Conflict coverage · Taiwan Strait

Taiwan's first direct presidential election

March 1996Key eventTaipei

PoliticalThe Strait and the median line

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.

Why it mattersHeld 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: HighSources: Established historical recordMethodology Corrections

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

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Strait crisesThe Third Strait Crisis

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Taiwan

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