View source for 2004 Taiwanese presidential election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Infobox election
| country = Taiwan
| type = presidential
| previous_election = 2000 Taiwanese presidential election
| previous_year = 2000
| election_date = {{Start date|2004|03|20|df=y}}
| next_election = 2008 Taiwanese presidential election
| next_year = 2008
| registered = 16,507,179
| turnout = 80.28% ({{decrease}} 2.41{{abbr|pp|percentage points}})
| image1 = 總統陳水扁先生玉照 (國民大會實錄).jpg
| nominee1 = '''[[Chen Shui-bian]]'''
| party1 = Democratic Progressive Party
| running_mate1 = '''[[Annette Lu]]'''
| popular_vote1 = '''6,471,970'''
| percentage1 = '''50.11%'''
| image2 = 連戰院長 (cropped).jpg
| nominee2 = [[Lien Chan]]
| party2 = Kuomintang
| running_mate2 = [[James Soong]]
| popular_vote2 = 6,442,452
| percentage2 = 49.89%
| map_image = {{Switcher
| [[File:ROC 2004 Presidential Election County level.svg|300px]]
| Results by county-level unit
| [[File:ROC 2004 Presidential Election Township level.svg|300px]]
| Results by township-level unit
}}
| title = President
| before_election = [[Chen Shui-bian]]
| before_party = Democratic Progressive Party
| after_election = [[Chen Shui-bian]]
| after_party = Democratic Progressive Party
}}{{Politics of the Republic of China}}

Presidential elections were held in [[Taiwan]] on 20 March 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=Central Election Commission:::Presidential Elections::: |url=https://web.cec.gov.tw/english/cms/pe |website=Central Election Commission |access-date=9 January 2020 |language=en}}</ref> A [[2004 ROC referendum|consultative referendum took place on the same day]] regarding relations with the [[People's Republic of China]].

President [[Chen Shui-bian]] and Vice President [[Annette Lu]] of the [[Democratic Progressive Party]] were re-elected by a narrow margin of 0.22% over a combined opposition ticket of [[Kuomintang]] (KMT) Chairman [[Lien Chan]] and [[People First Party (Taiwan)|People First Party]] Chairman [[James Soong]]. Lien and Soong refused to concede and unsuccessfully challenged the results.

==Formation of the tickets==
===Democratic Progressive Party===
{{main|2003 Democratic Progressive Party presidential primary}}
In the months leading up to December 2003, there was speculation as to whether President Chen would choose Vice President Annette Lu as his running mate. Polls had consistently showed that Chen would do better with another candidate such as Taipei county administrator [[Su Tseng-chang]] or [[Kaohsiung]] mayor [[Frank Hsieh]], and many of the DPP's most popular lawmakers had petitioned Chen to seriously consider another candidate. After several weeks of very public infighting between various factions of the DPP, Chen formally nominated Lu as his running mate on December 11. They were backed by the [[Pan-Green Coalition]].

The existence of only two tickets on the ballot led to several protest movements against both coalitions (most notably the Alliance of One Million Invalid Ballots) asking people to disqualify their ballots on purpose. This was partly responsible for the high number of invalid votes compared to the 2000 election.

===Kuomintang and People First Party===
In February 2003, the KMT and PFP agreed to run a combined ticket representing the entire [[Pan-Blue Coalition]] with [[Lien Chan]] for president and [[James Soong]] for vice president. The campaign emblem for the Lien-Soong campaign was a two-seat bicycle with a blue figure in the first seat and an orange figure in the second. There were initial doubts to this pairing since it was believed that the two men personally disliked each other—during the [[2000 Taiwanese presidential election|2000 presidential election]], Lien had accused Soong of positioning his family graves to interfere with Lien's [[Feng Shui]], forcing Lien to reposition his graves. Additionally, it was thought to be difficult for the two men to agree upon who would run for president and who would run for vice president. Though Soong polled ahead of Lien in 2000 and was thought to be much more charismatic, he ended up running for vice president. The PFP's poor showing in the [[2001 ROC legislative election|2001 legislative election]] may have played a role in this decision. Initially, it was believed that the Lien-Soong ticket would be a sure win, given that both men garnered a combined 59.9% of the vote in 2000.

