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Four campaigns of dense GPS measurements have been conducted since 1995 to investigate crustal deformation patterns in SW Taiwan. The station velocities decrease westwards from 42.2 to 55.5mm/yr along the azimuths from 247.1° to 272.5°. In central part of the study area, GPS stations move nearly toward the west, whereas in the Pingtung–Kaohsiung coastal area, displacement vectors demonstrate a clear counter-clockwise deviation toward the SW. The transtensional deformation and the along-strike variation of southward increase of extensional deformation is due to the low lateral confining conditions related to the Manila subduction zone as a free boundary or/and the presence of the prominent Peikang High as a rigid indentor. The Chishan Fault is dominated by right-lateral motion with a fault slip rate ∼7mm/yr in a N50°W direction. The Kaoping Fault is dominated by left-lateral motion with a ∼4–8mm …