Lien earned a Bachelor's degree from the National Taiwan University and a Master's degree and PhD from the University of Chicago, all in political science.
In contrast to his political opponents, Lien Chan is generally considered arrogant, aloof and out of touch with the public, and he made a dismal showing in the 2000 Presidential elections. One popular theory on Taiwan, which has some support from Lee's subsequent actions, has that Lien Chan was chosen to head the KMT's ticket by President Lee Teng-hui in an deliberate effort to destroy the KMT. Many have noted in support of this theory that Lien has never been elected on his own to any political office, and his ill-fated campaign for President was the first campaign that he ever undertook. During the 2000 Presidential campaign Lien campaigned on a platform of following in Lee's footsteps and continuing localization reforms. He touted a "3-S" slogan of "Safety, Security and Stability", claiming the selection of a DPP candidate would bring China's wrath and a return of fascism. The KMT also filed suit against James Soong in what is known as the Ching Hsing Bills Finance Scandal, in which the KMT accused Soong of stealing KMKT party money from a slush fund. Soong denied the allegations and following both the PFP and KMT losing the election the charges were dropped. Part of Lien's defeat may have been due to the massive 7.4 earthquake on September 21, 1999. As the acting Vice President and KMT candidate, Lien bore the brunt of public dissatisfaction with government relief efforts, in one instance being chased onto his helicopter by furious victims. In a poll following the 921 earthquake, the undecided vote rose to 47%. Since Lien's defeat in 2000, he has adopted a platform to erase the Lee effect from Taiwan and "Return to the Good Old Days", a call to return to the heyday of Ching Ching kuo. Lien's critics often associate the Chiang era with documented human rights abuses and authoritarian rule.
After the defeat of the KMT in 2000, Lien was able to achieve Lee's ouster and assume the leadership of the KMT. The KMT launched a party wide purge to eradicate Lee supporters, then held a membership drive to attract KMT loyalists. According to Lien the drive was successful, but many outside observers note a significant drop in membership as many of the former members who had joined the party as a compulsory act of conscripted military service never renewed. Lien as the Chairman of the KMT also vowed to learn from his loss and remake the KMT party. He held forums to discuss erasing the KMT's image as a corrupt institution and Lien promised to give up property stolen by the KMT after the Japanese exodus. To date there has been no further progress on this issue. Lien has been criticized for trying to give the land away to local governments as a type of payoff for support.
After negotiations between the PFP and KMT, it appears likely that Lien Chan will head a combined KMT-PFP ticket against Chen Shui-bian in the 2004 Presidential elections. The pairing has met with speculation as it has been thought that he two men personally dislike each other. During the 2000 campaigning, Lien accused Soong of positioning his family graves to interfere with Lien's Feng Shui and thus Lien had to reposition his graves. The KMT-PFP pairing seats the aloof Lien as the presidential candidate with the vocal and often bellicose Soong as his running mate.
See also: Politics of Taiwan
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