At a rally held on 2 January to celebrate the establishment of the KMT presidential campaign headquarters, Vice President Lien Chan announced his intention to launch "a third wave of reforms" in order to "take Taiwan to a higher level." Lien's promise to wage war against the influence of "black money" (organized crime) in Taiwanese politics was the subject of especially close interest.
首先在國民黨連蕭陣營方面，副總統連戰於一月二日競選總部成立大會上，以「台灣升級」為願景，宣示將進行「第三波改革」。