Taiwan presidential election, 1996 - wikipedia Taiwan presidential election, 1996 Taiwan presidential election, 1996 ← 1990 March 23, 1996 2000 → Turnout 76.04 % 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 ( Petition ) ( Petition ) Running mate Hau Pei - tsun Wang Ching - feng Popular vote 1,603,790 1,074,044 Percentage 14.9 % 9.9 % President before election Lee Teng - hui Kuomintang Elected President Lee Teng - hui Kuomintang This article is part of a series on the Politics of the Republic of China Commonly known as Taiwan Government Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China Original Constitution Law Taxation Leadership President of the Republic of China President Tsai Ing - wen Vice President Chen Chien - jen Executive Premier of the Republic of China Premier William Lai Vice Premier Shih Jun - ji Legislative Speaker Su Chia - chyuan Deputy Speaker Tsai Chi - chang Ninth Legislative Yuan Judicial President and Chief Justice Hsu Tzong - li Vice President Tsai Jung - dwen Supreme Court of the Republic of China District Courts Other branches Examination Yuan President Wu Jin - lin Control Yuan President Chang Po - ya Local governments Administrative divisions Heads Elections Central Election Commission Chairperson Liu I - chou Presidential elections 2000 2008 2012 2016 Legislative elections 1992 1995 1998 2001 2008 2012 2016 Referendums Jan 2008 Mar 2008 Political parties Nationally represented Democratic Progressive Party Kuomintang New Power Party People First Party Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Others Taiwan Solidarity Union New Party Minkuotang Green Party Taiwan Related topics Political status of Taiwan One - China policy Chinese Taipei Chinese unification Taiwan independence movement Foreign relations United Nations Japan South Korea Singapore United States Cross-Strait relations Special state - to - state relations One Country on Each Side 1992 Consensus Taiwan consensus 2015 Ma -- Xi meeting Other countries Atlas Taiwan portal 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 %. Contents 1 Candidates 2 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis 3 Results 4 References 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 reunification 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 Main article : Third Taiwan Strait Crisis From March 8 to March 15, the Chinese 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 China. Because of this, many constituents from southern Taiwan who favored independence voted for him. Results 1996 Taiwan 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 Citizens Petition 1,603,790 14.9 Chen Li - an Wang Ching - feng Citizens Petition 1,074,044 9.9 Invalid / blank votes 117,160 Total 10,883,279 100 References Jump up ^ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann ( 2001 ) Elections in Asia : A data handbook, Volume II, p558 ISBN 0 - 19 - 924959 - 8 Jump up ^ Copper, John Franklin ( 1998 ). Taiwan 's Mid-1990s Elections : Taking the Final Steps to Democracy. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 104. ISBN 9780275962074. Jump up ^ Clough, Ralph N. ( 1999 ). Cooperation Or Conflict in the Taiwan Strait ?. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 4. ISBN 9780847693269. Jump up ^ Trenhaile, John ( 1 August 1996 ). `` The New Cabinet ''. Taiwan Today. Retrieved 12 October 2016. Jump up ^ The Far East and Australasia 2003. Psychology Press. 2002. ISBN 9781857431339. Jump up ^ Tsang, Steve ; Tien, Hung - mao, eds. ( 1999 ). Democratisation in Taiwan : Implications for China. Springer. p. 155. ISBN 9781349272792. Jump up ^ Jayasuriya, Kanishka ( 2006 ). Law, Capitalism and Power in Asia : The Rule of Law and Legal Institutions. Routledge. p. 233. ISBN 9781134738267. Jump up ^ `` Deserting ' Independence ' ''. CNN. 27 October 1995. Retrieved 3 June 2016. Jump up ^ Sheng, Virginia ( 17 November 1995 ). `` Lin names former premier, Hau, as running mate for March vote ''. Taiwan Today. Retrieved 25 September 2016. Jump up ^ Schubert, Gunter, ed. ( 2016 ). Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Taiwan. Routledge. p. 57. ISBN 9781317669708. Jump up ^ Tempest, Rone ( 24 March 1996 ). `` Defiant Taiwan Puts Beijing in Difficult Straits ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 September 2016. Jump up ^ Tyler, Patrick E. ( 22 March 1996 ). `` TENSION IN TAIWAN : THE POLITICS ; War Games Play Well for Taiwan 's Leader ''. New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2016. Jump up ^ Roy, Denny ( 2003 ). Taiwan : A Political History. Cornell University Press. p. 199. ISBN 9780801488054. Jump up ^ Copper, John Franklin ( 1998 ). Taiwan 's Mid-1990s Elections : Taking the Final Steps to Democracy. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 106. ISBN 9780275962074. Jump up ^ Copper, John Franklin ( 1998 ). Taiwan 's Mid-1990s Elections : Taking the Final Steps to Democracy. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 99. ISBN 9780275962074. Jump up ^ Sheng, Virginia ( 12 January 1996 ). `` Independents fault sign - up rules ; One presidential hopeful abandons race in protest ''. Taiwan Today. Retrieved 16 September 2016. Jump up ^ Han Cheung ( 8 January 2017 ). `` Taiwan in Time : The ' Divorce Queen ' ''. Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 January 2017. ^ Jump up to : Lin, Jennifer ( 21 March 1996 ). `` Taiwan Campaigning Has A Familiar Ring ''. Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 3 June 2016. Jump up ^ Schmetzer, Uli ( 23 March 1996 ). `` Taiwanese Exercising Democracy ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 September 2016. Jump up ^ Lin, Mei - Chun ( 8 November 2002 ). `` Lee admits to fling with Communism ''. Taipei Times. Retrieved 26 October 2014. Jump up ^ Roy, Denny ( 2003 ). Taiwan : A Political History. Cornell University Press. p. 198. ISBN 9780801488054. Jump up ^ Crowell, Todd ; Bodeen, Chris ( 15 March 1996 ). `` Confrontations ''. CNN. Retrieved 3 June 2016. Jump up ^ Wu, Yu - Shan ( January 2005 ). `` Taiwan 's Domestic Politics and Cross-Strait Relations '' ( PDF ). The China Journal. 53 : 35 -- 60. JSTOR 20065991. doi : 10.2307 / 20065991. Archived ( PDF ) from the original on 14 May 2014. Jump up ^ Chinoy, Mike ( 17 March 1996 ). `` Chinese premier urges U.S. not to ' aggravate ' situation ''. CNN.com. Retrieved 25 September 2016. Jump up ^ Tyler, Patrick E. ( 24 March 1996 ). `` Taiwan 's leader wins its election and a mandate ''. New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2016. Elections and referendums in Taiwan Presidential elections 1954 1960 1966 1972 1978 1984 2000 2008 2012 2016 National Assembly elections 1969 1972 1980 1986 1991 2005 Legislative elections 1948 1969 1972 1980 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2008 2012 2016 Municipal and provincial elections 1936 1940 1946 1951 1954 1957 1960 1963 1968 1969 1972 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 Local elections 1935 1939 1950 1954 1957 1960 1964 1968 1972 1977 1981 1985 1989 2001 2005 2009 2014 2018 Referendums 2008 ( Jan ) 2008 ( Mar ) See also : Elections in the Republic of China ( 1912 -- 49 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taiwan_presidential_election,_1996&oldid=804601138 '' Categories : 1996 elections in Taiwan Presidential elections in Taiwan March 1996 events Hidden categories : Pages using deprecated image syntax Talk Contents About Wikipedia Bân - lâm - gú Deutsch 한국어 日本 語 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 10 October 2017, at 01 : 33. 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Question: who scored a victory in taiwans first democratic public elections in 1996
Answer: Lee Teng-hui was elected as President and Lien Chan as Vice President