==Issues==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2023}}
Although the [[political spectrum]] on Taiwan is defined in terms of [[Taiwan independence]] versus [[Chinese unification]], both campaigns took moderate positions on this issue. Members of the electorate who were influenced greatly by either independence or unification were loyal [[iron vote]]s for the Pan-Green or Pan-Blue coalitions respectively, so the goal of both campaigns was to capture the moderate middle.

The theme of the [[Pan-Green Coalition]] was to portray themselves as Taiwanese nationalists and reformers and the opposition as corrupt and lacking in loyalty to Taiwan. The theme of the [[Pan-Blue Coalition]] was to question Chen's competence and also to focus in on issues which interested specific interest groups. The Pan-Blue Coalition staunchly defended the existence of the Republic of China and also rejected unification under [[one country, two systems]]. They also abandoned the [[Under the Roof of One China]] policy.

The main issues in the campaign were relations with the [[China|People's Republic of China]], political reform, and the [[economy of Taiwan|economy]]. In addition, although they tend not be noticed by the international press, local issues were important in the campaign, particularly because these issues influence undecided voters. These issues varied from county to county but included funding for irrigation projects, the location of expressways, and location of local administrative boundaries.

As the election approached, the tone of campaigning became increasingly negative, with charges of tax evasion, draft dodging, illegal financial transactions, and [[domestic violence]] on the part of [[Lien Chan]]. Most observers attributed the negative nature of the campaign to the fact that each campaign had moderated their platforms to the extent that they were similar to each other, leaving nothing other than personal attacks to attract the few uncommitted voters in the race.

==Demographic trends and public opinion==
[[File:Pan-blue supporters during 2004 ROC presidential election with ROC flags.jpg|thumb|Pan-blue supporters.]]
On the day of the election, each member of the electorate (most adult citizens aged 20 and upwards) stamped one from the two choices of president/vice-president tickets on the ballot. Since Taiwan does not provide absentee ballots, large numbers of Taiwanese expatriates living in [[North America]] and [[mainland China]] returned to Taiwan to vote. Typical estimates indicate that about 20,000 people travelled from North America and between 100,000 and 150,000 people travelled from mainland China. Most analysts believe that the voters from North America would be split evenly between the two candidates, but that those from mainland China voted overwhelmingly for Pan-Blue.

Polls indicated that Taiwan is split with about one-third identifying themselves as Pan-Blue, one-third identifying themselves as Pan-Green, and one-third as centrist. They also showed very little cross-party voting with over 90% of people who identify with one party group stating that they would vote for the party.

Pan-Blue did well among [[waishengren|mainlander]]s, [[Taiwanese aborigine]]s, and [[Hakka people|Hakka]]. They also showed strong support among 30–50-year-olds, the very rich, the very poor, and residents of northern and eastern Taiwan. Pan-Green did well among people aged 20–30 and 50–60, people with formal education (such as doctors), and residents of southern Taiwan.
<!-- BADLY outdated; salvage whatever is still relevant and uncomment:

Although Pan-Blue polled a combined total of over 60 percent of the vote in 2000, almost everyone believes that they will not do nearly as well, in part because of [[Lee Teng-Hui]]'s defection to the [[Pan-Green camp]].

Polls in February 2004 showed Pan-Blue running slightly ahead, but with a quarter of the electorate still undecided. However, most analysts are of the opinion that the poll numbers vastly overestimate the number of people who are actually undecided, and all but a small percentage of the people who expressed no opinion have already decided for whom they will vote. Although polls have shown the Pan-Blue slightly ahead, some analysts believe that this does not eliminate the possibility of a Pan-Green victory as traditionally Pan-Green voters have been more reluctant to express their opinion in light of Taiwan's authoritarian past. Others have argued that while, this "hidden Green" effect was very apparent in elections in the early 1990s, with Taiwanese democratization, the hidden Green effect has been less pronounced or non-existent in more recent elections.
-->

The margin in favor of Pan-Blue narrowed significantly after the [[228 Hand-in-Hand Rally]], with some polls showing Pan-Green in the lead. Taiwanese law forbids publishing any poll results, either current or historical, less than ten days before the election.

