Little more than a month after taking the fall for the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) worst ever poll defeat, Su Tseng-chang's (蘇貞昌) appointment as the new premier is testament to the popularity of a man tipped to run for president in 2008.
Eloquent, vibrant and aggressive, the 59-year-old is a former human-rights lawyer and popular co-founder of the DPP.
Nicknamed "light bulb" because of his small stature and lack of hair, Su graduated from National Taiwan University and worked as a lawyer for 10 years.
Like President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and outgoing premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who resigned on Tuesday to take responsibility for the party's crushing defeat in last month's local elections, his move into politics was a reaction to a violent pro-democracy rally in 1979.
In the "Kaohsiung Incident," thousands took to the streets of Kaohsiung to demand greater political freedoms in the first public expression of dissent against the then Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
Hundreds of people, including 140 policemen, were injured in clashes between police and protesters and scores of opposition leaders, including Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), were rounded up and jailed.
Motivated by the injustices, Su began defending dissidents charged with treason before deciding to throw himself into politics. In 1981 he was elected to the now defunct Taiwan Provincial Council and re-elected four years later.
Su helped found the DPP in 1986 in defiance of a ban on new parties imposed by the KMT, which ended its half-century rule in Taiwan after the DPP won the presidency in 2000.
Su, a father of three, was elected as commissioner of Pingtung County in 1989, but failed to get re-elected in controversial polls four years later. He won a seat in the legislature in 1995 and became commissioner of Taipei County, the largest district in Taiwan, in 1997. He was re-elected in 2001.
Su was chosen to be Presidential Office's general-secretary in 2004 and was elected party chairman the following year. He resigned last month.
Su's popularity within the party has not wavered, as many felt he should not have taken the blame for the election defeat.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS