1996 Taiwanese presidential election
The first direct election for the President of the Republic of China on Taiwan occurred on March 23, 1996. The previous eight ROC Presidential and Vice Presidential elections were by the octogenarian deputies of the National Assembly.
Incumbent Lee Teng-hui of the ruling Kuomintang won a major victory of 60% of the vote against Peng Ming-min of the Democratic Progressive Party and independent candidates Lin Yang-kang and Chen Lu-an.
| Presidential candidate | VP Candidate | Political affiliation | Votes cast | Percentage of vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Teng-hui(W) | Lien Chan | Kuomintang | 5,813,699 | 54.0% |
| Peng Ming-min | Frank Hsieh | Democratic Progressive Party | 2,274,586 | 21.1% |
| Lin Yang-kang | Hau Pei-tsun | Independent | 1,603,790 | 14.9% |
| Chen Lu-an | Wang Ching-Feng | Independent | 1,074,044 | 9.98% |
1996 Taiwan Straits Crisis
During the campaign of this presidential election, the fact the election being the first direct presidential election with a DDP candidate prompted the People's Republic of China to conduct a series of anti-ballistic missiles test in the Taiwan Straits. The action was to considered to intimidate the Taiwanese electorate and to influence the outcome the election. The crisis came to an end when two U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups were positioned near Taiwan. The U.S. military maneuvers forced China to end their missile tests earlier than planned.