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1996 Taiwanese presidential election

← 1990 23 March 1996 2000 →
Registered	14,313,288
Turnout	76.04%
Nominee Lee Teng-hui Peng Ming-min Party Kuomintang DPP Running mate Lien Chan Frank Hsieh Popular vote 5,813,699 2,274,586 Percentage 54.00% 21.13%   Nominee Lin Yang-kang Chen Li-an Party Independent Independent Running mate Hau Pei-tsun Wang Ching-feng Popular vote 1,603,790 1,074,044 Percentage 14.90% 9.98%
Results by county-level unit Results by township-level unit
President before election Lee Teng-hui Kuomintang Elected President Lee Teng-hui Kuomintang

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Presidential elections were held in Taiwan on 23 March 1996. It was the first direct presidential election in Taiwan, officially the Republic of China. In the previous eight elections the president and vice president had been chosen in a ballot of the deputies of the National Assembly, in accordance with the 1947 constitution. These were the first free and direct elections in the History of Taiwan.

Lee Teng-hui was re-elected President and Lien Chan as Vice President. Lee stood as the candidate of the ruling Kuomintang. He won a majority of 54% of the votes cast. His election followed missile tests by the People's Republic of China (PRC). These were an attempt to intimidate the Taiwanese electorate and discourage them from supporting Lee, however the tactic backfired. Voter turnout was 76.0%.

Candidates

The ruling Kuomintang nominated president Lee Teng-hui in August 1995 at its 14th Party Congress after plans to institute a closed primary system by his opponents were thwarted. As his running mate, Lee chose Lien Chan, who had attempted to resign his position as Premier of the Republic of China to join Lee's ticket. Lee did not accept Lien's resignation, as Lien's potential successors to the premiership stood little chance of legislative confirmation. After the election, the Judicial Yuan allowed Lien to keep both posts.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party conducted an extensive nomination process: the presidential candidate was selected after two rounds of voting and fifty public debates by the two finalists. Hsu Hsin-liang, Lin Yi-hsiung, You Ching, and Peng Ming-min contended for this position. The seventy-two-year-old Peng emerged victorious and nominated legislator Frank Hsieh to be his running mate. Peng opposed trade with mainland China unless the PRC promised to "treat Taiwan as an equal." Though he argued that the One-China policy would lead to another February 28 Incident, he took the position that Taiwan was already de facto independent so a formal declaration of Taiwan independence was unnecessary unless the PRC attacked. However, Peng rejected unification with the mainland outright, describing the notion as "suicide" and "self-destruction."

Former Taiwan Provincial Governor Lin Yang-kang ran as an independent with former Premier Hau Pei-tsun as his running mate. After the pair registered as candidates, they were endorsed by New Party. Both Lin and Hau were expelled from the Kuomintang on 13 December 1995. They supported the One-China principle and favored opening direct links with the mainland. They argued that the KMT, led by Lee, had abandoned all attempts at unification.

A second independent ticket consisted of former Control Yuan President Chen Li-an for President and Control Yuan member Wang Ching-feng for Vice President. Chen Li-an, the son of former Premier and Vice President Chen Cheng, used his Buddhist background (lay leader of the Fo Guang Shan order) and stressed moral purity and honest government. He walked for eighteen days wearing a farmer's straw hat to spread his views.

Former Taipei mayor Kao Yu-shu declared an end to his candidacy in January 1996. Feminist writer Shih Chi-ching also bid for the presidency, selecting Wu Yue-chen as her vice president. However, Shih and Wu's campaign ended after the Judicial Yuan ruled against them, finding that the ticket failed to meet the endorsement quota. Mudslinging was rampant between the remaining four presidential tickets. The KMT claimed that the Taiwanese mafia had amputated Peng's arm to recoup gambling debts. However, Peng had lost his arm in an American air raid on Nagasaki during World War II. Independent candidate Lin Yang-kang alleged that Lee Teng-hui had been a Chinese Communist Party member, which he denied at the time, but later admitted involvement in a 2002 interview. The Kuomintang's website was also subject to cyberattacks. Chen Li-an criticized every other candidate for their advanced age.

1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis

From March 8 to March 15, the People's Liberation Army sent ballistic missiles within 46 to 65 km (25 to 35 nmi) (just inside the ROC's territorial waters) off the ports of Keelung and Kaohsiung. This action was intended to intimidate the Taiwanese electorate into voting against Lee and Peng, which Beijing branded "absolutely identical in attempting to divide the motherland." Similarly, Chen Li-an warned, "If you vote for Lee Teng-hui, you are choosing war." The crisis came to an end when two U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups were positioned near Taiwan.

Lee, who told his people to resist "state terrorism," was seen as a strong leader who could negotiate with the PRC. Because of this, many constituents from southern Taiwan who favored independence voted for him. One Taipei newspaper, United Daily News reported that up to 14 to 15 percent of Lee's 54% vote share came from DPP supporters.

Results

Maps

• Blue: Lee-Lien ticket; Yellow: Lin-Hau ticket

Notes

1. Lee did not lead in all township-level units.

References

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v t e Elections and referendums in Taiwan
Presidential elections	1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 2028
Legislative Yuan elections	1969 1972 1975 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Next
Local elections	1935 1936 1939 1940 1946 1950–51 1952 1954 1955 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1963 1964 1965 1968 1969 1971 1972 1973 1975 1977 1978 1981 1982 1985 1986 1989 1990 1993 1994 1997–98 2001–02 2005–06 2009 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
Referendums	2004 2008 (Jan) 2008 (Mar) 2018 2021 2022
National Assembly elections	1969 1972 1980 1986 1991 1996 2005
See also: Elections in the Republic of China (1912–49) List of by-elections in Taiwan

• 1996 elections in Taiwan
• 1996 elections in Asia
• Presidential elections in Taiwan
• March 1996 events in Asia