1970 年代初期，台灣面臨內外的重大變局。對外，台灣被迫退出聯合國。對內，經濟發展逐漸面臨瓶頸，臺灣人民要求擴大政治參與的呼聲日益增高。隨著各項選舉的展開，民主運動益發洶湧，其間發生過中壢事件、美麗島事件，反對運動數度受挫，終而逐漸壯大，最後突破黨禁，促成解嚴。民主化的進程上，李登輝接著推動台灣省長與總統直選，公元兩千年，台灣在李登輝的手中完成第一次的政黨輪替。民進黨籍的陳水扁以相對多數票當選第十任總統，政黨輪替也象徵了台灣向過去的一黨獨大政治告別。回顧台灣人民走過的歷史，無論是來自天災，或是人禍，似乎一直是挑戰不斷，折難重重。但是再大的挑戰，再多的折難，亦似乎未曾挫折人民的意志，澆熄人民的活力。
In the early 1970s, Taiwan faced major changes both internally and externally. Externally, Taiwan was forced to withdraw from the United Nations. Internally, economic development gradually reached a plateau, and the Taiwanese people's demands for greater political participation grew stronger. As elections progressed, the democratic movement intensified. During this period, the opposition movement suffered several setbacks, including the Zhongli Incident and the Kaohsiung Incident. Ultimately, it gained strength, ultimately overcoming the ban on political parties and facilitating the lifting of martial law. In the process of democratization, Lee Teng-hui subsequently promoted direct elections for Taiwan's governor and president. In the year 2000, under Lee Teng-hui's leadership, Taiwan experienced its first transition of political parties. Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party was elected the tenth president with a clear majority.
