2000 Taiwanese presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Taiwan on 18 March 2000 to elect the president and vice president. With a voter turnout of 83%, Chen Shui-bian and Annette Lu of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) were elected president and vice president respectively with a slight plurality.

This election ended more than half a century of Kuomintang (KMT) rule on the island, during which it had governed as a one-party state since the retreat of the government from the Chinese mainland during the closing stages of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. This was also the first time in Chinese history that a ruling political party peacefully transferred power to an opposition party under a democratic system. The nominees included the then-current vice president Lien Chan for the KMT, former provincial governor James Soong as an independent candidate (upon his loss of the KMT nomination), and former Taipei mayor Chen Shui-bian for the DPP.

Controversy arose throughout the course of the election; in particular, the candidacy of James Soong was beset by accusations of splitting the Kuomintang vote and involvement in corruption during the presidency of Lee Teng-hui, culminating in protests and the expulsion of the latter from the Kuomintang, while Chen's campaign attracted criticism from neighboring China due to his party's traditionally pro-independence stance. The issues of corruption and cross-strait relations were dominant during this election.Template:Sfn Chen's victory was initially seen as unlikely, but several compounded effects like the splitting of the Kuomintang vote and the aforementioned controversies are seen as having led to his victory. Chen performed most strongly in the southern part of Taiwan, while Soong tended to win in northern areas.

Candidates and platforms

Kuomintang

The ruling Kuomintang (KMT) ran vice president Lien Chan for president and Premier Vincent Siew for vice president.<ref name="election-central" /> Both were career civil servants and Lien, originating from the Taiwanese elite, was seen as aloof and unable to empathize with the common people.<ref name="cnn-tensions">Template:Cite news</ref>

Though more popular and consistently ranked higher in the polls, the outspoken former Taiwan governor James Soong failed to gain the Kuomintang's nomination.Template:Sfn As a result, he announced his candidacy as an independent candidate. The Kuomintang responded by expelling Soong in November 1999.<ref name="ap-expel-soong">Template:Cite news</ref> It is a very common belief among KMT supporters that president Lee Teng-hui was secretly supporting Chen Shui-bian, and purposely supported the less popular Lien in order to split the Kuomintang,<ref name="la-times-lee-quit" /><ref name="tbt-riot" /> and this belief was given a great deal of credibility after the 2000 election with Lee's defection to the Pan-Green coalition, though Lee's defection came only after his expulsion by the KMT.<ref name="lth-legacy">Template:Cite news</ref> Soong, a mainlander, tried to appeal to the native Taiwanese by nominating surgeon Chang Chao-hsiung, who is a native Taiwanese, as his running-mate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This, combined with the fact that Chang had connections to both the Democratic Progressive Party and the KMT reinforced Soong's campaign message of bridging political and cultural divide.Template:Sfn

In December 1999 the KMT began to attack Soong's integrity. They sued Soong for theft, alleging that as party secretary-general, he stole millions of Taiwan dollars in cash<ref name="tt-soong-lawsuit-1">Template:Cite news</ref> intended for the family of the late president Chiang Ching-kuo and hid the money in the Chunghsing Bills Finance Co.<ref name="tt-soong-chung-hsing">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nbm-soong">Template:Cite news</ref> Soong defended himself by saying he was acting under Lee's direction,<ref name="tt-soong-lawsuit-1" /><ref name="tt-soong-chung-hsing" /> though Lee denied this and many found the explanation unconvincing.Template:Sfn Initially holding a commanding lead in the polls,<ref name="ap-expel-soong" /> Soong ended up losing by just over 300,000 votes.<ref name="election-central" />

Both candidates had some obstacles presenting themselves as reform candidates with regard to corruption, given their high rank in the Kuomintang government. Soong's strategy was to openly admit his past wrongdoing and present his insider status as an advantage: i.e. that he could most easily tackle the corruption because of his experience with it; however, many saw his credibility as a reformer as broken by his financial scandal.Template:Sfn Lien advocated for reform, but had some difficulty in direct criticism as such attacks may have offended the ruling government; this is thought to have contributed to his defeat.Template:Sfn

