ABSTRACT
The Kuomintang (KMT) governed Taiwan without interruption from the late 1940s through to the twenty-first century. The party initially ruled as an authoritarian party-state, though later, beginning in the 1990s, as a democratically elected government. The KMT appeared undefeatable over this long period, overcoming periodic challenges to the authoritarian regime’s legitimacy and the uncertainties of democratic competition. Rather unexpectedly, however, the KMT failed to win the presidency in 2000 and subsequently lost its majority in the Legislative Yuan in 2001. The party began adapting to its new role as opposition, with an eye towards re-gaining power in the near term. Its efforts fell short, when the KMT lost the 2004 Presidential election.
