Having been a disciple of Confucian scholar Nan Huai-chin (南懷謹), former chief presidential secretary Su Chih-cheng's (蘇志誠) knowledge of the tactics of imperial leadership (帝王學) won him Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) firm trust. It also enabled him to be the former president's most influential advisor.
"In the tenuous early years of Lee's presidency, political manipulation to him was like a virgin field. Su played a major role in purging dissenters [from within the KMT] and, therefore, helped gradually secure Lee's throne," said a veteran journalist, who has a close relationship with Lee but requested anonymity.
The journalist added that it was no exaggeration to say that Su, at the tender age of 34, had become "the nation's second most powerful figure during Lee's 12-year tenure."
Su, 46, was a close personal friend to Lee's now-deceased only son Lee Hsian-wen (
Friend of Lee's son
One year before Lee Hsian-wen died of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in 1982, Su quit his career in journalism to take care of him -- like a spouse -- 24 hours a day, which deeply moved his father.
Since then, Lee Teng-hui has treated Su as a son.
Demonstrating his appreciation, Lee recruited Su when he took office as Taiwan provincial governor. Having pledged absolute loyalty to Lee, Su started his political career unexpectedly and as smoothly as if "riding a helicopter," old guard KMT members used to say.
Being straightforward, with a sharp tongue and overly-protective toward his boss, Su's toughness often displeased other KMT heavyweights.
During a period of political infighting in February 1988 (二月政爭), Su teamed up with party mavericks James Soong (宋楚瑜) and Soong Hsin-lian (宋心濂), then chief of the National Security Bureau (國安局), to blockade the party's plan to block Lee from taking office as the nation's 8th President.
The trio, nicknamed the "two Soongs and one Su" (二宋一蘇), worked relentlessly through a period Lee once said "kept him sleepless just thinking of the possibility of being overthrown."
Su's importance during this period greatly outweighed that of the two Soongs, the veteran journalist said.
Su later became a target of criticism and a thorn in the non-Lee faction's side as Lee entrusted him with ever great responsibility.
"Given his talent and competence, Lee heavily relies on him in both official and private affairs," former KMT treasurer Darby Liu (
Confronting Soong
Although long a controversial figure, Su avoided the limelight until the outbreak of the Chung Hsin Bills scandal involving then-presidential candidate James Soong.
Acting as KMT candidate Lien Chan's (
Conversing fluently in both Mandarin and Taiwanese, Su appeared several times on TV with details of Soong's alleged embezzlement of the party's money.
"It took great courage to do so, since Soong was way ahead of Lien in the polls. And few within the KMT dared to openly defy Soong in fear of a possible Soong victory, presumably to be followed with the destruction of his enemies," a source said.
In hindsight, the veteran journalist believes Su's actions may have been counter-productive.
"Su's bashing convinced the public that KMT was just playing politics with Soong and, therefore, overlooked Soong's real wrongdoings," she said.
Liu, however, said that Su only acted in accordance with his sense of justice.
Last year, news reports revealed that Su and Cheng Su-ming (鄭淑敏), chairwoman of the China Television Company, were secret cross-strait envoys for Lee and conducted at least nine meetings with top-ranking Chinese officials in Hong Kong during the early 1990s. The talks facilitated the 1993 semi-official cross-strait dialogue in Singapore between Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫) and Wang Daohan (汪道涵).
In spite of his past political achievements, Su last week decided to head the Tun Yun Corp (東雲公司) which is deep in the red financially.
"His past connections will definitely help the company boost its profile within banking circles," Liu said, refuting media speculation that the position was some sort of political kickback.
Despite having enjoyed great political power, as a sincere Buddhist, Su has, nevertheless, lived a very simple life
ACTION PLAN: Taiwan would expand procurement from the US and encourage more companies to invest in the US to deepen bilateral cooperation, Lai said The government would not impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation against US levies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he announced five strategies to address the issue, including pledging to increase Taiwanese companies’ investments in the US. Lai has in the past few days met with administrative and national security officials, as well as representatives from various industries, to explore countermeasures after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday last week announced a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports. In a video released yesterday evening, Lai said that Taiwan would not retaliate against the US with higher tariffs and Taiwanese companies’ commitments to
‘SPECIAL CHANNEL’: Taipei’s most important tasks are to stabilize industries affected by Trump’s trade tariffs and keep negotiations with Washington open, a source said National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) arrived in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Wu was leading a delegation for a meeting known as the “special channel,” the Financial Times reported earlier. It marked Trump’s first use of the channel since returning to the White House on Jan. 20. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was also a part of the delegation. The visit came days after China concluded war games around Taiwan and amid Trump’s
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
HELPING HAND: The steering committee of the National Stabilization Fund is expected to hold a meeting to discuss how and when to utilize the fund to help buffer the sell-off The TAIEX plunged 2,065.87 points, or 9.7 percent, to close at 19,232.35 yesterday, the highest single-day percentage loss on record, as investors braced for US President Donald Trump’s tariffs after an extended holiday weekend. Amid the pessimistic atmosphere, 945 listed companies led by large-cap stocks — including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Largan Precision Co (大立光) — fell by the daily maximum of 10 percent at the close, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The number of listed companies ending limit-down set a new record, the exchange said. The TAIEX plunged by daily maxiumu in just
RSS