Democratic Progressive Party

Template:Main The DPP ran former Taipei mayor Chen Shui-bian and Taoyuan County magistrate Annette Lu for vice president.<ref name="election-central" /> Having run for the 1996 election on a radical independence platform and lost by a landslide,Template:Sfn<ref name="lsero-one" /> the DPP in May 1999 moderated its stanceTemplate:Sfn by issuing the "Resolution on the Future of Taiwan".<ref name="future-res">Template:Cite web</ref> The resolution accepted the status quo and promoted the moderate view that Taiwan was already independent, so any formal declaration would not be urgently necessary, if at all,<ref name="tt-res-future">Template:Cite news</ref> and Chen presented a more conciliatory stance regarding the mainland.<ref name="lsero-one" /> Also included was the pledge that any change in Taiwan's international status will have to be done through a referendum,<ref name="future-res" /> thus alleviating the fear that, if elected, a DPP government would unilaterally declare independence without popular approval. The Chen-Lu ticket also promised to be more aggressive in fighting black gold,Template:Sfn<ref name="lsero-one" /> a system of connections and corruption which had become intertwined with the KMT.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The last minute public endorsement of Chen Shui-bian by President of the Academia Sinica and Nobel laureate Yuan T. Lee is also thought to have played a role in his election,<ref name="nobel" /> with Yuan T. Lee offering to negotiate with the PRC on Taiwan's behalf.Template:Sfn

Other candidates

All independent presidential tickets were required to turn in a petition of 224,000 names to the Central Election Commission to confirm their candidacy and appear on the ballot.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Former DPP Chairman Hsu Hsin-liang, who had quit the party after failing to prevent Chen from running, ran as an independent with New Party (NP) legislator Josephine Chu as his running mate.<ref name="election-central" /> As DPP Chairman, Hsu had moderated the platform of the party, promoting reconciliation with the People's Republic of China and the opening of direct links,<ref name="hsu-panorama">Template:Cite news</ref> a move not then supported by the KMT.Template:Sfn During the 2000 campaign, the Hsu-Chu ticket promoted unification under something similar to, but not the same as, 'one country, two systems', claiming that that exact system would be "bound to bring immediate loss to Taiwan".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The New Party nominated independent social commentator Li Ao—an acclaimed author, historian, and former political prisonerTemplate:Sfn—for president and legislator Elmer Fung for vice president.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> Li, who supported "one country, two systems",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn said he took the election as an opportunity to educate the people in Taiwan on his ideas, and show them the nation's "dark side".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite his nomination Li refused to join the NP.<ref name=":0" /> Both he and the NP publicly encouraged people to vote for James Soong to the point of stating during the televised presidential debates that he was not planning to vote for himself and that people should vote for Soong so that the pro-unification vote would not be split.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A white paper issued by the People's Republic of China (PRC) prior to the election had mentioned that they would "not permit the 'Taiwan question' to drag on", which generated condemnation from American leaders, including John Kerry and Stanley Roth; along with a downturn in the stock market, but little in terms of a Taiwanese reaction.Template:Sfn Then, shortly before the election, Zhu Rongji, the premier of the People's Republic of China attempted to influence the outcome, warning that voters should "not just act on impulse at this juncture, which will decide the future course that China and Taiwan will follow" and should "shun a pro-independence candidate", further stating that "[n]o matter who comes into power in Taiwan, Taiwan will never be allowed to be independent. This is our bottom line and the will of 1.25 billion Chinese people."<ref name="wp-threats">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn According to Christopher R. Hughes, emeritus professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics, a conclusion was made that the statements of Chinese government had actually been counterproductive and helped Chen to win;<ref name="lsero-one">Template:Cite journal</ref> consequently, China avoided making such an open attempt to influence the 2004 elections, adopting a "wait and see" attitude with Chen.Template:Sfn

Results

Voting was held on 18 March 2000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="election-central" /> The Soong-Chang ticket appeared first on the ballot, followed by the Kuomintang's Lien and Siew, then two independent tickets, Li-Fung and Hsu-Chu. The eventual winning DPP ticket of Chen and Lu were listed fifth.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Chen's ticket won by a margin of about 2.46%, ahead of Soong in second place and Chan in third.<ref name="election-central">Template:Cite web</ref> Generally, the Soong ticket led in the northern half of Taiwan, while the Chen ticket led in the south; however, there were exceptions, including Yilan County in the north, whose vote Chen won, and Taitung County in the south, whose vote Soong won.<ref name="tw-election-results">Template:Cite web</ref>

