Editing Democratic Progressive Party (section)

===2008–2016: return to opposition===
In the national elections held in early months of 2008, the DPP won less than 25% of the seats (38.2% vote share) in the new Legislative Yuan while its presidential candidate, former [[Kaohsiung]] mayor [[Frank Hsieh]], lost to KMT candidate [[Ma Ying-jeou]] by a wide margin (41.55% vs. 58.45%).  In May, the DPP elected moderate [[Tsai Ing-wen]] as their new leader over fundamentalist [[Koo Kwang-ming]].<ref name="rigger-39-49" />  Tsai became the first female leader of the DPP and the first female leader to lead a major party in Taiwan.

The first months since backed to the opposition were dominated by press coverage of the travails of [[Chen Shui-bian]] and his wife [[Wu Shu-jen]]. On 15 August 2008, Chen resigned from the DPP and apologized: "Today I have to say sorry to all of the DPP members and supporters. I let everyone down, caused you humiliation and failed to meet your expectations. My acts have caused irreparable damage to the party. I love the DPP deeply and am proud of being a DPP member. To express my deepest regrets to all DPP members and supporters, I announce my withdrawal from the DPP immediately. My wife Wu Shu-jen is also withdrawing from the party." DPP Chairperson followed with a public statement on behalf of the party: "In regard to Chen and his wife's decision to withdraw from the party and his desire to shoulder responsibility for his actions as well as to undergo an investigation by the party's anti-corruption committee, we respect his decision and accept it."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pacificmagazine.net/news/2008/08/17/former-taiwan-president-resigns-from-party-over-corruption-charges|title=pacificmagazine.net, Former Republic of China President Resigns From Party Over Corruption Charges}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The DPP vowed to reflect on public misgivings towards the party. Chairperson Tsai insisted on the need for the party to remember its history, defend the Republic of China's sovereignty and national security, and maintain its confidence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/080827/1/14w0t.html|title=中廣 via Yahoo! News, 媒體民調僅剩11趴 民進黨：虛心檢討}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/080827/58/14wkq.html|title=央廣 via Yahoo! News, 民進黨支持度剩11%？ 蔡英文：覺得信心還在}}</ref>

The party re-emerged as a voice in Taiwan's political debate when Ma's administration reached the end of its first year in office. The DPP marked the anniversary with massive rallies in Taipei and Kaohsiung. Tsai's address to the crowd in Taipei on 17 May proclaimed a "citizens' movement to protect Republic of China" seeking to "protect our democracy and protect Republic of China."<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://dpptaiwan.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/tsai-ing-wens-opening-speech-at-the-517-rally/| title=Tsai Ing-wen's Opening Speech at the 517 Rally| date=17 May 2009| access-date=3 June 2009| archive-date=18 July 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718092653/http://dpptaiwan.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/tsai-ing-wens-opening-speech-at-the-517-rally/| url-status=live}}</ref>