1996 Taiwanese presidential election
The Election for the 9th-term President and Vice-President of the Republic of China (第九任中華民國總統 、副總統選舉), the first ever direct elections for President and Vice President of the Republic of China on Taiwan, occurred on March 23, 1996. The previous eight ROC Presidential and Vice Presidential elections under 1947 Constitution were by the deputies of the National Assembly.
Incumbent Lee Teng-hui of the ruling Kuomintang won a majority of 54% of the votes following missile tests by the People's Republic of China intended to intimidate the Taiwanese electorate against him.
| Presidential candidate | VP Candidate | Political affiliation | Votes cast | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Teng-hui (winner) | 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% |
Candidates
The ruling Kuomintang nominated 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 promised to resign as Premier if he were elected Vice President.
The 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, Yu 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.
1996 Taiwan Straits Crisis
Main article: Third Taiwan Strait Crisis
During the campaign of this presidential election, the fact the election being the first direct presidential election with a DPP 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.