By administrative division

Subdivision	Electorate	1		2		3		4		5		Invalid	Turnout	Margin
		James Soong		Lien Chan		Li Ao		Hsu Hsin-liang		Chen Shui-bian
		Chang Chau-hsiung		Vincent Siew		Elmer Fung		Josephine Chu		Annette Lu
		Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Taipei City	1,914,915	Template:White	Template:White	347,564	21.90%	1,876	0.12%	8,723	0.25%	597,465	37.64%	12,449	83.53%	-34,073
Taipei County	2,437,456	Template:White	Template:White	451,707	22.37%	2,384	0.12%	10,641	0.53%	741,596	36.73%	22,711	83.77%	-71,225
Keelung City	275,256	Template:White	Template:White	48,545	21.52%	295	0.13%	1,116	0.49%	69,555	30.84%	1,958	82.65%	-36,477
Yilan County	325,691	86,549	33.05%	51,082	19.51%	350	0.13%	736	0.28%	Template:White	Template:White	2,029	81.03%	36,608
Taoyuan County	1,134,413	Template:White	Template:White	208,881	22.15%	1,140	0.12%	20,581	2.18%	299,120	31.72%	11,628	84.16%	-114,250
Hsinchu County	295,192	Template:White	Template:White	51,442	20.69%	309	0.12%	7,093	2.85%	61,533	24.25%	2,607	85.10%	-66,698
Hsinchu City	249,395	Template:White	Template:White	46,234	22.40%	292	0.14%	1,746	0.85%	69,760	33.97%	2,185	83.65%	-18,652
Miaoli County	390,780	Template:White	Template:White	71,798	22.20%	399	0.12%	3,931	1.22%	86,707	26.81%	3,298	83.59%	-73,826
Taichung County	992,527	Template:White	Template:White	206,832	24.74%	1,176	0.14%	4,304	0.51%	305,219	36.51%	9,344	85.17%	-13,280
Taichung City	636,533	Template:White	Template:White	111,391	21.19%	616	0.12%	2,463	0.47%	193,796	36.86%	5,000	83.38%	-23,690
Changhua County	896,075	251,310	33.71%	191,685	25.71%	1,070	0.14%	2,811	0.38%	Template:White	Template:White	7,997	84.08%	47,261
Nantou County	383,478	Template:White	Template:White	56,025	18.15%	395	0.13%	914	0.30%	106,440	34.49%	2,622	81.17%	-38,423
Yunlin County	538,140	114,188	27.70%	102,177	24.78%	975	0.24%	1,230	0.30%	Template:White	Template:White	3,298	77.23%	79,527
Chiayi County	410,702	85,890	26.98%	73,409	23.06%	561	0.18%	920	0.29%	Template:White	Template:White	3,006	78.23%	71,622
Chiayi City	183,325	43,773	29.34%	34,670	23.24%	169	0.11%	448	0.30%	Template:White	Template:White	1,134	82.00%	26,351
Tainan County	789,844	136,217	21.10%	159,443	24.70%	1,164	0.18%	1,582	0.25%	Template:White	Template:White	5,531	82.44%	210,993
Tainan City	508,517	114,299	27.53%	107,679	25.93%	580	0.14%	1,408	0.34%	Template:White	Template:White	3,282	82.30%	76,962
Kaohsiung City	1,042,117	259,023	29.78%	208,544	23.97%	877	0.10%	3,103	0.36%	Template:White	Template:White	8,103	84.25%	139,358
Kaohsiung County	874,875	206,616	28.43%	174,021	23.95%	1,024	0.14%	2,478	0.34%	Template:White	Template:White	5,851	83.73%	135,937
Pingtung County	647,524	131,371	25.48%	142,934	27.73%	692	0.13%	1,939	0.38%	Template:White	Template:White	4,008	80.23%	107,201
Taitung County	177,706	Template:White	Template:White	28,659	23.66%	136	0.11%	294	0.24%	28,102	23.20%	1,418	68.95%	-35,811
Hualien County	252,771	Template:White	Template:White	36,042	19.28%	194	0.10%	736	0.39%	40,044	21.24%	2,201	74.84%	-69,918
Penghu County	64,887	Template:White	Template:White	10,418	23.25%	64	0.14%	119	0.27%	16,487	36.79%	388	69.66%	-1,236
Kinmen County	35,808	Template:White	Template:White	3,543	14.50%	37	0.15%	105	0.43%	759	3.11%	214	68.84%	-19,232
Lienchiang County	4,698	Template:White	Template:White	787	24.43%	7	0.22%	8	0.25%	58	1.80%	16	68.92%	-2,304
出典：CEC Overview Table CEC Visual Query

Maps

Template:SwitcherResult by County level

Template:SwitcherResult by Township level

Vote leader and vote share in township-level districts.

