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A consultative referendum was held in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
on 20 March 2004 to coincide with the 2004 presidential elections. Voters were asked two questions regarding the cross-strait relations, that is, between Taiwan and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. The initiation of this referendum by President
Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...
came under intense criticism from China because it was seen as an exercise for an eventual vote on
Taiwanese independence The Taiwan independence movement is a political movement which advocates the formal declaration of an Independence, independent and Sovereign state, sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Stra ...
. The
Pan-Blue Coalition The Pan-Blue coalition, Pan-Blue force or Pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and You ...
urged a boycott, citing that the referendum was illegal and unnecessary. Over 90% of voters approved the two questions, but the results were invalid due to insufficient voter turnout, which was below 50%.


Background

On 29 November 2003 President
Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...
announced that given that the PRC had
missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...
s aimed at Taiwan, he had the power under the defensive referendum clause of the Referendum Act to order a referendum on
sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
, although he did not do so under pressure by the USA. This statement was very strongly criticized both by Beijing and by the Pan-Blue Coalition. But instead, he proposed a referendum to ask the PRC to remove the hundreds of missiles it has aimed at Taiwan. In a televised address made on 16 January 2004 President Chen reiterated his " Four Noes and One Without" pledge, justified the "peace referendum," and announced its questions. The vetting of the referendum bill appeared to alarm Beijing which issued more sharp threats of a strong reaction if a referendum bill passed which would allow a vote on sovereignty issues such as the territory and flag of the ROC. The final bill that was passed by the
Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...
on 27 November 2003 did not contain restrictions on the content of any referendums, but did include very high hurdles for referendums on constitutional issues. These hurdles were largely put in place by the
Pan-Blue Coalition The Pan-Blue coalition, Pan-Blue force or Pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and You ...
majority in the legislature. The bill also contained a provision for a defensive referendum to be called if the sovereignty of the ROC was under threat. In response to the referendum passage, Beijing issued vague statements of unease.


Questions


Proposal 1


Proposal 2


Campaign

A series of ten debates were held over five days (Wednesdays and Sundays) on the referendum (first pair on first question; second on second; pro-government listed before con-)CEC announces the line-ups for 10 referendum debates
Taipei Times, 25 February 2004 *29 February – Cabinet spokesman Lin Chia-lung v. independent Legislator Kao Chin Su-mei; Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh v. Commentator
Li Ao Li Ao (, also spelled Lee Ao; 25 April 1935 – 18 March 2018) was a Taiwanese writer, politician and television personality. Li rose to prominence in the early 1960s through his articles in ''Wenxing'' (1957–1988), an intellectual Taiwanes ...
*3 March – Office of the President's Deputy Secretary-General Joseph Wu v. poet Chan Chao-li, Minister without Portfolio Yeh Jiunn-rong v. former DPP Chairman
Hsu Hsin-liang Hsu Hsin-liang (; born 27 May 1941) is a Taiwanese politician, formerly Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). He was a supporter of the Pan-Blue Coalition from 2000 to 2008 but then supported the DPP in the 2008 presidential elect ...
*7 March – TSU Legislator Lo Chih-ming v. former Control Yuan member Yeh Yao-peng; DPP Legislator
Chiu Tai-san Chiu Tai-san (; born 30 August 1956) is a Taiwanese lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2004. He then served as the vice minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, and later as deputy mayor of Kaohsiung C ...
v. sociologist Timothy Ting *10 March – DPP Legislator
You Ching You Ching (; born 20 March 1942) is a Taiwanese diplomat who served as the Taiwanese representative to Germany from 2007 to 2008. Early life and education Born in Kaohsiung, You earned a bachelor's degree in law from the National Chengchi Unive ...
v.
Green Party Taiwan Green Party Taiwan is a political party in Taiwan established on 25 January 1996. Although the party is sympathetic to Taiwanese nationalism and shares a number of centre-left positions with the Pan-Green Coalition, the party emphasizes campai ...
acting convener Kao Cheng-yan; DPP Legislator
Cho Jung-tai Cho Jung-tai (; born 22 January 1959) is a Taiwanese politician who has served as the premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2024. He served on the Taipei City Council from 1990 to 1998, when he was first elected to the Legislative ...
v. mainland exile
Ruan Ming Ruan may refer to: Buildings *Ruan Center, office building in Des Moines, Iowa *John Ruan House, historic mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Places *Ruan, County Clare, Ireland, a village and civil parish *Ruan, Loiret, France, a small comm ...
*14 March – DPP Legislator Julian Kuo v. anti-March 20 referendum alliance leader Jaw Shaw-kong; Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman
Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; pinyin: ''Cài Yīngwén''; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party ...
v. independent Legislator Sisy Chen The "no" campaign was not argued by active political figures in the
Pan-Blue Coalition The Pan-Blue coalition, Pan-Blue force or Pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and You ...
, and the CEC at first found it difficult to find people to take the "no" position. The
Pan-Blue Coalition The Pan-Blue coalition, Pan-Blue force or Pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and You ...
made it clear that it was in favour of the proposals, but believed that the referendum process itself was illegal and a prelude to more controversial action. As a consequence, the Pan-Blue Coalition asked its supporters not to vote at all in the referendum, with the intention of having the number of valid votes fall below the 50% voter threshold necessary to have a valid referendum. Because of this strategy, a major controversy was the format of the referendum, specifically as to whether the referendum questions would be on the same ballots as the Presidency. After much debate, the CEC decided that there would be a U-shaped queue in which people would first cast a ballot for president and then cast a separate ballot for each of the two questions. Voters who chose not to cast a referendum ballot could exit the line at the base of the U. Near the end of the campaign, the CEC issued a number of conflicting and constantly changing directives as to what would constitute a valid ballot.


Results


References


External links


President Chen's Televised Statement of the Peace Referendum on March 20
{{authority control Referendums in Taiwan
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
Referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
Cross-strait relations