Taiwan's first direct presidential election — Key Events — Taiwan Strait

What happened

Taiwanese voters directly elect their president for the first time, returning Lee Teng-hui, with the vote held under the shadow of the missile tests and exercises of the preceding months.

Held under explicit military pressure and unaffected by it, the 1996 election is the origin of a pattern that has repeated ever since: demonstrations of force before Taiwanese elections have not produced the outcomes Beijing sought, and have generally hardened opinion instead.

Confidence: High

WhenMarch 1996

WhereTaipei

KindPolitical

ArenaThe Strait and the median line

Confidence: High Sources: Established historical record Methodology Corrections

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Connected records

2 records that this event names, or that name it — every one an explicit reference in a published record, nothing inferred from subject matter.

Part of1

Campaigns whose record places this event inside them.

Strait crisesThe Third Strait Crisis

Actors1

Actor records this event names.

Taiwan

Where this fits

This is one entry in the Taiwan Strait timeline. The full Key Events surface carries every dated turning point with its filters and its essential subset, and this event in place shows what came before and after it. How Vigil grades, dates and sources its claims is set out in the methodology.