Presidential elections were held in Taiwan on 23 March 1996. It was Taiwan's first direct presidential election, 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 for 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 attempted to intimidate and discourage the Taiwanese electorate from supporting Lee; however, the tactic backfired. Voter turnout was 76.0%.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p558

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 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 between 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 as 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 independently with former Premier Hau Pei-tsun as his running mate. After the pair registered as candidates, they were endorsed by the 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 wearing a farmer's straw hat for eighteen days 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 was a member of the Chinese Communist Party, 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 (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 ended 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

By administrative division SubdivisionElectorate1234InvalidTurnoutMarginChen Li-anLee Teng-hui Peng Ming-minLin Yang-kang Wang Ching-feng Lien Chan Frank Hsieh Hau Pei-tsun Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Taipei City 1,842,261 165,541 11.89% 338,895 24.34% 346,272 24.87% 12,522 76.26% 202,826 Taipei County 2,166,016 186,973 11.37% 370,728 22.55% 292,541 17.79% 17,074 76.69% 422,990 Keelung City 254,276 25,950 13.42% 34,256 17.71% 35,978 18.60% 1,747 76.75% 62,967 Yilan County 313,770 20,573 8.94% 68,044 29.56% 15,154 6.58% 2,063 74.02% 58,361 Taoyuan County 985,365 91,048 12.02% 114,901 15.16% 128,607 16.97% 9,955 77.91% 308,297 Hsinchu County 270,365 24,746 11.67% 23,555 11.11% 23,342 11.01% 3,051 79.53% 116,766 Hsinchu City 226,574 22,603 12.93% 28,281 16.17% 30,155 17.25% 2,031 78.07% 65,531 Miaoli County 376,581 29,884 10.31% 31,036 10.70% 26,459 9.12% 3,795 78.01% 171,557 Taichung County 897,357 71,030 10.01% 115,034 16.22% 96,594 13.62% 9,099 80.06% 311,634 Taichung City 555,794 46,844 11.11% 82,416 19.55% 96,509 22.89% 4,084 76.60% 113,449 Changhua County 841,294 62,138 9.70% 116,154 18.12% 54,776 8.55% 8,412 77.18% 291,666 Nantou County 371,630 14,552 5.31% 86,357 31.52% 45,556 16.63% 2,786 74.48% 40,801 Yunlin County 521,592 25,914 7.22% 68,785 19.17% 26,247 7.31% 4,343 69.63% 169,086 Chiayi County 398,362 17,515 6.37% 63,101 22.94% 13,716 4.99% 3,105 69.82% 117,608 Chiayi City 175,137 12,761 9.90% 42,984 33.35% 12,515 9.71% 1,130 74.24% 17,644 Tainan County 742,953 41,263 7.48% 134,969 24.47% 27,590 5.00% 5,686 75.02% 212,856 Tainan City 469,463 39,058 10.97% 84,929 23.85% 30,603 8.60% 3,136 76.50% 116,507 Kaohsiung City 952,202 68,158 9.29% 200,406 27.32% 93,691 12.77% 7,089 77.79% 170,985 Kaohsiung County 809,157 47,790 7.64% 151,943 24.30% 51,139 8.18% 6,210 78.04% 222,443 Pingtung County 623,207 26,644 5.78% 117,283 25.46% 26,902 5.84% 4,752 74.68% 172,529 Taitung County 176,313 8,160 7.52% 14,506 13.37% 11,584 10.68% 1,709 62.49% 59,705 Hualien County 245,715 14,568 8.91% 18,383 11.24% 25,836 15.80% 2,364 67.51% 86,357 Penghu County 63,533 4,170 10.29% 8,070 19.92% 2,907 7.18% 563 64.65% 17,297 Kinmen County 30,476 5,805 28.09% 336 1.63% 6,123 29.63% 401 69.12% 8,065 Lienchiang County 3,895 356 13.56% 35 1.33% 1,013 38.59% 53 68.75% 1,186 Source: CEC Overview Table CEC Visual Query

Maps Result by County level Result by Township level

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

Notes

References