Chen Shui-bian | |
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陳水扁 | |
Chen in 2007
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President of the Republic of China | |
In office May 20, 2000 – May 20, 2008 |
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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 |
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Preceded by | Yu Shyi-kun |
Succeeded by | Tsai Ing-wen |
In office July 21, 2002 – December 11, 2004 |
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Preceded by | Frank Hsieh |
Succeeded by | Su Tseng-chang |
Mayor of Taipei | |
In office December 25, 1994 – December 25, 1998 |
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Preceded by | Huang Ta-chou |
Succeeded by | Ma Ying-jeou |
Member of the Legislative Yuan | |
In office February 1, 1990 – December 25, 1994 |
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Constituency | DPP at-Taipei City |
Personal details | |
Born |
Guantian, Tainan City (Tainan County at that time), Taiwan |
October 12, 1950
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" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
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Traditional Chinese | 陳水扁 | ||||||||||||||
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Simplified Chinese | 陈水扁 | ||||||||||||||
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Transcriptions | |
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Standard Mandarin | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Chén Shuǐbiǎn |
Wade–Giles | Chen2 Shui3-pien3 |
IPA | [ʈʂʰə̌n ʂwèi.pjɛ̀n] |
Southern Min | |
Hokkien POJ | Tân Chúi-píⁿ |
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.