2004 Taiwanese cross-Strait relations referendum
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A nationwide consultative referendum (全國性公民投票) was held in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
on 20 March 2004 to coincide with the 2004 presidential election. Voters were asked two questions regarding the relationship between
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
(ROC) and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(PRC), and how Taiwan should relate to China. The initiation of this referendum by President
Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...
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 independent and sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Strait relations. Currently, Tai ...
. 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 Young ...
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 (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...
announced that given that the PRC had
missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
s aimed at Taiwan, he had the power under the defensive referendum clause of the Referendum Act to order a referendum on
sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
, 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 The Four Noes and One Without (), also known as the Four Noes () was a Promise, pledge by former President of the Republic of China Chen Shui-bian made in his inauguration speech on 20 May 2000, concerning the political status of Taiwan. It was an ...
" 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 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...
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 Young ...
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 Lin Chia-lung (; born 13 February 1964) is a Taiwanese academic and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politician. He was elected mayor of Taichung City in November 2014 and took office on 25 December 2014. In the early 2000s he served in various ...
v. independent Legislator
Kao Chin Su-mei Kao Chin Su-mei (born September 21, 1965), also known as Chin Su-mei, May Chin and Ciwas Ali, is a Taiwanese politician and retired actress and singer. She is of Manchu and Atayal descent, Ciwas Ali being her Atayal name. In the 1980s and 199 ...
; Kaohsiung Mayor
Frank Hsieh Frank Hsieh Chang-ting (; born May 18, 1946) is a Taiwanese politician and former defense attorney. A cofounder of the Democratic Progressive Party, he has served on the Taipei City Council, the Legislative Yuan, as the mayor of Kaohsiung City ...
v. Commentator
Li Ao Li Ao (, also spelled Lee Ao; 25 April 1935 – 18 March 2018) was a Chinese writer, social commentator, historian and independent politician based in Taiwan. Li has been called one of the most important modern East Asian essayists today; his ...
*3 March – Office of the President's Deputy Secretary-General
Joseph Wu Joseph Wu Jaushieh (; born October 31, 1954) is a Taiwanese politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China under current President Tsai Ing-wen since February 26, 2018. He was formerly the Secretary-Gen ...
v. poet
Chan Chao-li Chan may refer to: Places *Chan (commune), Cambodia *Chan Lake, by Chan Lake Territorial Park in Northwest Territories, Canada People *Chan (surname), romanization of various Chinese surnames (including 陳, 曾, 詹, 戰, and 田) * Chan Caldwe ...
, Minister without Portfolio
Yeh Jiunn-rong Yeh Jiunn-rong (; born October 1958) is a Taiwanese academic and politician. Early life Yeh received his bachelor's and master's degrees in law from National Taiwan University (NTU) in 1981 and 1985, respectively. He went on to study at Yale Un ...
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 Yeh Yao-peng (; born 3 October 1942) is a Taiwanese politician. He was a member of the Legislative Yuan, served on National Assembly, and was twice appointed to the Control Yuan. Political career Yeh was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1992, ...
; 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 the Mainland Affairs Council as a vice chairman, and later as deputy mayor of Kaohsiung under C ...
v. sociologist
Timothy Ting Timothy Ting or Ting Ting-yu (; born 1954) is a Taiwanese politician and sociologist. Personal life Ting graduated from National Taiwan University (NTU) with a bachelor's degree in sociology before going on to the University of Michigan for his ...
*10 March – DPP Legislator
You Ching You Ching (; born 20 March 1942) was the Republic of China (Taiwan) representative to Germany. A practicing lawyer since 1978, he obtained his bachelor's degree in law from the National Chengchi University in 1965 and his doctorate from the 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 Taiwan nationalism and shares a number of centre-left positions with the Pan-Green Coalition, the party emphasizes campaign ...
acting convener
Kao Cheng-yan Kao Cheng-yan () is an activist and founding chair of the Green Party Taiwan and a member of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union. He was a Taiwan independence activist during his student years in the United States. He ran for the Legislati ...
; DPP Legislator
Cho Jung-tai Cho Jung-tai (; born 22 January 1959) is a Taiwanese politician. He served on the Taipei City Council from 1990 to 1998, when he was first elected to the Legislative Yuan. Cho remained a legislator through 2004, when he was appointed deputy secr ...
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 *Ruan, Loiret, France *Mont Ruan, Switzerland *Ruan Major and Ru ...
*14 March – DPP Legislator
Julian Kuo Julian Kuo (; born 24 June 1961) is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician who first served in the Legislative Yuan from 2002 to 2008 and was reappointed to the office in 2016. Academic career Upon graduation from National Taiwan Univer ...
v. anti-March 20 referendum alliance leader
Jaw Shaw-kong Jaw Shaw-kong (; born 6 May 1950) is a Taiwanese media personality and politician. Jaw served a single term on the Taipei City Council before being elected to the Legislative Yuan from 1987 to 1991 and 1993 to 1994. Between Legislative Yuan stint ...
; Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman
Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...
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 Young ...
, 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 Young ...
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, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
Referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
Cross-Strait relations