Editing Kuomintang (section)

=== In Taiwan: 1945–present ===
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2018}}<!--many paragraphs without citations-->
{{see also|North–South divide in Taiwan}}
{{Politics of the Republic of China}}
[[File:KMT Headquarters, Taipei.JPG|thumb|The former KMT headquarters in [[Taipei City]] (1949–2006), whose imposing structure, directly facing the [[Presidential Office Building (Republic of China)|Presidential Office Building]], was seen as a symbol of the party's wealth and dominance]]
In 1895, Formosa (now called Taiwan), including the [[Penghu]] islands, became a Japanese colony via the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]] following the [[First Sino-Japanese War]].

After Japan's defeat at the end of [[World War II]] in 1945, [[General Order No. 1]] instructed Japan to surrender its troops in Taiwan to Chiang Kai-shek. On 25 October 1945, KMT general [[Chen Yi (Kuomintang)|Chen Yi]] acted on behalf of the Allied Powers to accept Japan's surrender and proclaimed that day as [[Retrocession Day|Taiwan Retrocession Day]].

Tensions between the local Taiwanese and [[waishengren|mainlanders]] from mainland China increased in the intervening years, culminating in a flashpoint on 27 February 1947 in [[Taipei]] when a dispute between a female cigarette vendor and an anti-smuggling officer in front of [[Tianma Tea House]] triggered civil disorder and protests that would last for days. The uprising turned bloody and was shortly put down by the [[Military of the Republic of China|ROC Army]] in the [[February 28 Incident]]. As a result of the 28 February Incident in 1947, Taiwanese people endured what is called the "[[White Terror (Taiwan)|White Terror]]", a KMT-led political repression that resulted in the death or disappearance of over 30,000 Taiwanese intellectuals, activists, and people suspected of opposition to the KMT.<ref>[http://englishnews.ftv.com.tw/read.aspx?sno=5B33122680FD5E65A32B8E335FE5727A "Ceremonies held to commemorate 228 Incident victims (2014/02/28)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211124818/http://englishnews.ftv.com.tw/read.aspx?sno=5B33122680FD5E65A32B8E335FE5727A |date=11 December 2014}}. ''englishnews.ftv.com.tw''.</ref>

Following the [[Proclamation of the People's Republic of China|establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC)]] on 1 October 1949, the commanders of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) believed that [[Kinmen]] and [[Matsu Islands|Matsu]] had to be taken before a final assault on Taiwan. The KMT fought the [[Battle of Guningtou]] on 25–27 October 1949 and stopped the PLA invasion. The KMT headquarters were set up on 10 December 1949 at No. 11 Zhongshan South Road.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.kmt.org.tw/english/page.aspx?type=para&mnum=108|title=Party's History|publisher=Kuomintang|quote=Following the government of the Republic of China, the Kuomintang relocates to Taiwan. Kuomintang Party headquarters are set up at No. 11 Zhongshan South Road.|access-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226232702/http://www1.kmt.org.tw/english/page.aspx?type=para&mnum=108|archive-date=26 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1950, Chiang took office in Taipei under the [[Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion]]. The provision declared [[martial law in Taiwan]] and halted some democratic processes, including presidential and parliamentary elections, until the mainland could be recovered from the CCP. The KMT estimated it would take 3 years to defeat the Communists. The slogan was "prepare in the first year, start fighting in the second, and conquer in the third year." Chiang also initiated the [[Project National Glory]] to retake back the mainland in 1965, but was eventually dropped in July 1972 after many unsuccessful attempts. However, various factors, including international pressure, are believed to have prevented the KMT from militarily engaging the CCP full-scale. The KMT backed Muslim insurgents formerly belonging to the [[National Revolutionary Army]] during the [[Kuomintang Islamic insurgency in China (1950–58)|KMT Islamic insurgency in 1950–1958]] in mainland China. A cold war with a couple of minor military conflicts was resulted in the early years. The various government bodies previously in [[Nanjing]], that were re-established in Taipei as the KMT-controlled government, actively claimed sovereignty over all China. The Republic of China in Taiwan retained [[China and the United Nations|China's seat in the United Nations]] until 1971 as well as recognition by the United States until 1979.

In response to widespread corruption, factionalism, and bureaucratic inefficiency that had plagued the Kuomintang and were viewed as key contributors to its defeat in the Chinese Civil War, Chiang Kai-shek initiated a sweeping modernization campaign known as the [[Party Reform Program]] between 1950 and 1952. The reform aimed to consolidate party discipline and centralize authority under Chiang's leadership. The campaign was led by the newly established Central Reform Committee, which sought to eliminate defeatism, factionalism, bureaucratism, and dependency within the party ranks. It also emphasized institutionalization, organizational cohesion, and the transformation of party culture. At the KMT's National Congress held in October 1952, Chiang declared the reform a success. As a result, the party charter was amended to redefine the Kuomintang as a revolutionary democratic party, drawing its social base from youth, intellectuals, and the working and agricultural classes, while positioning patriotic revolutionaries among these classes as the core of party membership. The program also marginalized rival factions such as the [[CC Clique]], paving the way for the rise of figures like [[Chen Cheng]] and later Chiang Ching-kuo, who would dominate party leadership in the decades to come.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chen |first=Cheng-mao |title=日治及戰後初期臺灣政黨與政治團體史論 (1900–1960) |publisher=Yuan Hua Wen Chuang Co., Ltd. |date=2020 |isbn=9789577111586 |language=zh-hant |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/%E6%97%A5%E6%B2%BB%E5%8F%8A%E6%88%B0%E5%BE%8C%E5%88%9D%E6%9C%9F%E8%87%BA%E7%81%A3%E6%94%BF%E9%BB%A8%E8%88%87%E6%94%BF.html?id=2Nz2EAAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Slater |first=Dan |last2=Wong |first2=Joseph |title=從經濟發展到民主：現代亞洲轉型之路的不同面貌 |publisher=春山出版有限公司 |year=2024 |isbn=9786267478080 |pages=141–143 |language=zh-hant}}</ref>

