March 19 shooting incident

On 19 March 2004, President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu of Taiwan were shot while riding in the back seat of an open convertible Jeep during a campaign procession in Tainan, one day before Taiwan's presidential election. Around 1:45 pm, a bullet penetrated the vehicle's windshield and grazed Chen's stomach, causing an 11-centimetre-long, 2-centimetre-wide flesh wound; the bullet was later found lodged in his clothing. A second bullet struck a cast on Lu's knee, which she was wearing due to a prior injury. Both initially believed the sounds were firecrackers, common at Taiwanese political rallies, before realizing they had been shot. Both were taken to Chi-Mei Hospital and released the same day without losing consciousness or requiring surgery. Lawyer Wang Hsin-nan, who was traveling with Chen, confirmed the shots were fired.

The incident prompted activation of Taiwan's "National Security Mechanism" and a temporary halt to campaigning by both major political coalitions. The election was not postponed, as Taiwanese law permits suspension only upon a candidate's death; Chen and Lu went on to win by 29,500 votes. Reaction split along partisan lines: some, including Lu, suggested Beijing may have orchestrated the attack given her and Chen's support for Taiwanese independence, while some Pan-Blue supporters alleged the shooting was staged to generate sympathy votes. Police stated within hours that the crime was not political and that the People's Republic of China was not involved.

Two bullet casings, apparently from home-made guns, were recovered from the scene. American forensic experts Cyril Wecht, Michael Haag, and Timothy Palmbach traveled to Taiwan in late March 2004 to assist, followed by forensic scientist Henry C. Lee in April 2004. Lee later concluded the incident was unlikely to be a targeted political assassination attempt, given the weapon's apparent low power, though he could not issue a fully conclusive report. Interior Minister Yu Cheng-hsien and National Security Bureau director Tsai Chao-ming both resigned in connection with the incident.

In September 2004, three men were arrested at an illegal weapons factory near Tainan in possession of bullets matching those from the crime scene. In March 2005, police named two suspects, Chen Yi-hsiung and Huang Hung-ren, both of whom had died shortly after the shooting — Chen found drowned in a harbor and Huang by apparent suicide with a gun from the same manufacturer as the one used in the attack. On 17 August 2005, authorities officially closed the case, concluding that Chen Yi-hsiung acted alone. Doubts about the investigation persisted among segments of the public on both sides of Taiwan's political divide, and Pan-Blue legislators, along with Vice President Lu, called for continued investigation. The incident was later dramatized in the 2019 film "The Shooting of 319."