==Platforms and strategies==

The DPP attempted to portray the Lien-Soong ticket as one which would sell out Taiwan to the PRC, and emphasized constitutional reform, proposing a new [[constitution]], and a "[[2004 ROC referendum|peace referendum]]". This has led to fears that Chen intends to use a new constitution and a referendum to declare [[Taiwan independence]]. Worries about this have caused the [[United States]] at several points to ask for, and receive assurances that Chen has not abandoned the [[Four Noes and One Without]] policy.

The Lien-Soong ticket attempted to portray Chen as someone who let politics get in the way of improving the [[Economy of Taiwan|Taiwanese economy]]. Originally emphasizing Chen's inability to establish the [[Three Links]] with [[mainland China]], the Lien-Soong ticket changed its message, in light of the [[SARS]] outbreak in mid-2003, to focus more on what they see as Chen's inability to deal with the recession. Until October 2003, the Lien-Soong strategy appeared to be to avoid doing or saying anything controversial to keep its lead. This strategy was widely seen as counterproductive by the end of October when Pan-Green started to pull ahead.

Chen's rise in the polls in 2003 caused the opposition to change its campaign strategy. To counter Chen's platform for a new constitution by 2008, the opposition campaigned for a major constitutional change by 2004. In addition, the opposition stopped its stalling of a referendum bill. <!-- where should this go?-->

By the end of November 2003, the Lien-Soong ticket had appeared to recover some of the losses in polls that had occurred in October.

Both groups, in January 2004, seemed not to be focusing on issues of external policies, but instead on issues of personal finances. The Pan-Green Coalition raised the issue of Lien Chan's personal wealth and the properties which they asserted that the [[Kuomintang]] had illegally acquired while it was the ruling party. In response, the Pan-Blue Coalition asked why Chen Shui-bian has become much wealthier after assuming the presidency.

In March 2004, as the campaign was winding down, a series of posters comparing Chen to [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Saddam Hussien|Saddam Hussein]], and [[Osama bin Laden]] were released by the Pan-Blue Coalition, creating controversy. The coalition eventually apologized to Taiwan's Jewish community for the comparison, although it refused to do so to Chen himself.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Williams|first1=Martin|last2=Su|first2=Joy|title=Pan-blue poster likens Chen to bin Laden, Saddam|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/03/23/2003107384|access-date=6 November 2016|work=Taipei Times|date=23 March 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=KMT apologizes about Hitler ad -- but not to Chen|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/03/13/2003102233|access-date=6 November 2016|work=Taipei Times|date=13 March 2004}}</ref>

==Reaction from the PRC==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2023}}
Most observers believed that the [[China|People's Republic of China]] (PRC) would have preferred to see [[Chen Shui-bian]] replaced by an administration less sympathetic to [[Taiwan independence]] and more in favor of [[Chinese unification]]. However, some observers believed that the PRC cared less about who became the President of the ROC, than that this person establish economic linkages which Beijing believes would bind Taiwan irrevocably to the mainland.

In contrast to the elections of [[1996 ROC presidential election|1996]] and [[2000 ROC presidential election|2000]], the PRC was quiet in this election until early November. Most observers believed that this was because the PRC learned that any comments, especially in the form of threats, were likely to be counterproductive. The PRC broke its silence in mid November 2003 and issued several very sharp threats that it would not stand by if Taiwan declared independence. This widely was seen as in response to two factors. In early November 2003, Chen Shui-bian took an unofficial trip to the United States in which he was much more publicly seen than before. This trip increased his popularity on Taiwan to the point where most polls indicated that he was even with or slightly ahead of Lien. The trip in November 2003, also alarmed the PRC in that it appeared to convince them that the United States would do less to constrain Chen Shui-bian than they had earlier believed. In December 2003, after the United States clarified its position on Taiwan stating support for the [[one China policy|One-China policy]] and opposition to any referendum that would tend to move Taiwan toward independence, the PRC toned down its criticism and focused its attention on the proposed referendum rather than on the presidential race.