Until the 1970s, the KMT successfully pushed ahead with land reforms, developed the economy, implemented a democratic system in a lower level of the government, improved [[Cross-Strait relations|relations between Taiwan and the mainland]] and created the [[Taiwan economic miracle]]. However, the KMT controlled the government under a one-party authoritarian state until reforms in the late 1970s through the 1990s. The ROC in Taiwan was once referred to synonymously with the KMT and known simply as Nationalist China after its ruling party. In the 1970s, the KMT began to allow for "supplemental elections" in Taiwan to fill the seats of the aging representatives in the [[National Assembly (Republic of China)|National Assembly]].

Although opposition parties were not permitted, the pro-democracy movement ''[[Tangwai]]'' ("outside the KMT") created the [[Democratic Progressive Party]] (DPP) on 28 September 1986. Outside observers of Taiwanese politics expected the KMT to clamp down and crush the illegal opposition party, though this did not occur, and instead the party's formation marked the beginning of Taiwan's [[democratization]].<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-052318-025732|doi-access=free|title=Authoritarian-Led Democratization|year=2020|last1=Riedl|first1=Rachel Beatty|last2=Slater|first2=Dan|last3=Wong|first3=Joseph|last4=Ziblatt|first4=Daniel|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|volume=23|pages=315–332}}</ref>

[[Martial law]] ceased in 1987 and the President [[Lee Teng-hui]] terminated the [[Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion]] in 1991. All parties started to be allowed to compete at all levels of elections, including the presidential election. [[Lee Teng-hui]], the ROC's first democratically elected president and the leader of the KMT during the 1990s, announced his advocacy of "special state-to-state relations" with the PRC. The PRC associated this idea with [[Taiwan independence movement|Taiwan independence]].

The KMT faced a split in 1993 that led to the formation of the [[New Party (Taiwan)|New Party]] in August 1993, alleged to be a result of Lee's "corruptive ruling style". The New Party has, since the purging of Lee, largely reintegrated into the KMT. A much more serious split in the party occurred as a result of the [[2000 Taiwan presidential election|2000 presidential election]]. Upset at the choice of [[Lien Chan]] as the party's presidential nominee, former party Secretary-General [[James Soong]] launched an independent bid, which resulted in the expulsion of Soong and his supporters and the formation of the [[People First Party (Taiwan)|People First Party]] (PFP) on 31 March 2000. The KMT candidate placed third behind Soong in the elections. After the election, Lee's strong relationship with the opponent became apparent. To prevent defections to the PFP, Lien moved the party away from Lee's pro-independence policies and became more favorable toward [[Chinese unification]]. This shift led to Lee's expulsion from the party and the formation of the [[Taiwan Solidarity Union]] (TSU) by Lee supporters on 24 July 2001.

[[File:Pan-blue supporters during 2004 ROC presidential election with ROC flags.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Pan-Blue Coalition|Pan-blue]] supporters at a rally during the [[2004 Republic of China presidential election|2004 presidential election]]]]
Prior to this, the party's voters had defected to both the PFP and TSU, and the KMT did poorly in the [[2001 Taiwan legislative election|December 2001 legislative elections]] and lost its position as the largest party in the [[Legislative Yuan]]. However, the party did well in the 2002 local government mayoral and council election with [[Ma Ying-jeou]], its candidate for Taipei mayor, winning reelection by a landslide and its candidate for [[Kaohsiung]] mayor narrowly losing but doing surprisingly well. Since 2002, the KMT and PFP have coordinated electoral strategies. In 2004, the KMT and PFP ran a joint presidential ticket, with Lien running for president and Soong running for vice-president.

The loss of the presidential election of 2004 to DPP President [[Chen Shui-bian]] by merely over 30,000 votes was a bitter disappointment to party members, leading to large scale rallies for several weeks protesting alleged electoral fraud and the "odd circumstances" of the [[3-19 shooting incident|shooting of President Chen]]. However, the fortunes of the party were greatly improved when the KMT did well in the [[2004 Taiwan legislative election|legislative elections]] held in December 2004 by maintaining its support in southern Taiwan achieving a majority for the [[Pan-Blue Coalition]].

