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2000 Taiwanese presidential election

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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.

2000 Taiwanese presidential election
← 1996 18 March 2000 (2000-03-18) 2004 →
Registered15,462,625
Turnout82.69% (Increase6.65pp)
 
Nominee Chen Shui-bian James Soong Lien Chan
Party DPP Independent Kuomintang
Running mate Annette Lu Chang Chau-hsiung Vincent Siew
Popular vote 4,977,697 4,664,972 2,925,513
Percentage 39.30% 36.84% 23.10%
President before election

Lee Teng-hui
Kuomintang

Elected President

Chen Shui-bian
DPP

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.[1] 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

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Kuomintang

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The ruling Kuomintang (KMT) ran vice president Lien Chan for president and Premier Vincent Siew for vice president.[2] Both were career civil servants and Lien, originating from the Taiwanese aristocracy, was seen as aloof and unable to empathize with the common people.[3]

Though more popular and consistently ranked higher in the polls, the outspoken former Taiwan governor James Soong failed to gain the Kuomintang's nomination.[4] As a result, he announced his candidacy as an independent candidate. The Kuomintang responded by expelling Soong in November 1999.[5] 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,[6][7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]

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[11] intended for the family of the late president Chiang Ching-kuo and hid the money in the Chunghsing Bills Finance Co.[12][13] Soong defended himself by saying he was acting under Lee's direction,[11][12] though Lee denied this and many found the explanation unconvincing.[14] Initially holding a commanding lead in the polls,[5] Soong ended up losing by just over 300,000 votes.[2]

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.[15] 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.[16]

Democratic Progressive Party

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Main article: 1999 Democratic Progressive Party presidential primary

The DPP ran former Taipei mayor Chen Shui-bian and Taoyuan County magistrate Annette Lu for vice president.[2] Having run for the 1996 election on a radical independence platform and lost by a landslide,[17][18] the DPP in May 1999 moderated its stance[19] by issuing the "Resolution on the Future of Taiwan".[20] 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,[21] and Chen presented a more conciliatory stance regarding the mainland.[18] Also included was the pledge that any change in Taiwan's international status will have to be done through a referendum,[20] 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,[22][18] a system of connections and corruption which had become intertwined with the KMT.[23] 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,[24] with Yuan T. Lee offering to negotiate with the PRC on Taiwan's behalf.[25]

Other candidates

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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.[26]

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.[2] 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,[27] a move not then supported by the KMT.[28] 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".[29]

The New Party nominated independent social commentator Li Ao—an acclaimed author, historian, and former political prisoner[30]—for president and legislator Elmer Fung for vice president.[31] Li, who supported "one country, two systems",[32][33] 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".[34] Despite his nomination Li refused to join the NP.[31] 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.[35]

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.[36] 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."[37][38] 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;[18] consequently, China avoided making such an open attempt to influence the 2004 elections, adopting a "wait and see" attitude with Chen.[39]

Results

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Voting was held on 18 March 2000.[40][2] 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.[41] Chen's ticket won by a margin of about 2.46%, ahead of Soong in second place and Chan in third.[2] 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.[42]

CandidateRunning matePartyVotes%
Chen Shui-bianAnnette LuDemocratic Progressive Party4,977,69739.30
James SoongChang Chau-hsiungIndependent4,664,97236.84
Lien ChanVincent SiewKuomintang2,925,51323.10
Hsu Hsin-liangJosephine ChuIndependent79,4290.63
Li AoElmer FungNew Party16,7820.13
Total12,664,393100.00
Valid votes12,664,39399.04
Invalid/blank votes122,2780.96
Total votes12,786,671100.00
Registered voters/turnout15,462,62582.69
Source: CEC

