Important Moments in History - Taiwan Part ① / 1996: Taiwan's First Direct Presidential Election / 'No Politics'

On March 23, 1996, Taiwan held its first direct election for President and Vice President. On this day, voters went to polling stations and decided the nation's top leader with their ballots, ending the long-standing system where the National Assembly indirectly elected the president. Looking back at the background, the 'Constitution of the Republic of China' promulgated in 1947 originally designed the president to be elected by the National Assembly. After the Kuomintang government relocated to Taiwan in 1949, the martial law regime persisted for decades, central legislative representatives were not re-elected for a long time, and presidential elections were also exercised indirectly by National Assembly members. Following the lifting of martial law in 1987, the termination of the mobilization for suppressing rebellion in 1991, and the full re-election of the National Assembly in 1992, the method of presidential election became a core issue of constitutional reform. In 1994, the National Assembly passed amendments to the Constitution, stipulating that the president would be directly elected by the people, adopting a plurality voting system. There were four pairs of candidates in the first direct election: Lee Teng-hui and Lien Chan of the Kuomintang, Peng Ming-min and Hsieh Chang-ting of the Democratic Progressive Party, Lin Yang-kang and Hao Po-tsun of the New Party, and Chen Lu-an and Wang Ching-feng as independents. During the election campaign, mainland China conducted missile exercises and military intimidation in the Taiwan Strait from 1995 to 1996, and the United States dispatched an aircraft carrier battle group through the Taiwan Strait. The external pressure instead made the election a focus of international attention and stimulated discussions on democratic processes within Taiwanese society. The election results saw Lee Teng-hui and Lien Chan elected with 54% of the vote, and the turnout was about 76%. Supporters viewed this as a milestone in democratic consolidation, believing the principle of popular sovereignty was concretely realized; critics pointed out that the plurality system might lead to insufficient legitimacy for the elected officials, and the national