who identified themselves with the DPP,but people's preference to the two parties remains about the same,as can be seen from Table 5. Table 5 Party Identifications Flux Party KMT PFP Blue DPP TSU Green Neutral Reject* Survey Date D(%) 22.3 1.1 5.0 24.4 0.9 4.1 38.4 4.1 Oct.2013 D(%) 21.8 0.9 5.1 23.7 0.9 4.9 40.0 2.9 Dec.2013 D(%) 22.0 0.7 4.6 27.4 0.7 5.1 37.9 1.7 March 2014 D(%) 20.7 0.8 4.7 23.3 1.0 5.5 41.5 2.6 April 2014 D(%) 23.2 0.8 5.7 22.2 0.8 5.3 39.4 2.8 May 2014 ID(%) 25.0 1.1 5.5 23.5 0.5 4.7 37.6 2.3 June 2014 D(%) 23.5 1.0 5.0 23.7 0.6 4.5 39.4 2.5 July 2014 ID(%) 22.2 0.9 5.2 21.2 0.6 5.1 42.5 2.6 Aug.2014 D(%) 22.2 0.8 4.8 19.6 0.5 5.3 44.7 2.2 Sept.2014 D(%) 20.3 1.0 5.0 19.8 0.7 5.5 45.6 2.3 Oct.2014 D(%) 19.6 1.2 5.1 21.4 0.6 5.2 44.7 2.5 Nov.2014 D(%) 21.8 0.9 5.1 23.7 0.9 4.9 40.0 2.9 Dec.2014 Source:http://www.tisr.com.tw.In the survey questionnaires,inclining to pan-Blue or pan-Green is constructed as another category slightly different from that of pro-Blue or pro-Green Rejecting to answer the question. The two main parties have different images among the Taiwanese people.According to a survey conducted by the Center for Taiwan Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in October 2014,more interviewees believed that the KMT was more capable than the DPP in promoting economic and cultural exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait (51.3%versus 14.2%),while slightly more people trusted that the DPP was more capable than the KMT in protecting the Taiwanese interest (28.9%versus 26.2%). Although the Ma administration had achieved great progress in advancing cross-strait relations and Taiwanese economic growth,people were not satisfied with his performance. While 14.0%of interviewees expressed their satisfaction with the Ma administration, 72.9%felt unsatisfied.Only 2.0%said they were very satisfied,but 44.6%said they were very unsatisfied.Even among supporters of the KMT,43.9%(as opposed to 45.5%) expressed their unhappiness with Ma's performance.The Ma administration's perceived poor performance has contributed to the shift of people's preference of the ruling KMT. III.From a Divergent toward a Convergent Party System? Several factors have contributed to the divergent features of the Taiwanese party system,while other factors suggest it may change from divergence to convergence.This section starts with an analysis of institutional factors,followed by discussions on social cleavages and public opinions.Finally,ideologies and policy platforms of the two main parties will be explored to demonstrate the possible change from a divergent toward a convergent party system in the future Taiwan.9 who identified themselves with the DPP, but people’s preference to the two parties remains about the same, as can be seen from Table 5. Table 5 Party Identifications Flux Party KMT PFP Blue DPP TSU Green Neutral Reject* Survey Date ID (%) 22.3 1.1 5.0 24.4 0.9 4.1 38.4 4.1 Oct. 2013 ID (%) 21.8 0.9 5.1 23.7 0.9 4.9 40.0 2.9 Dec. 2013 ID (%) 22.0 0.7 4.6 27.4 0.7 5.1 37.9 1.7 March 2014 ID (%) 20.7 0.8 4.7 23.3 1.0 5.5 41.5 2.6 April 2014 ID (%) 23.2 0.8 5.7 22.2 0.8 5.3 39.4 2.8 May 2014 ID (%) 25.0 1.1 5.5 23.5 0.5 4.7 37.6 2.3 June 2014 ID (%) 23.5 1.0 5.0 23.7 0.6 4.5 39.4 2.5 July 2014 ID (%) 22.2 0.9 5.2 21.2 0.6 5.1 42.5 2.6 Aug. 2014 ID (%) 22.2 0.8 4.8 19.6 0.5 5.3 44.7 2.2 Sept. 2014 ID (%) 20.3 1.0 5.0 19.8 0.7 5.5 45.6 2.3 Oct. 2014 ID (%) 19.6 1.2 5.1 21.4 0.6 5.2 44.7 2.5 Nov. 2014 ID (%) 21.8 0.9 5.1 23.7 0.9 4.9 40.0 2.9 Dec. 2014 Source: http://www.tisr.com.tw. In the survey questionnaires, inclining to pan-Blue or pan-Green is constructed as another category slightly different from that of pro-Blue or pro-Green * Rejecting to answer the question. The two main parties have different images among the Taiwanese people. According to a survey conducted by the Center for Taiwan Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in October 2014, more interviewees believed that the KMT was more capable than the DPP in promoting economic and cultural exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait (51.3% versus 14.2%), while slightly more people trusted that the DPP was more capable than the KMT in protecting the Taiwanese interest (28.9% versus 26.2%). Although the Ma administration had achieved great progress in advancing cross-strait relations and Taiwanese economic growth, people were not satisfied with his performance. While 14.0% of interviewees expressed their satisfaction with the Ma administration, 72.9% felt unsatisfied. Only 2.0% said they were very satisfied, but 44.6% said they were very unsatisfied. Even among supporters of the KMT, 43.9% (as opposed to 45.5%) expressed their unhappiness with Ma’s performance. The Ma administration’s perceived poor performance has contributed to the shift of people’s preference of the ruling KMT. III. From a Divergent toward a Convergent Party System? Several factors have contributed to the divergent features of the Taiwanese party system, while other factors suggest it may change from divergence to convergence. This section starts with an analysis of institutional factors, followed by discussions on social cleavages and public opinions. Finally, ideologies and policy platforms of the two main parties will be explored to demonstrate the possible change from a divergent toward a convergent party system in the future Taiwan