Lien Chan (Chinese: 連戰; Pinyin: Lián Zhàn; born 1936) is a Mainlander-born KMT politician who served as vice-president during the last term of Lee Teng-hui between 1996 and 2000.
President Lee had named Chan his successor, helping him become KMT party chair and presidential nominee in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, both of which he lost to Chen Shui-bian. This was largely due to him and his pan-Blue rival James Soong not being able to resolve their disagreements and damaging each other's images.
In 2005, following his chains of losses he travelled to Beijing to meet with PRC leaders, including President Hu Jintao. This eight-day visit marked the first KMT leader setting foot on the Mainland since the end of the civil war. There he gave a speech in which called for democratisation in the PRC, as well as negotiating a joint communiqué building on the 1992 Consensus that was to become the foundation of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement during the term of President Ma Ying-jeou.
