Authoritarian Legacies and the Kuomintang's Electoral Performance in the 2024 Election

Following the Kuomintang's defeats in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, the party's decline was attributed to the rise of a stronger Taiwanese identity and its pro-China image. However, the outcome of the 2024 election presented a different scenario. While the Democratic Progressive Party retained the presidency, it lost its majority in the Legislative Yuan. The Kuomintang gained 14 additional constituency seats and, with the support of the Taiwan People's Party, secured a pan-blue majority in the legislature. This paper argues that the Kuomintang's legislative victory reflects the enduring strength of its authoritarian legacies: inherited wealth and extensive territorial organisation to compete in costly single-member constituency races; a party brand rooted in economic competence and democratisation; and a national identity influenced by the Republic of China and its fusion with the exclusive Taiwanese identity. To examine these legacies, this paper draws on electoral and survey data. The analysis shows how legacies help authoritarian successor parties remain competitive and the need to consider legislative elections to fully understand the persistence of these legacies in Taiwan's political system.