California State Treasurer John Chiang (江俊輝), who recently announced he was throwing his hat in the ring for the state’s 2018 gubernatorial election, says one of his Taiwanese grandfathers inspired him to become a lawyer and enter public service.
Chiang was born in 1962 in New York, after his parents — both from Taiwan — met in the US and married.
In an interview Central News Agency, he said that when he was six or seven, he visited Taiwan to see his grandparents.
“My grandfather was an attorney and he was also in public service and he helped people in the community,” Chiang said. “I was very, very fascinated by what he was doing to help other people.”
After that trip, Chiang decided to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and become an attorney, although his parents had hoped he would become a doctor.
As the oldest child in his family, Chiang felt he was obliged to protect his younger brothers and sister, he said. This sense of mission and justice was the drive for him to enter public service.
His family later moved to Chicago, where he grew up in the suburbs, where his family faced some racial discrimination, he said.
Their mail box and garage would be defaced with racist words and he sometimes had to engage in fistfights against others just to protect his siblings, he said.
These experiences showed him that “it’s very important to have all voices be part of the decision-making process that creates better communities, that creates better states, that creates a better country,” he said.
One of the good things about the US is that “you get the opportunity to change the laws to try to improve society,” said Chiang, who in 2014 was elected as California’s 33rd state treasurer after having served as state controller.
To be nominated as the Democratic Party candidate in the governor’s election, Chiang has to win the Democratic primary. Other politicians who have said they are interested in the race include former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state controller Steve Westly.
Speaking of the characteristics of a good leader, Chiang said a good political leader should be responsible and careful, and should talk to experts in the field, as well as those impacted by a certain policy.
“So I would like to be thoughtful and also inclusive about the way I make decisions,” he said.
Chiang said he has good memories of his visit to Taiwan, such as the delicious food.
There are also a growing number of Taiwanese immigrants in California, who are “making extraordinary, profound and important contributions to California and the US,” he said.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS