He began his political career as a secretary to Premier Chiang Ching-kuo (later president) and rose to prominence as director-general of the Government Information Office (GIO) from 1979 to 1984.

In the 2004 presidential election, he ran as vice president on the ticket of Lien Chan; they narrowly lost to Chen Shui-bian.

Soong's third presidential campaign in 2016 formed a split ticket with Minkuotang chairwoman Hsu Hsin-ying and won 12.84% of the vote.

[3][4] His father, Soong Ta [zh], was a career military officer staunchly loyal to Republic of China (ROC) President Chiang Kai-shek and rose to the rank of major general in the Nationalist Army from an enlisted sailor.

As he was finishing his doctoral studies, Government Information Office (GIO) Director Fredrick Chien recommended Soong to be the English secretary of then-premier Chiang Ching-kuo.

He also made a veiled criticism of Soong Mei-ling (no relation), implying that she had returned to Taiwan after her stepson's death to try to reassume power.

[citation needed] In June 1993, Soong opened a Credit Suisse account, three months after he had stepped down as KMT secretary-general, and it closed in 2010.

The position of Governor of Taiwan was eliminated in December 1998 following a National Development Council meeting in 1996, when it suggested that the administrative structure of the Taiwanese government be streamlined.

[10] In the final months leading to the 2000 elections, the KMT, then under Lee Teng-hui's leadership, sued Soong for theft, alleging that as party secretary-general, he stole millions of Taiwan dollars in cash[11] intended for the family of the late president Chiang Ching-kuo and hid the money in the Chunghsing Bills Finance Company.

Initially leading in the polls,[10] Soong narrowly lost the election with 36.84% of the vote to Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party with 39.3%.

One common belief from the pro-blue camp in Taiwan is that Lee Teng-hui favored the unpopular Vice President Lien Chan over the highly popular Soong in a deliberate effort to sabotage the Kuomintang and was secretly supporting Chen, even though Lee is supposed to favor Kuomintang's own nominee Lien.

After losing the election, Soong's supporters protested in front of the KMT party headquarters and blockaded the building for a few days.

In 2003, the investigation was reopened, with former president Lee (now expelled from the KMT and the "spiritual leader" of the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union) testifying against Soong in court.

There were widespread rumours that Soong agreed to take the vice-presidential post in exchange for a pledge by Lien to give him significant power, including the premiership.

The possibility of DPP-PFP cooperation ended in May 2005, when Soong visited mainland China to meet with General Secretary Hu Jintao of the Chinese Communist Party.

The carefully scripted red carpet ceremony was identical to the previous greeting for KMT chairman Lien Chan.

Soong's visit was designed to emphasize his belief in the common shared roots of the Chinese people, reflecting his pro-unification sentiment.

The political consensus borne of the visit between the PFP and the CPC called for practical actions towards establishing links between Taiwan and mainland China while firmly resisting Taiwanese independence.

[citation needed] On August 17, 2006, Taiwan's Administrative Supreme Court handed down a ruling against Soong in a tax evasion case.

[16] Soong registered as a "non-partisan" candidate without a party affiliation, declaring that he had taken a leave of absence from his post as chairman of the PFP.

After his defeat in the Taipei mayoral election on 9 December 2006, in which he won only 4% of cast ballots, James Soong announced that he would retire from politics, which entailed giving up the chairmanship of his party, the PFP.

[citation needed] Following this claim, on February 15, 2007, Taipei District Court ruled Thursday that President Chen Shui-bian must pay James Soong NT$3 million (US$91,183) in damages and apologize in the top three newspapers for his allegation that Soong met secretly with China's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office director Chen Yunlin in 2005.

[18] Soong described the "Blue-Green rivalry" in Taiwanese politics as an epidemic and stated that Lin, as a doctor, was his partner to cure this "disease".

Soong announced his intention to join the 2016 presidential election on 6 August 2015 with running mate Hsu Hsin-ying of the Minkuotang.