Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian (born 1950; ch: 陳水扁, pinyin: ChÃÂén Shuǐbiǎn, Wade-Giles: Ch'en Shui-pien; Taiwanese: Tân Chúi-píⁿ), colloquially and affectionately referred to as A-bian (阿扁; Ābiǎn; from Taiwanese A-píⁿ--a), was elected as the President of the Republic of China on Taiwan in March 2000 and took office in May 2000 with his Vice-President Annette Lu. He was reelected in March 2004, following a narrow victory over KMT candidate Lien Chen. He is also Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has traditionally been supportive of Taiwan independence.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Political career 3 Mayor of Taipei 4 Presidency 5 See also 6 External links |
Unlike most of his political opponents, Chen came from very humble background. Chen was born to a tenant farming family in Kuantien Township of Tainan County in late 1950 but was not formally issued a birth certificate until February 1951 because of doubts that he would survive.
Chen graduated from the National Taiwan University in 1974 with a LL.B. He became a practicing lawyer.
Chen became involved in politics when he defended the participants of the Kaohsiung Incident against a military court. He has stated that it was during this period that he realized the unfairness of the political system in Taiwan and became politically active as a member of the Tangwai movement. He served on the Taipei City Council from 1981 to 1985.
His wife, Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍), was hit by a truck during a campaign rally in the early 1980s, which left her paralyzed from the waist down. Some in Taiwan believed this was part of a government campaign to intimidate him.
In 1986, Chen was sentenced to eight months in prison for libel, when, as editor of a Dang Wai magazine, he printed an article critical of Legislator Elmer Feng (then Kuomintang; later New Party). He served his sentence in the Tucheng Penitentiary along with two other defendants in the same case. While he was in prison, his wife campaigned and was elected to the Legislative Yuan. Upon his release, Chen served as her legislative assistant and practiced law.
In 1989, Chen was elected to the Legislative Yuan and served as the executive director of the Democratic Progressive Party Congress. He was instrumental in laying out many of the DPP's positions on Taiwanese independence. He was reelected to another three year term in 1992, but resigned to become mayor.
He was elected as the mayor of Taipei in 1994, largely as the result of a vote split between the highly unpopular Kuomintang (KMT) incumbent and the KMT-spin-off New Party (NP) candidate Chao Shaokong. During his term, Chen received accolades for his campaigns to run illegal gambling and prostitution rackets out of Taipei. As mayor, he renamed many of the roads in Taipei, most notably the road which runs between KMT Headquarters to the Presidential Palace from "Chieh-shou Road" (介壽路 jiÃÂè shÃÂòu lÃÂù) (Long Live Chiang) to "Ketagalan Avenue" (凱達格蘭大道) in an effort to acknowledge the aboriginal people of the Taipei basin. Despite receiving more votes both in absolute and in percentage terms than his 1994 campaign, Chen lost this position in 1998 to the KMT's rising star Ma Ying-jeou in large part because the KMT was able to get the support of New Party supporters.
In an election eerily similar to Taipei 1994, Chen won the presidency in 2000 with only 39% of the vote as a result of a split of factions within the Kuomintang, when James Soong (later, leader of the People First Party) ran for the presidency as an independent against the party nominee Lien Chan (see ROC presidential election, 2000).
Although a strong advocate of Taiwan independence, Chen moderated his independence stance during his campaign and repeatedly stated during his campaign and in his inaugural speech in May 2000, he stated a policy known as the Four Noes and One Without that as long as the People's Republic of China does not attack Taiwan, he would never declare independence. He has also acknowledged the symbols of the Republic of China such as its flag and Double Tenth Day.
However, during his tenure images of Chiang Kai-shek, and Chiang Ching-kuo (and to a lesser degree Sun Yat-sen) have disappeared from public buildings. The word "TAIWAN" is now printed on new ROC passports. Also continuing a trend from the previous administration, the Education Ministry has revised the school curriculum to be more Taiwan-centered. Government websites have also tended to promote the notion that China is synonymous with the PRC and Taiwan is not part of China. The "Free China Press" has been renamed the Taiwan Press and Who's Who in the ROC has been renamed Who's Who in Taiwan. In January 2003, the Cabinet-level Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission was abolished and to replaced it by a newly-formed Taiwan-Tibet Exchange Foundation. Though Chen has proposed talks with the PRC, relations remained deadlocked as Chen has refused to pledge to the One-China Policy, as required by the PRC for talks to begin.
In the summer of 2002, Chen became the chairman of the DPP. Many believe this violated Chen's campaign pledge to be less involved in party politics and to be a "president of all the people." Chen's administration ran into many problems, and its policies were constantly being blocked by the Pan-Blue Coalition-controlled legislature. Chen's move to halt construction of the Number Four Nuclear Power Facility crested a legislative meltdown and is widely seen as the end of Chen's attempts to face the pan-blue groups head on. On December 31, 2003, he signed a controversial referendum bill, which he had supported, but was heavily watered down by the pan-blue majority legislature. He instituted a referendum held on March 20, 2004 along with with the ROC presidential election, 2004.
Chen was shot in the stomach while campaigning in the city of Tainan on March 19, 2004, the day before polls opened. The bullet left a flesh wound that was 8 cm long and 2 cm deep and was found in his clothes. He left the hospital on the same day with 14 stitches. His Vice President Annette Lu was shot in the leg in the same incident. The validity of this shooting was subject to much debate, with some suggesting it was staged to earn him sympathy votes (see the March 19, 2004 assassination attempt in Taiwan).
The following day, Chen narrowly won the election less than 30,000 votes out of 12.9 million votes counted. Both of his referendum proposals were invalidated due to low turnout. Lien Chan refused to concede and sued both for a recount and for a nullification of the outcome while Pan-Blue supporters held a week-long protest in from the presidential office as well as protests elswhere in Taiwan.
On March 29, Chen claimed he had been given a mandate by his re-election to make Taiwan an "independent, sovereign country." He plans to hold a referendum in 2006 on a new constitution to be enacted upon the accession of the 12th-term president in May 2008. Though he has pledged the Four Noes and One Without, Chen's proposal, if implemented, is likely to sever the remaining legal links between Taiwan and the mainland.
Early years
Political career
Mayor of Taipei
Presidency
See also
External links
Preceded by:
Lee Teng-huiPresident of the Republic of China
Succeeded by:
--