===Incident of the Pan-Blue campaign offices===

In February 2004, former Justice Minister [[Liao Cheng-hao]], attempted to establish four campaign office branches on [[mainland China]] with the purpose of convincing Taiwanese businessmen on the mainland to support Pan-Blue. News of this caused an uproar on Taiwan, especially after Liao was photographed with several [[fugitive]]s from Taiwan. Lien Chan quickly distanced himself from this action, and Liao wrote an essay stating that his activities were not authorized. Shortly thereafter, the PRC [[Taiwan Affairs Office]] spokesman said, "We did not, do not and will not interfere with elections in Taiwan...We do not care who will be elected. What we care about is the winner's attitude towards cross-Taiwan Strait relations and national reunification," and PRC issued instructions to local officials not to allow Taiwanese businessmen to openly campaign on the mainland.

At the same time, a number of organizations were operating to help Taiwanese businessmen return to Taiwan in order to vote. Though these organizations were formally politically neutral, most Taiwanese businessmen on the mainland widely favored Pan-Blue.

==Election mechanics==
The official campaigning period was from 07:00 to 22:00 every day from February 21, 2004, to March 19, 2004, though campaign activities had gone on for over a year. Taiwanese law forbids reports of polls in the last ten days of campaigning and any campaigning on the day of the election. Ballots in Taiwan are counted by hand with results generally available within two hours of the end of the election.

Because of Pan-Blue's strategy of having people cast no ballot in the referendum, one major controversy was the format of the election, specifically as whether the referendum questions would be on the same or different ballots as the presidency. After much debate the CEC decided that there would be a U-shaped line in which people would first cast a ballot for president and then cast a separate ballot for each of the two questions. Voters who choose not to cast a referendum ballot could exit the line at the base of the U. Near the end of the campaign, the CEC issued a number of conflicting and constantly changing directives as to what would constitute a valid ballot.

==Other developments==

===Official televised debates of the candidates===

Televised debates between the two major candidates were held on February 14 and February 22. The parties were unable to reach agreement on dates for other presidential debates and for vice-presidential debates, though both candidates provided televised statements on February 28.

===Popular mobilization===

The main figures from the Pan-Green Coalition, including Chen Shui-bian and former president [[Lee Teng-hui]], initiated the [[228 Hand-in-Hand Rally]], in which more than two million people joined hands from the very north of Taiwan to south to form an unbroken [[human chain (politics)|human chain]]. As an act of defiance against the [[China|P.R.China]] as well as a promotion of Taiwanese national identity, it occurred on February 28 in remembrance of the [[February 28 Incident]]. This demonstration was inspired by the human chain of two million that was organized in the [[Baltic states]] in 1989, where the [[Soviet Union]] later invaded to stop the Baltic states from declaring independence. Although billed as non-political, some of the symbolism of the demonstration, particularly the point in the event where participants "turn away from China," veered clearly toward support of [[Taiwan independence]], and hence was not attended by members of the Pan-Blue Coalition.

In response, the Pan-Blue Coalition planned a series of events they dubbed "''Heart Connecting to Hearts''." These events included several rallies on 228, a [[blood donation|blood drive]], and a run in which a torch was passed from person to person through [[Administrative divisions of the Republic of China#Structural hierarchy|all 369 townships and cities]] of Taiwan in the course of two weeks. However, these events were unsuccessful at preventing a shift in support to Pan-Green after the 228 demonstration.

In response to declining polls numbers, the Pan-Blue coalition quickly organized a program of major rallies near the end of the election. Originally, the
rallies were to protest [[black gold (politics)|black gold]] or political corruption, but the theme of the rallies were changed to
"Change the President, save Taiwan." Critics of Pan-Blue argued that this change in theme was because Pan-Blue could not credibly be seen as anti-corruption. Supporters argued that this change was intended to focus the election on Chen's presumed lack of competence as president.

On March 13, the Pan-Blue Coalition held 24 rallies across Taiwan. The two million people attending beat gongs and made other noise and shouted "Change the President, save Taiwan" at 3:20 PM, in reference to the election date. The theme of the rallies were widely seen as an effort by Pan-Blue to shed the image that they were not really committed to Taiwan and would sell the island out to the PRC.

Soong led the rally in [[Taichung]] and knelt to kiss the ground along with his wife. Ten minutes later, Lien after giving a speech in [[Taipei]] which heavily talked about the need to love Taiwan and defend it, unexpectedly lay down prone on the ground kissing it with his wife and KMT Secretary-General [[Lin Fong-cheng]].

Because of the poll blackout, there are no published reports which track the effect of 313 on Taiwanese public opinion, although anecdotal reports suggest that Pan-Blue supporters were deeply moved by Lien's actions while Pan-Green supporters saw them as disgusting and hypocritical.

