Incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen and former premier Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the election, defeating Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang (KMT) and his running mate Chang San-cheng, as well as third-party candidate James Soong.

The Kuomintang also ran a competitive primary, which saw Han Kuo-yu, initially reluctant to run, defeat former presidential candidate and New Taipei mayor Eric Chu, and Foxconn chief executive Terry Gou.

Both domestic issues and Cross-Strait relations featured in the campaign, with Han attacking Tsai for her perceived failures in labour reform, economic management, and dealing with corruption of her aides.

However, Tsai's strong response to Beijing's increasing pressures on Taiwan to accede to a unification agreement, amid the backdrop of the intensely followed Hong Kong anti-extradition protests, proved crucial in her recapturing broad support.

[3] The DPP received a higher share of the vote in major metropolitan areas, reversing the KMT's fortunes in Kaohsiung and environs, while the Kuomintang retained strength in limited eastern regions and off-island constituencies.

In the lead up to the election, her staffers were found to have been implicated in a tobacco smuggling ring, which also allegedly involved the top management of flag carrier China Airlines and National Security Bureau.

As the protests became heated over the later half of 2019, Tsai began to portray the situation in Hong Kong as a direct result of an encroachment of the territory's autonomy from Beijing.

In January 2019, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, had announced an open letter to Taiwan proposing a one country, two systems formula for eventual unification.

Additionally, over the course of 2019, several small nations that previously had diplomatic ties to Taiwan, including Panama, Kiribati, and Solomon Islands, broke off relations in favour of China.

[9] In November 2019, Chinese defector (William) Wang Liqiang claimed that Beijing used internet operatives to tilt elections in favor of the KMT and Han Kuo-yu in particular, similar to how the Russians had interfered with U.S.

[11][15] Incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen's re-election chances were dealt a blow after the Democratic Progressive Party's devastating defeat in the 2018 local elections, where the DPP lost seven of the 13 cities and counties it previously held.

[26] Other candidates included former Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Office and incumbent Taipei City Councillor Lo Chih-chiang and National Taiwan University professor Chang Ya-chung who have also announced their candidacies.

[28] Wu Den-yih’s withdrew his proposal to only allow KMT members to decide the party’s presidential candidate which drew criticism, with some questioning whether he aimed to rig the game for himself, before he declined to run on 11 April.

Han, Gou's potential rival, announced on 23 April that he was "willing to take responsibility" for the development of Taiwan but was "unable" to participate in the party's primary in its current form.

[35][36] On 13 November 2019, People First Party chairperson James Soong announced his fourth bid for president, along with his running mate, independent and former United Communications Group chairwoman Sandra Yu.

James Soong said that Taiwan has inherited Chinese culture and tradition but insists that any changes to the island's political status needed to be achieved via "democratic means.

"[58] Han used the debate to paint Tsai variously as being at the mercy of the "New Tide" ultra-progressive wing of her own party, a dictatorial and autocratic figure as president, a leader unable to effectively control her allegedly corrupt subordinates, and a flip-flopper on the issue of cross-strait relations.

[58] The debate was noted for some bizarre exchanges involving Han Kuo-yu, who became especially animated on multiple occasions, raising his voice and using wild hand gestures, most notably yelling the phrase “Long live the Republic of China!” three times, in addition to employing props to complement his attacks on Tsai.

Despite defeat, the KMT saw a recovery in vote share from 2016, noticeably in traditionally KMT-leaning areas including Hsinchu County, Miaoli, Nantou, Hualien, and Taitung.