By Administrative division

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Result by counties and cities
County/City James Soong, Chang Chau-hsiung Lien Chan, Vincent Siew Li Ao, Elmer Fung Hsu Hsin-liang, Josephine Chu Chen Shui-bian, Annette Lu
Vote count % Vote count % Vote count % Vote count % Vote count %
Taipei City 631,538 39.79% 347,564 21.90% 1,876 0.12% 8,723 0.25% 597,465 37.64%
Taipei County 812,821 40.26% 451,707 22.37% 2,384 0.12% 10,641 0.53% 741,659 36.73%
Keelung 106,032 47.01% 48,545 21.52% 295 0.13% 1,116 0.49% 69,555 30.84%
Yilan 86,549 33.05% 51,082 19.51% 350 0.13% 736 0.28% 123,157 47.30%
Taoyuan 413,370 43.83% 208,881 22.15% 1,140 0.12% 20,581 2.18% 299,120 31.72%
Hsinchu County 128,231 51.58% 51,442 20.69% 309 0.12% 7,093 2.85% 61,533 24.25%
Hsinchu City 88,412 42.83% 46,234 22.40% 292 0.14% 1,746 0.85% 69,760 33.97%
Miaoli 160,533 49.54% 71,798 22.20% 399 0.12% 3,931 1.22% 86,707 26.81%
Taichung County 318,499 38.10% 206,832 24.74% 1,176 0.14% 4,304 0.51% 305,219 36.51%
Taichung City 217,486 41.37% 111,391 21.19% 616 0.12% 2,463 0.47% 193,796 36.86%
Changhua County 251,310 33.71% 191,685 25.71% 1,070 0.14% 2,811 0.38% 298,571 40.05%
Nantou 144,863 46.94% 56,025 18.15% 395 0.13% 914 0.30% 106,440 34.49%
Yunlin 114,188 27.70% 102,177 24.78% 975 0.24% 1,230 0.30% 193,715 45.99%
Chiayi County 85,890 26.98% 73,409 23.06% 561 0.18% 920 0.29% 157,512 49.49%
Chiayi City 43,773 29.34% 34,670 23.24% 169 0.11% 448 0.30% 70,124 47.01%
Tainan County 136,217 21.10% 159,443 24.70% 1,164 0.18% 1,582 0.25% 347,210 53.78%
Tainan City 114,299 27.53% 107,679 25.93% 580 0.14% 1,408 0.34% 191,261 45.06%
Kaohsiung City 259,023 29.78% 208,544 23.97% 877 0.10% 3,103 0.36% 398,381 45.79%
Kaohsiung County 206,616 28.43% 174,021 23.95% 1,024 0.14% 2,478 0.34% 342,553 47.14%
Pintung County 131,371 25.48% 142,934 27.73% 692 0.13% 1,939 0.38% 238,572 45.28%
Hualien County 109,962 58.81% 36,042 19.28% 194 0.10% 736 0.39% 40,044 21.24%
Taitung County 63,913 52.78% 28,659 23.66% 136 0.11% 294 0.24% 28,102 23.20%
Penghu County 17,723 39.55% 10,418 23.25% 64 0.14% 119 0.27% 16,487 36.79%
Kinmen County 19,991 81.81% 3,543 14.50% 37 0.15% 105 0.43% 759 3.11%
Lienchiang County (Matsu) 2,362 73.31% 787 24.43% 7 0.22% 8 0.25% 58 1.80%
(Note: Winners are bolded.)
Source: CEC[42]

Maps

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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 district[a]

Aftermath

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Chen's victory was seen as unlikely before Soong's financial scandal broke out.[43] 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.[44][13] 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.[24][18][45] 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.[46][47] This also marked the first peaceful transition of power under a democratic regime in Chinese history.[48]

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.[6][49] Lee promised to resign at the party congress in September 2000.[6][49] Though the protest was without permit, the government did not order an end to it,[7] though Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou attempted to dispel the crowd on the first night.[49] 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.[7] Protesters also dragged presidential advisor Hsu Li-teh out of his car and beat him.[7] The protests ended in success on March 24 when Lee resigned as KMT Chairman and was replaced by Lien.[50] 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.[6][7]

On the day of the election, Soong announced the formation of the People First Party[6][49] before a crowd of his supporters, though he urged calm and the avoidance of "bloodshed".[51] In the following party congress, Lien Chan was able to achieve Lee's expulsion[8] and began to move the party back towards a unificationist platform. Lee and his supporters later formed the radical pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union.[8] Lee was expelled from KMT on 21 September 2001, the first party chairman thus far to have membership revoked.[52] 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.[53] They made the announcement on 14 February 2003, more than a year before the next presidential election.[54] Nevertheless, they were still defeated by Chen Shui-bian in the next election.[55]

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:[46] 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,[56] 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.[46][56] Consequently, Chen's first cabinet consisted of some KMT members along with DPP members.[48] 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.[57] 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.[51] Tensions later relaxed, though a somewhat rocky relationship remained.[39]

Notes

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  1. ^ The third-place ticket led in some township-level units.