===Public endorsements===

[[Buddhist]] master [[Wei Chueh]] endorsed Lien on March 11 and also urged his followers to boycott the referendum. This led to criticism from some other Buddhist leaders that his blunt condemnation of Chen broke the convention that religious figures remain politically neutral. In addition, Wei Chueh's temple was the object of many protests and had to be shut down until after the election.

[[Lee Yuan-tseh]], widely credited for Chen's upset victory in 2000, issued a written statement on March 17 endorsing the Pan-Green candidates: "Four years ago, I endorsed Chen Shui-bian. Four years has elapsed, and I must admit in terms of the ability to run the country, the DPP has a lot of room to improve. But in terms of ideals and momentum to carry out reforms, the DPP is still the better choice." In response, Lien Chan, when asked about Lee's endorsement, remarked in English, "So what?"

===Assassination attempt===
{{main|3-19 shooting incident}}

On March 19, 2004, the last day of the election campaign, President Chen Shui-bian and Vice-president Annette Lu were both shot while campaigning in [[Tainan City|Tainan]]. They were traveling in an open [[Convertible (car)|convertible]] jeep in the presidential motorcade. One bullet struck Chen's abdomen and was later found in his clothes. It resulted in a flesh wound 8&nbsp;cm long and 2&nbsp;cm deep (four inches long, an inch wide, and an inch deep).<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/19/international/asia/19CND-TAIW.html?hp Taiwanese Leaders Survive Shooting Incident Ahead of Vote]</ref> Another bullet grazed Lu's knee and was found in the jeep. At first both believed that they had been hit by firecrackers, which are commonly used in Taiwanese political activities; the first sign of something more serious was when Chen noticed that he was bleeding from the abdomen, and that there was a bullet hole in the window.

Their injuries were not life-threatening, and both Chen and Lu were released from Chi-Mei Hospital on the same day without losing consciousness or having surgery. Nevertheless, the attack provoked shock and unease on Taiwan, where political violence of this kind is unknown in recent times.

Chen released a video in which he urged calm and indicated that neither his health nor the security of Taiwan were under threat. Within hours, police announced they were certain that the crime was not politically motivated, and that [[mainland China]] was not involved. On Internet [[chat room]]s and [[talk radio]], some Pan-Blue supporters [[conspiracy theory|theorized]] that the incident was faked in order for Chen to gain sympathy votes. These speculations were, however, considered highly offensive by Pan-Green supporters, and were not condoned by the Pan-Blue leadership until after Chen won the election.

Both Chen and Lien's election campaigns were suspended, but the next day's election was not postponed, as Taiwanese law only allows for suspension of election upon the death of a candidate. Lien Chan and [[Wang Jyng-ping]] tried to visit Chen on the night of the incident, but were unable to see the president because he was resting. Chen Shui-bian appeared publicly the next day when he voted.

===Subsequent events===

After all 13,749 polling places had reported, Lien appeared before his campaign headquarters and demanded a recount calling the vote "unfair". He demanded a full inquiry into the assassination attempt on Chen that had happened the day before, characterizing it as surrounded by "clouds of suspicion," seeming to fuel theories that it had been staged to get Chen re-elected.

On the next day, the KMT filed several lawsuits in major cities and Lien led 20,000 supporters in a march to the presidential office and staged an all night sit-in. This first set of lawsuits where thrown out because they were filed before a winner had been officially declared. Sit-ins were held in front of courthouses across Taiwan, with some protests becoming violent. The High Court ordered all ballot boxes be sealed, per Lien's demand. Protesters continued to camp on [[Ketagalan Boulevard]] outside the presidential office, despite Taipei Mayor [[Ma Ying-jeou]]'s calls on Sunday night to have people return to work. On Monday morning, hundreds still remained, with numbers swelling to about 10,000 in the evening. The crowds still remained until one week later, demanding a recount and an international investigation into the apparent assassination attempt.

