Republic of China presidential election, 1996

Republic of China presidential election, 1996

March 23, 1996

Nominee Lee Teng-hui Peng Ming‑min Party Kuomintang Democratic Progressive Running mate Lien Chan Frank Hsieh Popular vote 5,813,699 2,274,586 Percentage 54.0% 21.1%   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 14.9% 9.9%

250px Results:   Lee-Lien Ticket   Lin-Hau Ticket Although the DPP was the runner-up, it did not win any township, district or city in Taiwan.

President before election Lee Teng-hui Kuomintang Elected President Lee Teng-hui Kuomintang

The election of the ninth-term President and Vice-President of the Republic of China (第九任中華民國總統 、副總統選舉) was the first direct presidential election in the history of the Republic of China. It occurred on 23 March 1996. 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.

The outcome of the 1996 election was that Lee Teng-hui was elected as President and Lien Chan as Vice President. Lee stood as the incumbent, and 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. 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 promised to resign as Premier of the Republic of China if he were elected Vice President.

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, Yu 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.

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 on November 27, 1995, a small protest in Taichung demanded their expulsion from the KMT. On the recommendation of the KMT Disciplinary Committee, their party memberships were cancelled (a step short of expelled) in December for "viciously attacking" Lee Teng-hui and "seriously damaging the party's image and prestige." They were endorsed by New Party after its own nominee dropped out. Lin and Hau likewise campaigned on behalf of the New Party. They supported the One-China Principle and favored opening direct links with the mainland. They argued that the KMT was too corrupt to govern.

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.

1996 Taiwan Straits Crisis

Main articles: Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, Republic of China Armed Forces, and People's Liberation Army

From March 8 to March 15, the Chinese People's Liberation Army sent ballistic missiles within 25 to 35 miles (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 boosted in popularity by the widespread anger (as opposed to fear) caused by the missile tests. Most analysts believed that Lee was boosted 5% in the polls, just enough to have earned him a majority (as opposed to a plurality) in the election.

Results

1996 Republic of China Presidential Election Result
President Candidate	Vice President Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Lee Teng-hui	Lien Chan	Kuomintang	5,813,699	54.0
Peng Ming-min	Frank Hsieh	Democratic Progressive Party	2,274,586	21.1
Lin Yang-kang	Hau Pei-tsun	Independent	1,603,790	14.9
Chen Li-an	Wang Ching-feng	Independent	1,074,044	9.9
Invalid/blank votes			117,160
Total			10,883,279	100

External links

• B/w candidate portraits