References

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  1. ^ Copper 2000, p. 27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "2000 Presidential and Vice Presidential Election". Central Election Commission. Zhongzheng, Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China). Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  3. ^ Wenge, Ralph; Formosa TV (5 March 1999). "Tension With China at Center of Taiwan's Presidential Election". CNN.com. CNN. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  4. ^ Rigger 2001, p. 955.
  5. ^ a b Foreman, William (16 November 1999). "Party Expels Taiwan Front-Runner". AP News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e Chu, Henry (20 March 2000). "Outgoing Taiwan Leader to Quit as Head of Party". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Taiwan's ruling party in chaos". Tampa Bay Times. 20 March 2000. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Hioe, Brian (31 July 2020). "Lee Teng-hui's Complicated Legacy Spans a Century of Taiwanese History". The News Lens. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  9. ^ Chen, Lauren (12 November 1999). "Soong chooses 'non-political' doctor as his running mate". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  10. ^ Copper 2000, p. 23.
  11. ^ a b Chen, Lauren (17 February 2000). "KMT files lawsuit against Soong". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Lee interview rekindles Chung Hsing scandal". Taipei Times. 9 April 2003. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  13. ^ a b Hioe, Brian (25 February 2022). "James Soong Comes Under Scrutiny in Relation to Corrupt Frigate Deal". New Bloom Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  14. ^ Ling et al. 2000, p. 19.
  15. ^ Ling et al. 2000, p. 23.
  16. ^ Ling et al. 2000, pp. 19–20.
  17. ^ Rigger 2001, p. 953.
  18. ^ a b c d e Hughes, Christopher R. (2001). "Living with 'one country, two systems'? The future of Beijing's Taiwan policy". Cambridge Review of International Affairs. 14 (2): 124–138. doi:10.1080/09557570108400362. S2CID 142534619. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  19. ^ Hsieh 2001, p. 936.
  20. ^ a b Democratic Progressive Party (8 May 1999). "DPP Resolution on Taiwan's Future". New Taiwan, Ilha Formosa. Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Republic of China). Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  21. ^ Lin, Miao-Jung (3 August 2002). "MAC wants DPP to air resolution". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  22. ^ Rigger 2001, p. 959.
  23. ^ Liu, Shih-chung (13 January 2000). "Dissecting the 'Black Gold' Phenomenon". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  24. ^ a b Flannery, Russell (16 March 2000). "Endorsement by Nobel Laureate Shifts Taiwan's Electoral Feeling". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  25. ^ Ling et al. 2000, pp. 5–6.
  26. ^ "Candidates face signature deadline". Taipei Times. 5 January 2000. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  27. ^ Murphy, John (March 2000). "Hsu Hsin-liang: Trade 'One China' for 50 Years of the Status Quo". Taiwan Panorama. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  28. ^ Chang 1996, p. 6.
  29. ^ "Hsu Hsin-liang (Ind.): Fifty-Year Freeze". Taiwan Journal. 1 March 2000. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  30. ^ Copper 2000, p. 24.
  31. ^ a b Low, Stephanie (21 January 2000). "Li Ao agrees to running mate". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  32. ^ Qin, Amy (26 March 2018). "Li Ao, Writer and Political Firebrand in Taiwan, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  33. ^ Copper 2000, p. 29.
  34. ^ Li, Ao (1 March 2000). "Li Ao (New Party): Exposing the Dark Side". Taiwan Today. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  35. ^ Prelypchan, Erin (12 March 2000). "Li Ao backs Soong, but Hsu hangs on". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  36. ^ Copper 2000, pp. 33–35.
  37. ^ Chandler, Clay (16 March 2000). "China Threatens Voters in Taiwan". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  38. ^ Copper 2000, pp. 40.
  39. ^ a b Rigger 2001, p. 958.
  40. ^ "中選會資料庫網站". cec.gov.tw (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  41. ^ Lin, Chieh-yu (15 February 2000). "Soong draws top ticket lot". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  42. ^ a b "第10任總統(副總統)選舉 候選人得票數". 中選會選舉資料庫網站 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  43. ^ Ling et al. 2000, pp. 18–19.
  44. ^ Hsieh 2001, pp. 930–931, 938–940.
  45. ^ Wang 2001, p. 717.
  46. ^ a b c Hsieh 2001, p. 930.
  47. ^ Shattuck, Thomas J. (16 January 2020). "The Future of the Kuomintang in Taiwan: Reform, Recalibrate, or Stay the Course?". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  48. ^ a b Eckholm, Eric (20 May 2000). "Taiwan's New Leader Ends Decades of Nationalist Rule". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  49. ^ a b c d Ide, William (21 March 2000). "Protesters say Lien was misused". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  50. ^ Landler, Mark (25 March 2000). "Taiwan's President Steps Down as Leader of Nationalist Party". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  51. ^ a b Landler, Mark (20 March 2000). "Decision in Taiwan: Taiwan; Violent protests in Taiwan follow election defeat". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  52. ^ Low, Stephanie (22 September 2001). "KMT breaks it off with Lee Teng-hui". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  53. ^ Simon et al. 2004, pp. 691, 693–694.
  54. ^ Huang, Sandy (15 February 2003). "Lien-Soong ticket a done deal -- almost". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  55. ^ Simon et al. 2004, p. 683.
  56. ^ a b Rigger 2001, p. 944.
  57. ^ Schafferer 2003, p. 532.

Bibliography

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