Vote leader in county-level districts.

National winner vs. national runner-up vote difference by township/city or districtTemplate:Efn

Aftermath

Chen's victory was seen as unlikely before Soong's financial scandal broke out.Template:Sfn Under the first-past-the-post voting system, the split of the KMT vote between James Soong and Lien Chan, who together polled nearly 60% of the vote (compared to Chen's 39%), played a large role in the Taiwan independence-leaning candidate Chen's victory.Template:Sfn<ref name="nbm-soong" /> Soong Chu-yu's financial scandals, Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh's endorsement, and arguably the last minute saber-rattling by the PRC tipped the balance to Chen's favor.<ref name="nobel">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="lsero-one" />Template:Sfn Chen's victory marked the first time since the retreat from the mainland that a party other than the KMT won the presidency, ending 50 years of rule by the latter, which was partly under a one-party state.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This also marked the first peaceful transition of power under a democratic regime in Chinese history.<ref name="nyt-transfer">Template:Cite news</ref>

As the results were announced, several thousand protesters, mostly KMT loyalists who believed Lee Teng-hui had intentionally tried to sabotage the pro-unification vote, gathered outside the KMT headquarters in Taipei and demanded Lee resign as Chairman.<ref name="la-times-lee-quit">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="tt-lien">Template:Cite news</ref> Lee promised to resign at the party congress in September 2000.<ref name="la-times-lee-quit" /><ref name="tt-lien" /> Though the protest was without permit, the government did not order an end to it,<ref name="tbt-riot">Template:Cite news</ref> though Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou attempted to dispel the crowd on the first night.<ref name="tt-lien" /> The protesters blocked the entrances to the building and kept Lee holed in his office for hours until riot police with water cannon were able to open a path for the motorcade.<ref name="tbt-riot" /> Protesters also dragged presidential advisor Hsu Li-teh out of his car and beat him.<ref name="tbt-riot" /> The protests ended in success on March 24 when Lee resigned as KMT Chairman and was replaced by Lien.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ma Ying-jeou also resigned from the Central Standing Committee of the KMT as a result of his dissatisfaction with the leadership at the time, calling for reform.<ref name="la-times-lee-quit" /><ref name="tbt-riot" />

On the day of the election, Soong announced the formation of the People First Party<ref name="la-times-lee-quit" /><ref name="tt-lien" /> before a crowd of his supporters, though he urged calm and the avoidance of "bloodshed".<ref name="nyt-protests-defeat">Template:Cite news</ref> In the following party congress, Lien Chan was able to achieve Lee's expulsion<ref name="lth-legacy" /> and began to move the party back towards a unificationist platform. Lee and his supporters later formed the radical pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union.<ref name="lth-legacy" /> Lee was expelled from KMT on 21 September 2001, the first party chairman thus far to have membership revoked.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> To avoid a repeat of the 2000 split, Lien and Soong agreed to run on a single ticket as president and vice president, respectively, in the 2004 election.Template:Sfn They made the announcement on 14 February 2003, more than a year before the next presidential election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Nevertheless, they were still defeated by Chen Shui-bian in the next election.Template:Sfn

Some authors, including John Fuh-hsieng Hsieh and Shelley Rigger, surmised that Chen Shui-bian's ascent to the presidency was not as groundbreaking as might be thought:Template:Sfn the presidency's supposed power was largely drawn from the power a KMT leader would have when both the legislature and the presidency were controlled by the party,Template:Sfn but the government of Taiwan was largely dominated by the legislative branch, which remained under the control of the KMT. As such, Chen ascended into a relatively weak presidency.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Consequently, Chen's first cabinet consisted of some KMT members along with DPP members.<ref name="nyt-transfer" /> However, after the legislative elections in 2001, Chen was expected to be able to exert more influence, due to the KMT's loss of a majority.Template:Sfn Chen's more pro-independence stance initially caused concerns on behalf of the United States to raise such that they sent senior officials to the PRC to ease tensions.<ref name="nyt-protests-defeat" /> Tensions later relaxed, though a somewhat rocky relationship remained.Template:Sfn

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