Editing James Soong (section)

== Perennial candidate (2000–present) ==

===2000 presidential election===
After losing the KMT presidential nomination to then-vice president Lien Chan, Soong ran as an independent in the [[2000 Taiwanese presidential election|2000 presidential election]]. Soong advocated a gradual union between Taiwan and the mainland by first signing a [[non-aggression pact]] followed by the formation of a cross-strait union similar to the [[European Union]]. His platform called for the characterization of relations between the mainland and Taiwan as neither foreign nor domestic. Although widely seen as the candidate most friendly to mainland China, Soong took particular effort to counter the perception that he would "sell out" Taiwan.

The KMT responded by expelling Soong and his supporters from the party.<ref name="ap-expel-soong">{{cite news |last1=Foreman |first1=William |title=Party Expels Taiwan Front-Runner |url=https://apnews.com/article/dd61ea3661eb7d9b89582c6c8070b9e0 |access-date=21 May 2022 |work=AP News |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |date=16 November 1999}}</ref> In the final months leading to the 2000 elections, the KMT, then under [[Lee Teng-hui]]'s leadership, sued Soong for theft, alleging that as party secretary-general, he stole millions of Taiwan dollars in cash<ref name="tt-soong-lawsuit-1">{{cite news |last1=Chen |first1=Lauren |title=KMT files lawsuit against Soong |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2000/02/17/0000024433 |access-date=21 May 2022 |work=[[Taipei Times]] |date=17 February 2000}}</ref> intended for the family of the late president [[Chiang Ching-kuo]] and hid the money in the Chunghsing Bills Finance Company.<ref name="tt-soong-chung-hsing">{{cite news |title=Lee interview rekindles Chung Hsing scandal |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2003/04/09/201372 |access-date=21 May 2022 |work=[[Taipei Times]] |date=9 April 2003}}</ref><ref name="nbm-soong">{{cite news |last1=Hioe |first1=Brian |title=James Soong Comes Under Scrutiny in Relation to Corrupt Frigate Deal |url=https://newbloommag.net/2022/02/25/soong-frigate-deal/ |access-date=21 May 2022 |work=New Bloom Magazine |date=25 February 2022}}</ref> In defense he stated that the money in those bank accounts was in fact all from the KMT, and he insisted that the money transfer was authorized by then-KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui.<ref name="tt-soong-lawsuit-1" /><ref name="tt-soong-chung-hsing" /> These statements have been substantiated by an internal KMT memo signed by Lee which were published by the court many years later.

The scandal hurt Soong's clean image. Initially leading in the polls,<ref name="ap-expel-soong" /> Soong narrowly lost the election with 36.84% of the vote to [[Chen Shui-bian]] of the [[Democratic Progressive Party]] with 39.3%. Lien came in a distant third with only 23.1%. 

After losing the election, Soong's supporters protested in front of the KMT party headquarters and blockaded the building for a few days. They succeeded in pressuring Lee Teng-hui to resign as KMT chairman in favor of Lien Chan. Within weeks, Soong and his supporters formed the [[People First Party (Taiwan)|People First Party]] (PFP), considered a spin-off from the KMT.

Prosecutors later dropped all charges against Soong in the Chunghsing scandal. In 2003, the investigation was reopened, with former president Lee (now expelled from the KMT and the "spiritual leader" of the pro-independence [[Taiwan Solidarity Union]]) testifying against Soong in court. However, with the KMT allied with the PFP for the 2004 presidential election, the KMT aided Soong in his defence, providing documents signed by Lee. KMT chairman Lien Chan claimed the KMT was misled into filing the lawsuit against Soong. 

=== 2004 presidential election ===
Despite the personal rivalries between Lien, the KMT chairman after 2000, and Soong, the KMT and People First Party pledged to cooperate in future elections to prevent splitting the vote. Though losses in the [[2001 Taiwanese legislative election|2001 legislative election]] made the DPP the largest single party in the [[Legislative Yuan]], the [[pan-Blue Coalition]] retained a narrow majority over the [[pan-Green Coalition]].

Soong ran as a vice presidential candidate under Lien Chan in the [[2004 Taiwanese presidential election|2004 election]].<ref name="elec_2004">{{cite journal |last1=Simon |first1=Scott |last2=Wang |first2=Fu-cheng |last3=Wong |first3=Joseph |last4=Laliberté |first4=André |last5=Henderson |first5=Robert D'A. |title=Domestic and International Considerations of Taiwan's 2004 Presidential Election: An Interdisciplinary Roundtable |journal=Pacific Affairs |date=2004 |volume=77 |issue=4 |pages=683–713 |jstor=40023538 }}</ref>{{rp|pages=691, 693–694}} Some believe that the PFP's lack of experienced candidates in the December 2002 mayoral elections in [[Taipei]] and [[Kaohsiung]] (the PFP supported the KMT's candidates), and the PFP's poor performance the city council elections in those cities at the same time were major setbacks to Soong's chances of being the KMT-PFP candidate for president. There were widespread rumours that Soong agreed to take the vice-presidential post in exchange for a pledge by Lien to give him significant power, including the premiership. Many KMT members opposed the linkage, considering Soong an opportunist and traitor. Soong's supporters pointed out that he was more popular than Lien, as consistently demonstrated by polls and the results of the 2000 presidential elections. Though both men garnered a combined 60% of the vote in 2000 (compared to Chen's 39%), they lost to Chen in 2004 by a mere 0.22% of the vote and never conceded.

