「正義」是研究民主化重要卻仍新希的課題之例如「轉型正義」之妥善處理有助威權政體順利轉型為民主政體，然而「轉型正義」所採之模式〈寬恕及志卻或是追討及懲罰〉亦與民主轉型之具體過程密切相關。更重要的是：促進社會正義是由選舉民主進化為實質民主之關鍵。 本文藉研討一個指標案例－台灣－來探索正義在新興民主化國民主化過程中之地位。本文先探討為何台灣選擇了「補償卻不懲罰」的轉型正義策略之政治考慮〈包括族群關係〉。其次本文借助台灣本土最重要之大型民調TEDS中精選的若干問題，來分析正義在台灣民主化過程中所扮演的角色及台灣提升為自由民主之可能性。初步發現台灣選民雖對民主有些不滿，他們對民主有高度的堅持，而且他們清楚地表達了促進社會正義提升民主品質之要求。

The issue of justice figures prominently in various stages of democratization yet the topic is still understudied in the broad literature of democratization. The handling of transitional justice is crucial to the successful transition from authoritarian rule to democracy. However, the type of transition (e.g., transformation vs. replacement) also significantly shapes the approach toward transitional justice: forgive and forget vs. prosecute and punish. More importantly, enhancing social justice is essential to the prospect of the upgrading from electoral democracy to liberal democracy. As discussions on Third World democratization move from quantity (democratic enlargement) to quality (democratic consolidation), an examination of the role played by justice is crucial. This article studies an index case of newly democratized country - Taiwan. It first examines Taiwan’s unique approach toward transitional justice, by focusing on the February 28 Incident, and discusses some of the rationales for the political calculus for this approach, including considerations for ethnic relations. It then provides a preliminary empirical exploration into the role justice plays in Taiwan's democratization by analyzing the data from "proxy" questions for justice in TEDS-Taiwan's premier survey research consortium. Survey results show that Taiwanese electorate display high degree of commitment toward democracy, despite some ambivalence and they attach great importance to justice in the country's evolution into a liberal democracy.