No national party list exists, only district party lists. The order of getting elected on party lists is not decided by the party but by the aggregate of the candidate ballot in a given district. The system yields perfect proportionality at the district level and should be roughly proportional at the national level. The candidate ballot is essentially transferable because no votes will be wasted while the overall party aggregate is being calculated. Forces of political inertia still prevail.
Most incumbent parliamentarians have a vested interest in the existing electoral arrangements.
Proposals to overhaul the existing electoral system along the lines of either the Japanese or German systems have met with strong resistance even from the entrenched DPP incumbent. The current system prompts them to develop an insatiable appetite for campaign resources and thus makes them liable to money politics. On the other hand, the SNVT system helps them to build up political autonomy and electoral predictability. If Japan is any guide, a major breakthrough in electoral reform will probably come about only with a power turnover, a large party realignment, or both. Yun-han Chu is Professor of Political Science at National Taiwan University.