2024 Volume 41 Pages 16-37
There are some serious problems in local area management in Japan. Although Taiwan is similar to Japan culturally, socially, and environmentally, the Taiwanese local system appears to have some differences and reasonable characters comparing with Japanese local system. This study sought to determine the factors related to the effective operation of the smallest local governing unit in Taiwan -the village (Li). A participant observation was conducted in a typical Taipei urban area. Daily village activities were observed with participation, documents were collected, and the chief as well as the village residents were interviewed. Result showed that the village had both an official status and equal relationship with upper government, and the elected village chief played an important role in solving local problems. We also found that the transparency of the village system was guaranteed by the active participants in local activities, who seemed to play the role of the village assembly. In this article, information from the original research time (2011) to 2023 was added. Also, historical back ground of village system is explored.
