383 Ethnographic Studies of Voting Among the Austronesian Paiwan—The Role of Paiwan Chiefs in the Contemporary State System of Taiwan Kun-hui Ku T his paper analyzes the changing role of chiefs in Paiwan politics with the introduction of a multi-level electoral system in the early 1950s and the multi-party system in 1986. It examines how democratic representation, 1 as effected through the electoral system, can accommodate the hierarchical political system of the Paiwan on a regional level, especially in the Northern Paiwan area. The analysis is based on ethnographic investigations in Pingtung County and archival materials from Taiwu Township office. This paper studies the mix of Paiwan regional politics with local connections that occur in the three levels of the election process, and maps out the different factors that play into Paiwan elections at different political levels. It demonstrates the vitality of the symbol of the nobility in contemporary regional Paiwan politics and the ways in which individuals have manipulated the symbols of the nobility in the state electoral system. The traditional idioms of “house” (umaq), “settlement” (qinalan) and “first-born” (vusam) continue to play an important part in Paiwan electoral strategies on a regional level. The adoption of formal electoral and bureaucratic practices should not be taken as evidence of one-way acculturation and it is clear that indigenous values and customs, rather than simply being replaced, are in fact shaping these “imported” practices to a certain degree. However, engaging in national politics has also brought about change in local political dynamics. The Paiwan The Paiwan people are the third-largest Austronesian-speaking group in Taiwan, most residing in southern Taiwan, and their current population is about 70,000. Paiwan people are famous for their social hierarchy and the ____________________ 1 Historically, these two terms did not necessarily go together. For a historical and comparative study of the concept of democracy and various institutions that have been associated with the concept, see John Markoff, “Where and When Was Democracy?” Comparative Study in Society and History, vol. 41, no. 4 (1999), pp. 660-690.