contribution of non-technology industries to GDP increased from 50% to 65%.
Energy independence	Renewable energy accounts for 60-70%, achieving electricity self-sufficiency.
Food security	The food self-sufficiency rate increased from 35% to 60%.
Population Trends	Birth rate stops declining, immigration policies attract high-quality talent
Inequality	The Gini coefficient has improved significantly, and the middle class has become more stable and larger.
GUMI-SV	Universal minimum income guarantee has been fully implemented, and absolute poverty has been eliminated.

III. Long-term benefits (15 to 30 years)

• Taiwan has become a model of truly democratic, sustainable, and people-centered social development in Asia, attracting top global talent and innovative investment. It is no longer just known for semiconductor manufacturing, but for its quality of life, the depth of democracy, and social inclusion.
• Taiwan’s democratic model provides it with the strongest guarantee of international standing: a truly democratic Taiwan with deep, participatory democracy will win more support and sympathy from the global democratic community than any weapons system.
• In terms of the environment, Taiwan aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, becoming a leader in climate governance in Asia, combining climate responsibility with technological advantages to establish an important position in the global green technology market.
• The cultures and languages of indigenous peoples have been fully protected and revitalized, and Taiwan's multicultural identity has become a competitive advantage and moral capital for the country.

"Taiwan's greatness lies not in its chips, but in its people. Ensuring that every Taiwanese citizen truly owns the future of their nation is a strength that no external threat can take away." — DirectDemocracyS Taiwan Project Spirit

 

Conclusion: An invitation to the people of Taiwan

Taiwan stands at a historic crossroads.

On the one hand, Taiwan boasts remarkable achievements: a vibrant democratic tradition, world-leading technological capabilities, a highly educated civil society, and a profound cultural heritage. On the other hand, Taiwan also faces increasingly severe practical challenges: the rigidity and corruption of its representative political system, extreme inequality in the distribution of economic dividends, the deprivation of hope among the younger generation, and escalating geopolitical pressure from major external powers.

DirectDemocracyS is not here to tell the people of Taiwan what to do. We are here to invite the people of Taiwan—with your own hands, through your own collective wisdom—to reclaim what is rightfully yours: true sovereignty, true democracy, and a true future.

We believe that when every citizen of Taiwan can become a true decision-maker, rather than just a bystander who votes once every four years; when Taiwan's wealth truly benefits every Taiwanese person, rather than just flowing into the accounts of a few shareholders; when Taiwan's policies are no longer swayed by financial conglomerates and external powers, but truly reflect the common will of all the Taiwanese people—then Taiwan will be stronger than any military alliance, safer than any diplomatic promise, and more worthy of pride than any GDP figure.

This is DirectDemocracyS's Taiwan plan. This is an invitation to join us.

Taiwan belongs to the Taiwanese people.

It will always be so.

www.directdemocracys.org

public.directdemocracys.org