Soon after the election, there appeared to be a falling out with the KMT's junior partner, the People First Party and talk of a merger seemed to have ended. This split appeared to widen in early 2005, as the leader of the PFP, James Soong appeared to be reconciling with President [[Chen Shui-Bian]] and the [[Democratic Progressive Party]]. Many PFP members including legislators and municipal leaders have since defected to the KMT, and the PFP is seen as a fading party.

In 2005, Ma Ying-jeou became KMT chairman defeating speaker [[Wang Jin-pyng]] in the [[2005 Kuomintang chairmanship election|first public election for KMT chairmanship]]. The KMT won a decisive victory in the [[2005 Taiwanese local elections|3-in-1 local elections]] of December 2005, replacing the DPP as the largest party at the local level. This was seen as a major victory for the party ahead of legislative elections in 2007. There were elections for the two municipalities of the ROC, Taipei and [[Kaohsiung]] in December 2006. The KMT won a clear victory in Taipei, but lost to the DPP in the southern city of [[Kaohsiung]] by the slim margin of 1,100 votes.

On 13 February 2007, Ma was indicted by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office on charges of allegedly embezzling approximately NT$11&nbsp;million (US$339,000), regarding the issue of "special expenses" while he was mayor of Taipei. Shortly after the indictment, he submitted his resignation as KMT chairman at the same press conference at which he formally announced his candidacy for ROC president. Ma argued that it was customary for officials to use the special expense fund for personal expenses undertaken in the course of their official duties. In December 2007, Ma was acquitted of all charges and immediately filed suit against the prosecutors. In 2008, the KMT won a landslide victory in the [[2008 Taiwan presidential election|Republic of China presidential election on 22 March 2008]]. The KMT fielded former Taipei mayor and former KMT chairman [[Ma Ying-jeou]] to run against the DPP's Frank Hsieh. Ma won by a margin of 17% against Hsieh. Ma took office on 20 May 2008, with vice-presidential candidate Vincent Siew, and ended 8 years of the DPP presidency. The KMT also won a landslide victory in the [[2008 Taiwan legislative election|2008 legislative elections]], winning 81 of 113 seats, or 71.7% of seats in the [[Legislative Yuan]]. These two elections gave the KMT firm control of both the executive and legislative yuans.

On 25 June 2009, President Ma launched his bid to regain the KMT leadership and registered as the sole candidate for the [[2009 Kuomintang chairmanship election|chairmanship election]]. On 26 July, Ma won 93.9% of the vote, becoming the new chairman of the KMT,<ref>[http://english.cna.com.tw/ReadNews/Detail.aspx?pSearchDate=&pNewsID=200907270004&pType1=PD&pType0=xPDCS&pTypeSel=0 President Ma elected KMT chairman]{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} – CNA ENGLISH NEWS</ref> taking office on 17 October 2009. This officially allowed Ma to be able to meet with [[Xi Jinping]], the [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]], and other PRC delegates, as he was able to represent the KMT as leader of a Chinese political party rather than as head-of-state of a political entity unrecognized by the PRC.<ref>[http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=986347&lang=eng_news&cate_img=logo_taiwan&cate_rss=TAIWAN_eng Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou registers for KMT leadership race] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429035126/http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=986347&lang=eng_news&cate_img=logo_taiwan&cate_rss=TAIWAN_eng |date=29 April 2011 }} – eTaiwan News</ref>

On 29 November 2014, the KMT suffered a heavy loss in the [[2014 Taiwanese local elections|local election]] to the DPP, winning only 6 municipalities and counties, down from 14 in the previous election in [[2009 Taiwanese local elections|2009]] and [[2010 Taiwanese municipal elections|2010]]. Ma Ying-jeou subsequently resigned from the party chairmanship on 3 December and replaced by acting Chairman [[Wu Den-yih]]. [[2015 Kuomintang chairmanship election|Chairmanship election]] was held on 17 January 2015 and [[Eric Chu]] was elected to become the new chairman. He was inaugurated on 19 February.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201411290001.aspx|title=Polls open for 9-in-1 local government elections|date=29 November 2014 |access-date=4 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706061952/http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201411290001.aspx|archive-date=6 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2021, Kuomintang elected its former leader (in office 2015–2016), veteran politician [[Eric Chu]], as its new leader to replace [[Johnny Chiang]] (in office 2020–2021).<ref>{{cite news |title=Taiwan's new Kuomintang leader keeps party on China-friendly track |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Taiwan-s-new-Kuomintang-leader-keeps-party-on-China-friendly-track |work=Nikkei Asia |access-date=12 October 2021 |archive-date=12 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012043849/https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Taiwan-s-new-Kuomintang-leader-keeps-party-on-China-friendly-track |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2024, no party won a majority in Taiwan's [[2024 Taiwanese legislative election|legislative election]] for the first time since 2004, meaning 51 seats for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), 52 seats for the Kuomintang (KMT), and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) secured eight seats.<ref>{{cite news |title=No party gets majority in Legislature; KMT wins most seats - Focus Taiwan |url=https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202401130014 |work=Focus Taiwan - CNA English News |date=13 January 2024 |access-date=15 January 2024 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204163716/https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202401130014 |url-status=live }}</ref>