On March 23, President Chen issued three directives to quell the contested results:
* The [[Legislative Yuan]] should revise election laws to allow automatic recount if the margin of victory is less than 1% of the votes. The law, if passed, retroactively applies to the 2004 elections
* If the law is passed, the President agrees to have the recount as soon as possible and expects Lien to acknowledge the results from the recount.
* Since the President has shown goodwill in accepting Pan-Blue coalition's demand for a recount, the demonstrators in front of the Presidential Mansion should disperse and all protests be stopped.

The Legislature Yuan convened on March 26 to discuss the passage of the law, but the measure was not put to a vote. The Pan-Blue coalition demanded a recount by an executive order, bypassing the legislature; Chen claimed he had no such right, and that doing so would amount to declaring [[martial law]].

Chen's controversial victory was officially confirmed by the Central Election Commission on March 26, 2004. Pan-Blue protesters stormed and hurled eggs at the CEC in response.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3570531.stm BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Chen declared Taiwan victor]</ref>

On March 27, 500,000 protesters massed in front of the presidential office (where protesters had remained all week). Lien told the crowd that he had counted more than 1,000 election irregularities (though he was not specific), but urged the crowd to disperse, promising more protests in the future if their demands were not met. Chen agreed to set up an independent task force to investigate the shooting and invited [[Henry Lee (criminologist)|Henry Lee]] to be its leader.

At daybreak on March 28, 1,000 riot police moved into Ketagelan Boulevard to forcibly remove the last 200 protesters remaining. Another protest was held on the following Saturday, April 3, in which 15,000 people attended. The protest was deemed illegal and violently broken up by police.

On March 29, Chen and Lu signed letters promising not to contest the newly re-filed Pan-Blue petition for a recount, bypassing a lengthy judicial inquiry.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Chuang|first1=Jimmy|title=Chen and Lu pave way for recount|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/03/31/2003108511|access-date=6 November 2016|work=Taipei Times|date=31 March 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Chuang|first1=Jimmy|title=Lawsuit loser to face huge bill|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/04/01/2003116204|access-date=6 November 2016|work=Taipei Times|date=1 April 2004}}</ref> On April 2, the High Court gave both sides five days to agree on a means to conduct the recount. Meanwhile, the Pan-Blue Coalition dropped its demand for another round of voting by disenfranchised members of the military and the police. By April 7, a procedural agreement for the recount still had not been reached and Pan-Blue held another rally the following Saturday, this time more than 100,000 strong. This protest was peaceful for most of the day, but several hundred demonstrators tried to storm the president's office in the evening. Police fired water cannons to push back the protesters.

A second lawsuit, originally filed on April 5 and refiled on April 7, charged that the Central Election Commission improperly allowed the presidential election to occur concurrently with the referendum and failed to postpone it after the apparent assassination attempt. This lawsuit sought to annul the results of the election. This was rejected by the High Court on November 4, 2004, but the Pan-Blue coalition is appealing to the Supreme Court. The Court also asked Pan-Blue to pay for the cost of the lawsuit.

A judicial recount under the jurisdiction of a special panel of the High Court began on May 10 and ended on May 18. It was conducted by about 460 teams situated in 21 courthouses across the Taiwan area. Each team comprised seven members - one judge, two members each from the district court and the local government election authorities, and two witnesses each representing the plaintiff (pan-blue alliance) and the defendant (pan-green alliance). Any disputed votes were sent to High Court in Taipei for verification. After the recount, Chen was confirmed the winner of the election by a smaller margin (25,563 from 29,518).

The High Court ruled that the election was legitimate in both lawsuits and also eventually turned down the appeals. The judges declared in the 2nd lawsuit that the voter lists did not need to be considered as evidence despite reports that widespread election fraud was found in the voter lists.

In late 2005 the Central Election Commission ruled that video cameras would no longer be allowed in voting stations and also took measures to remove certain practices such as stamping the back of IDs to prevent repeat voting.

