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Chen Shui-bian

Chen Shui-bian
陳水扁
Chen Shui Bian MOD.jpg
Chen in 2007
President of the Republic of China
In office
May 20, 2000 – May 20, 2008
Premier Tang Fei
Chang Chun-hsiung (1st)
Yu Shyi-kun
Frank Hsieh
Su Tseng-chang
Chang Chun-hsiung (2nd)
Vice President Annette Lu
Preceded by Lee Teng-hui
Succeeded by Ma Ying-jeou
Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party
In office
October 15, 2007 – January 12, 2008
Preceded by Yu Shyi-kun
Succeeded by Tsai Ing-wen
In office
July 21, 2002 – December 11, 2004
Preceded by Frank Hsieh
Succeeded by Su Tseng-chang
Mayor of Taipei
In office
December 25, 1994 – December 25, 1998
Preceded by Huang Ta-chou
Succeeded by Ma Ying-jeou
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
February 1, 1990 – December 25, 1994
Constituency DPP at-Taipei City
Personal details
Born (1950-10-12) October 12, 1950 (age 66)
Guantian, Tainan City (Tainan County at that time), Taiwan
Nationality Republic of China
Political party Democratic Progressive (2013–present)
Other political
affiliations
Democratic Progressive (1987–2008)
Independent (2008–2013)
Spouse(s) Wu Shu-chen (m. 1975)
Residence Gushan District, Kaohsiung
Alma mater National Taiwan University (LL.B.)
Occupation Lawyer
politician
writer
Signature
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian (Chinese characters).svg
"Chen Shui-bian" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese 陳水扁
Simplified Chinese 陈水扁

Chen Shui-bian (Chinese: 陳水扁; pinyin: Chén Shuǐbiǎn; born October 12, 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen is the first president from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and ended the Kuomintang's (KMT) more than fifty years of continuous rule in Taiwan. He is colloquially referred to as A-Bian (阿扁; Ābiǎn) or A-pi-a (Chinese: 阿扁仔; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: A-píⁿ-à).

A lawyer, Chen entered politics in 1980 during the Kaohsiung Incident as a member of the Tangwai movement and was elected to the Taipei City Council in 1981. He was jailed in 1985 for libel as the editor of the weekly pro-democracy magazine Neo-Formosa, following publication of an article critical of Elmer Fung, a college philosophy professor who was later elected a Kuomintang legislator. After being released, Chen helped found the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 1986 and was elected a member of the Legislative Yuan in 1989, and Mayor of Taipei in 1994.

Chen won the 2000 presidential election on March 18 with 39% of the vote as a result of a split of factions within the Kuomintang, when James Soong ran for the presidency as an independent against the party nominee Lien Chan, becoming the first non-member of the Kuomintang to hold the office of president. Although Chen received high approval ratings during the first few weeks of his term, his popularity sharply dropped due to alleged corruption within his administration and the inability to pass legislation against the opposition KMT, who controlled the Legislative Yuan. In 2004, he won reelection by a narrow margin after surviving a shooting while campaigning the day before the election. Opponents suspected him of staging the incident for political purposes. However, the case was officially closed in 2005 with all evidence pointing to a single deceased suspect, Chen Yi-hsiung.


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