Local elections were held in Taiwan in 1950 and 1951, months after Chiang Kai-shek resumed duties as President of the Republic of China following the civil war defeat, marking the start of local autonomy in the post-war era.
The elections were also considered to be legitimising the Kuomintang's rule on the island, while attempting to strive for more support from the United States. They also provided the foundation for opposition Tangwai movement as non-KMT members tried to revolt against authoritarian rule through elections, and bred local powers and fractions that would impact the future elections.[1] Some of the defeated contenders in these elections would eventually be elected or become leaders of the Tangwai movement.[2]
Newspaper on 6 March 1947 announcing "mayoral, magisterial elections set for 1 July"
Taiwan's electoral history could trace back to Japanese rule in 1935, but the suffrage by then was limited.[3] In 1947, anti-government uprisings erupted, with protestors calling for political reform. Despite promising the implementation of reforms including local elections, Chen Yi, Chief Executive of Taiwan Province, secretly asked for reinforcement from mainland China to suppress the uprisings.
After the defeat in the Chinese Civil War, Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang government retreated to Taiwan in 1949. On 1 March 1950, Chiang declared the resumption of duties as the President of the Republic of China. The Government then announced in April plans for local elections, electing all 21 mayors of cities and magistrates of counties with a three-year term of office. City and County Council elections were organised also.
Chairmanship of the Taiwan Provincial Government and the councillorship of the Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council were both not open for direct election due to ongoing martial law, instead appointed or indirectly elected.[4]
Electoral system
According to "Election and Removal of Mayors and Magistrates of Taiwan Province Regulation" (Chinese: 臺灣省縣市長選舉罷免規程) promulgated in 1950, the election adopted the two-round, simple majority voting system.
A candidate shall be duly elected when the turnout is over 50% and received 50% of total votes cast (including invalid votes). If no candidates were elected, a runoff will be held within the next 20 days between the two leading candidates, with the one winning the most votes declared winner. If the two candidates received the same number of votes, lots will be drawn to determine the winner.
Election timetable
The local elections were divided into eight stages:[5]
With a high turnout of 79.6%,[6] KMT-backed candidates were elected in 17 out of 21 cities/counties, CDSP took one and the remaining were captured by independents.
The list below shows the statistics of party membership of candidates standing in the election. Coloured box refers to the party membership of elected mayor or magistrate.
In Taichung mayoral election, lawyer Yang Chi-hsien (楊基先), with opposition background, defeated Kuomintang candidate Lin Chin-piao (林金標). Kuomintang members were reportedly forced to canvass for Lin and collect name and address of at least fifty voters, which angered some of the residents.[7] According to KMT senior Chen Kuo-fu, Yang's well connection with the grassroot community contributed to his victory.[8] The discontent with the ruling KMT following February 28 incident, along with his narrow-mindedness, also damaged Lin's popularity.[9][10]
Despite winning a plurality in the first round, Yang was forced to a second round as more than 8,000 invalid votes were cast.[11]
Wu San-lien (second left) celebrated with voters after elected
The Taipei mayoral election of the capital was one of the most competitive in the local elections, with six independent candidates and one KMT-supported.
In the memoir of Henry Kao, later Mayor of Taipei, then-chairman of Taiwan Provincial Government K. C. Wu convinced incumbent mayor Wu San-lien (吳三連) to run for re-election and fully supported him after considering multiple non-KMT candidates were elected, making him the first government official that supported opposition candidate.[12] In protest against the decision, Lin Tzu-kuei (林紫貴), KMT delegate of the National Assembly, ran in the election,[13] while China Democratic Socialist Party, to which Wu San-lien was affiliated despite running as an independent, endorsed Henry Kao instead of Wu.[14]
KMT later urged Lin to withdraw from the competition. Lin in return demanded to be promoted as deputy minister or to compensate his election expenses, but were both rejected. Just a week before election, Lin was detained and jailed by secret police,[14] allegedly harbouring communists.[13]
Kao, who was nominated by others, decided not to campaign as he believed Wu was much respected and popular.[12] As a result, Wu won in a landslide, garnering nearly 66% of votes. Soon after the poll concluded, Lin was released from jail.[13]
During election, Chen Hsi-ching (陳錫卿), then mayor of Changhua, told the less-educated farmers that posting his election leaflet could "prevent swine fever". Chen eventually achieved a simple majority in the election without a second round.
In Yilan County, a second round of election was arranged due to a total of 4,239 invalid votes in the first round, which blocked the election of independent Chen Wang-chuan (陳旺全). Following a widespread campaign by the KMT, the party-backed candidate Lu Tsuan-hsiang (盧纘祥) was elected in the second round despite losing the first.
Hsu Shih-shien (許世賢) is the first female candidate of magisterial elections in the country, but would only be elected seventeen years later in 1968.[16]
A second round was held due to a total of 3,364 invalid votes, blocking Liu Ting-kuo (劉定國) the leading candidate in the first round to receive 50% of the total votes.
The election result was annulled by court as Liu was serving in the military and thus unqualified as a candidate, therefore triggering a by-election in July 1951.
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