==Results==
{{Election results
|party1=[[Democratic Progressive Party]]
|cand1=[[Chen Shui-bian]]
|vp1=[[Annette Lu]]
|votes1=6471970

|party2=[[Kuomintang]]
|cand2=[[Lien Chan]]
|vp2=[[James Soong]]
|votes2=6442452	

|invalid=337297
|electorate=16507179
|source=[https://www.cec.gov.tw/english/cms/pe/24832 CEC]
}}

===By administrative division===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: auto; background: #F9F9F9; border: 1px #AAAAAA solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; line-height: 1em; text-align: right;"
! rowspan="4" |Subdivision
! rowspan="4" |Electorate
! colspan="2" |1
! colspan="2" |2
! rowspan="4" |Invalid
! rowspan="4" |Turnout
! rowspan="4" |Margin
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Chen Shui-bian]] [[File:Elected candidate symbol (voting stamp, Taiwan).svg|20x20px]]
! colspan="2" |[[Lien Chan]]
|-
! colspan="2" style="border-bottom:4px solid #1B9431;" | [[Annette Lu]] [[File:Elected candidate symbol (voting stamp, Taiwan).svg|20x20px]]
! colspan="2" style="border-bottom:4px solid #000099;" | [[James Soong]]
|-
! style="width:75px;" | Votes
! style="width:60px;" | %
! style="width:75px;" | Votes
! style="width:60px;" | %
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Taipei|Taipei City]]
| 1,981,562
| 690,379
| 43.47%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|897,870}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|56.53%}}'''
| 30,789
| 81.71%
| -207,491
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[New Taipei City|Taipei County]]
| 2,685,778
| 1,000,265
| 46.94%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|1,130,615}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|53.06%}}'''
| 52,948
| 81.31%
| -130,350
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Keelung|Keelung City]]
| 290,439
| 90,276
| 40.56%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|132,289}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|59.44%}}'''
| 4,996
| 78.35%
| -42,013
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #1B9431" | [[Yilan County, Taiwan|Yilan County]]
| 337,886
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|147,848}}'''
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|57.71%}}'''
| 108,361
| 42.29%
| 8,885
| 78.46%
| 39,487
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Taoyuan, Taiwan|Taoyuan County]]
| 1,273,026
| 448,770
| 44.68%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|555,688}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|55.32%}}'''
| 30,838
| 81.33%
| -106,918
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Hsinchu County]]
| 323,148
| 92,576
| 35.93%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|165,027}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|64.07%}}'''
| 6,737
| 81.80%
| -72,451
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Hsinchu|Hsinchu City]]
| 271,967
| 96,818
| 44.88%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|118,924}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|55.12%}}'''
| 5,143
| 81.22%
| -22,106
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Miaoli County]]
| 407,634
| 123,427
| 39.24%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|191,059}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|60.76%}}'''
| 10,868
| 79.82%
| -67,632
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #1B9431" | [[Taichung County]]
| 1,070,877
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|440,479}}'''
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|51.79%}}'''
| 410,082
| 48.21%
| 21,270
| 81.41%
| 30,397
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Taichung|Taichung City]]
| 710,555
| 267,095
| 47.34%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|297,098}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|52.66%}}'''
| 10,566
| 80.89%
| -30,003
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #1B9431" | [[Changhua County]]
| 947,526
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|383,296}}'''
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|52.26%}}'''
| 350,128
| 47.74%
| 26,288
| 80.18%
| 33,168
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Nantou County]]
| 396,464
| 146,415
| 48.75%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|153,913}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|51.25%}}'''
| 8,784
| 77.97%
| -7,498
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #1B9431" | [[Yunlin County]]
| 552,795
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|243,129}}'''
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|60.32%}}'''
| 159,906
| 39.68%
| 16,748
| 75.94%
| 83,223
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #1B9431" | [[Chiayi County]]
| 421,904
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|199,466}}'''
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|62.79%}}'''
| 118,189
| 37.21%
| 11,554
| 78.03%
| 81,277
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #1B9431" | [[Chiayi|Chiayi City]]
| 193,458
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|85,702}}'''
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|56.06%}}'''
| 67,176
| 43.94%
| 2,905
| 80.53%
| 18,526
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #1B9431" | [[Tainan County]]
| 826,288
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|421,927}}'''
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|64.79%}}'''
| 229,284
| 35.21%
| 19,313
| 81.15%
| 192,643
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #1B9431" | [[Tainan|Tainan City]]
| 547,903
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|251,397}}'''
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|57.77%}}'''
| 183,786
| 42.23%
| 8,247
| 80.93%
| 67,611
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #1B9431" | [[Kaohsiung|Kaohsiung City]]
| 1,117,380
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|500,304}}'''
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|55.64%}}'''
| 398,769
| 44.37%
| 15,012
| 81.81%
| 101,535
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #1B9431" | [[Kaohsiung County]]
| 919,717
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|425,265}}'''
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|58.40%}}'''
| 302,937
| 41.60%
| 21,903
| 81.56%
| 122,328
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #1B9431" | [[Pingtung County]]
| 669,646
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|299,321}}'''
| style="background:#1B9431;" | '''{{white|58.11%}}'''
| 215,796
| 41.89%
| 13,383
| 78.92%
| 83,525
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Taitung County]]
| 180,255
| 40,203
| 34.48%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|76,382}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|65.52%}}'''
| 3,198
| 66.45%
| -36,179
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Hualien County]]
| 259,334
| 53,501
| 29.79%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|126,041}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|70.21%}}'''
| 4,523
| 70.98%
| -72,540
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Penghu|Penghu County]]
| 69,545
| 22,162
| 49.47%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|22,639}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|50.53%}}'''
| 1,213
| 66.16%
| -477
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE"
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Kinmen|Kinmen County]]
| 45,353
| 1,701
| 6.45%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|26,433}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|93.54%}}'''
| 1,069
| 64.39%
| -24,732
|-
! style="border-right:6px solid #000099" | [[Matsu Islands|Lienchiang County]]
| 6,739
| 248
| 5.76%
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|4,060}}'''
| style="background:#000099;" | '''{{white|94.24%}}'''
| 117
| 65.66%
| -3,812
|- class="sortbottom" 
| colspan="9" | Source: [https://db.cec.gov.tw/ElecTable/Election/ElecTickets?dataType=tickets&typeId=ELC&subjectId=P0&legisId=00&themeId=38b0ef91b5866696f58891ecf69cb3c7&dataLevel=N&prvCode=00&cityCode=000&areaCode=00&deptCode=000&liCode=0000 CEC Overview Table] [https://db.cec.gov.tw/Visual/President?dataLevel=N&legisId=00&typeId=ELC&subjectId=P0&themeId=bc69efc4ab84479137e749aac2078116 CEC Visual Query]
|}