=== 2005 ===
After the 2004 presidential election, Soong actively sought the merger of the KMT and People First Party. However, he ceased doing so after the [[2004 Taiwanese legislative election|2004 legislative election]]. Although the pan-blue coalition did well, the PFP did not, and Soong ended talk of a KMT-PFP merger. In February 2005, he signed a 10-point consensus program with President Chen Shui-bian, which brought heavy criticism to Chen. The possibility of DPP-PFP cooperation ended in May 2005, when Soong visited [[mainland China]] to meet with [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|General Secretary]] [[Hu Jintao]] of the [[Chinese Communist Party]]. Initially, Chen stated that Soong would deliver a secret message to the PRC leadership, but Soong denied this.

In the 2005 KMT chairmanship election, Soong, who retained a significant following within the KMT, despite initially instructing party officials not to support either [[Ma Ying-jeou]] or [[Wang Jin-pyng]], endorsed Wang at the last minute. However, the endorsement appeared to backfire as Ma defeated Wang by a large margin of 72% to 28%. On July 22, 2005, Soong, unopposed, was re-elected chairman of the PFP.

=== 2006 Taipei mayoral election===
On October 18, 2006, Soong formally announced and registered his candidacy for the mayoralty of [[Taipei City]], Taiwan's capital and largest city, in the local government elections to be held in December 2006.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mo|first1=Yan-chih|title=Soong declares candidacy for mayor|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2006/10/18/2003332217|access-date=11 June 2016|work=Taipei Times|date=18 October 2006}}</ref> Soong registered as a "non-partisan" candidate without a party affiliation, declaring that he had taken a leave of absence from his post as chairman of the PFP.

After his defeat in the [[2005–06 Taiwanese local elections|Taipei mayoral election on 9 December 2006]], in which he won only 4% of cast ballots, James Soong announced that he would retire from politics, which entailed giving up the chairmanship of his party, the PFP. With this announcement and no clear goal, the PFP face an uncertain future, which could speed up any merger with the Kuomintang.

=== 2012 presidential election===
After a petition, Soong, for the first time as a People First Party presidential candidate, ran the [[2012 Taiwanese presidential election|2012 presidential election]] together with [[Lin Ruey-shiung]], a [[National Taiwan University]] professor in public health.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2012 ELECTIONS: Soong signs up for presidential race |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/11/25/2003519154 |website=Taipei Times|date=25 November 2011 }}</ref> Soong described the "[[Pan-Blue coalition|Blue]]-Green rivalry" in [[Politics of Taiwan|Taiwanese politics]] as an epidemic and stated that Lin, as a doctor, was his partner to cure this "disease". He contended that Taiwanese people wanted a third party other than the KMT and the DPP and that the PFP was their choice.

===2016 presidential election ===
Soong announced his intention to join the [[2016 Taiwanese presidential election|2016 presidential election]] on 6 August 2015 with running mate [[Hsu Hsin-ying]] of the [[Minkuotang]].<ref>[http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201508060004.aspx Focus Taiwan: James Soong announces presidential bid]</ref> The Soong–Hsu ticket finished third, with 12.8% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/people-first-party-s/2031974.html |title=People First Party's James Soong to join Taiwan presidential race - Channel NewsAsia |website=www.channelnewsasia.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910113740/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/people-first-party-s/2031974.html |archive-date=2015-09-10}}</ref>

=== 2020 presidential election ===
Soong contested the [[2020 Taiwanese presidential election|2020 presidential election]], beginning his campaign on 13 November 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wang |first1=Cheng-chung |last2=Huang |first2=Frances |title=James Soong announces presidential bid (update) |url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201911130013.aspx |access-date=13 November 2019 |agency=Central News Agency |date=13 November 2019}}</ref> He had promised that this campaign would be his last attempt for the presidency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/01/james-soong-the-end-of-an-authoritarian-era-in-taiwan/|title = James Soong: The End of an (Authoritarian) Era in Taiwan  | publisher=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] | author=James Baron | date=January 15, 2020 | access-date=December 21, 2023}}</ref> Soong and Sandra Yu formed the People First Party ticket.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chen |first1=Yun |last2=Hsiao |first2=Sherry |title=James Soong joins presidential race |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2019/11/14/2003725803 |access-date=17 November 2019 |work=Taipei Times |date=14 November 2019}}</ref> The pair registered their candidacy with the [[Central Election Commission (Taiwan)|Central Election Commission]] on 18 November 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shan |first1=Shelley |title=2020 Elections: PFP's Soong registers for election |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2019/11/19/2003726119 |access-date=19 November 2019 |work=Taipei Times |date=19 November 2019}}</ref> Soong and Yu finished third in the presidential election, with 4.2% of the vote.<ref name="2020 election">{{cite news |last1=Maxon |first1=Ann |title=2020 Elections: Han Kuo-yu concedes race as KMT leadership resigns |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2020/01/12/2003729110 |access-date=12 January 2020 |work=Taipei Times |date=12 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Yang |first1=Chun-hui |last2=Shih |first2=Hsiao-kuang |last3=Lin |first3=Liang-sheng |title=2020 Elections: Tsai wins by a landslide |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2020/01/12/2003729107 |access-date=12 January 2020 |work=Taipei Times |date=12 January 2020}}</ref>