Is the Kuomintang - the nationalist party of China - the villain it is sometimes portrayed to be? Or is it the embodiment of the political and moral good that partisans have claimed it to be? The party has managed a feat of economic modernization in Taiwan and has become a proponent of democracy, yet its reputation has been marred by brutal acts of repression and ineptitude. Focusing on the role of Kuomintang party elites in the democratization process in Taiwan, this book considers the Kuomintang's evolution from a Leninist state party to a fractious one in a competitive political system.