===Maps===
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right"
|{{Switcher|[[File:2004 Taiwan Presidential Election County level with County border.svg|right|300px]]|Result|[[File:2004 Taiwan Presidential Election, Chen Shui-bian County level with County border.svg|right|300px]]|Chen Shui-bian|[[File:2004 Taiwan Presidential Election, Lien Chan County level with County border.svg|right|300px]]|Lien Chan}}Result by County level
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right"
|{{Switcher|[[File:2004 Taiwan Presidential Election Township level with County border.svg|right|300px]]|Result|[[File:2004 Taiwan Presidential Election, Chen Shui-bian Township level with County border.svg|right|300px]]|Chen Shui-bian|[[File:2004 Taiwan Presidential Election, Lien Chan Township level with County border.svg|right|300px]]|Lien Chan}}Result by Township level
|}
{|
|[[File:ROC 2004 Presidential Election Township level.svg|250px|thumb|Vote leader and vote share in township-level districts.]]
|[[File:2004ROCPresident.svg|250px|thumb|Vote leader in county-level districts.]]
|[[File:Taiwan presidential election map detailed 2004.svg|250px|thumb|Winner vote lead over runner-up by township/city or district.]]
|[[File:ROC 2004 Presidential Election Township level diff.svg|250px|thumb|Size of lead between the two tickets.]]
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040322034921/http://www.gio.gov.tw/elect2004/ GIO: The Republic of China Presidential Election 2004 (English)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040410062140/http://liensoong.org.tw/ Lien-Soong Campaign website (Traditional Chinese)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040327085710/http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/4-oa/20040320/2004032001.html Chen Shui-bian's Acceptance Speech (English translation)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040622211723/http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/4-oa/20040320/2004032004.html Statement from Lien-Soong Campaign Headquarters (English translation)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040602204510/http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/pi2004/ Republic of China 2004 Presidential Inauguration]

{{Taiwanese elections}}
{{Republic of China presidential elections}}

[[Category:2004 elections in Asia|Taiwan]]
[[Category:2004 elections in Taiwan|President]]
[[Category:Presidential elections in Taiwan]]
[[Category:March 2004 in Asia|Taiwan]]
[[Category:Presidency of Chen Shui-bian]]