Provincial and municipal elections were 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 3 December 1994, electing the

Governor of Taiwan Province Taiwan Provincial Government is the nominal government of Taiwan Province in the Republic of China. Since 2018, its functions have been transferred to the National Development Council and other ministries of the Executive Yuan. History At ...

, and mayor of two special municipalities (

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

and

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

). This is the first election for all three posts, and the only one for the governorship of the later-streamlined

Taiwan Province Taiwan Province ( zh, t=臺灣省 , p=Táiwān Shěng , poj=Tâi-oân-séng; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a ''de jure'' administrative division of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Provinces remain a titular division as ...

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

(KMT) was elected in Taiwan Province and Kaohsiung, while the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) captured the capital city.

Taiwan Province

Since the retreat of Kuomintang's regime from mainland China to Taiwan, the head of the Taiwan Province was appointed by the central government due to

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

in place. In 1994, the new Province and County Autonomy Act () was enacted, the chairmanship of Taiwan Provincial Government was replaced by elected governorship of Taiwan Province. James Soong of the KMT, then-chairman of Taiwan Provincial Government, was nominated to continue heading the province. The DPP endorsed Chen Ding-nan, member of Legislative Yuan and former Yilan Magistrate. Soong was elected in a landslide, winning 56% of votes, while the party also secured a majority in the Provincial Council.

Taipei City

Taipei City was long seen as the stronghold of Kuomintang as many civil servants and Chinese migrants (or ''

Waishengren ''Waishengren'', sometimes called mainlanders, are a group of migrants who arrived in Taiwan from mainland China between the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945 and sometime following the Kuomintang retreat at the end of the ...

'') resided there. Between 1951 and 1967, Taipei, then a provincial city, had an elected mayor, and majority were

Tangwai The ''Tangwai'' movement, or simply ''Tangwai'' (), was a loosely knit political movement in Taiwan in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Although the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) had allowed contested elections for a small number of seats in the Legi ...

locals. After upgraded to a special municipality, Taipei has been headed by government-appointed indigenous mayors. KMT chose then-mayor Huang Ta-chou for re-election, while the DPP held a party primary for nomination. After legislator

Frank Hsieh Frank Hsieh Chang-ting (; born May 18, 1946) is a Taiwanese politician and former defense attorney who served as Ambassador of Taiwan to Japan from 2016 to 2024. A cofounder of the Democratic Progressive Party, he has served on the Taipei City ...

lost the first round of the primary and subsequently withdrew,

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 ...

was selected to challenge Huang. New Party nominated legislator

Jaw Shaw-kong Jaw Shaw-kong (; born 6 May 1950) is a Taiwanese politician, media personality and entrepreneur. 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. In 1993, h ...

. Due to

vote splitting In social choice theory and politics, a spoiler effect happens when a losing candidate affects the results of an election simply by participating. Voting rules that are not affected by spoilers are said to be spoilerproof. The frequency and se ...

within 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 ...

between Huang and Jaw, Chen was elected with nearly 44% of votes, ending KMT's 22-year rule in the capital. However, KMT was able to win a plurality in the city council.

Kaohsiung City

Kaohsiung had long been ruled by the Kuomintang except for a few years. In this election, KMT's candidate

Wu Den-yih Wu Den-yih ( Chinese: 吳敦義, born 30 January 1948) is a Taiwanese politician. He graduated from National Taiwan University and worked as a journalist before beginning a career in politics with a 1973 appointment to the Taipei City Council. ...

, former Nantou Magistrate, won 54% of votes and was leading in all districts of Kaohsiung. The KMT also obtained a majority in the council, consolidating the rule.

References

{{Taiwanese elections 1994 elections in Taiwan December 1994 in Asia