The Referendum and Taiwan’s International Relations

Abstract

In 2000, Kuomintang (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) presidential candidates Lien Chan and James Soong had split the opposition vote, allowing Chen to win with 39 percent. For the 2004 election, KMT and PFP party leaders did their math and figured that their combined 60 percent of the vote would certainly bring them victory. They united to support Lien Chan as their presidential candidate with James Soong as his running mate. This successful union against President Chen for the 2004 election campaign placed Chen under enormous pressure; he needed a bold move to have a chance of success. Chen’s announcements in the summer of 2003 that he would hold referendums on the nuclear power plant and World Health Organization (WHO) entry were that bold move.

It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you don’t stop.

Confucius