Chen Shui-bian facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chen Shui-bian
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Official portrait, 2000
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| 5th President of the Republic of China | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 20 May 2000 – 20 May 2008 |
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| Premier |
See list
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| Vice President | Annette Lu | ||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Lee Teng-hui | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ma Ying-jeou | ||||||||||||||||
| 9th and 12th Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 15 October 2007 – 12 January 2008 |
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| Secretary General | Cho Jung-tai | ||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Yu Shyi-kun | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Frank Hsieh (acting) | ||||||||||||||||
| In office 21 July 2002 – 11 December 2004 |
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| Secretary General | Chang Chun-hsiung | ||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Frank Hsieh | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ker Chien-ming (acting) | ||||||||||||||||
| 10th Mayor of Taipei | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 25 December 1994 – 25 December 1998 |
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| Preceded by | Huang Ta-chou (as appointed mayor) | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ma Ying-jeou | ||||||||||||||||
| Member of the Legislative Yuan | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 February 1990 – 25 December 1994 |
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| Constituency | Taipei I | ||||||||||||||||
| Taipei City Councillor | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 25 December 1981 – 28 September 1985 |
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| Constituency | Taipei II (Songshan, Neihu, Nangang) | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 12 October 1950 Guantian District, Tainan County, Taiwan (now Tainan) |
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| Political party | Democratic Progressive (1987–2008, 2013–2019, since 2020–) | ||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse |
Wu Shu-chen
(m. 1975) |
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| Residences | Gushan District, Kaohsiung | ||||||||||||||||
| Education | National Taiwan University (LLB) | ||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 陳水扁 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈水扁 | ||||||||||||||||
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Chen Shui-bian (born October 12, 1950) is a former politician and lawyer from Taiwan. He served as the 5th President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). His election ended 55 years of continuous rule by the Kuomintang (KMT) party in Taiwan. People sometimes call him A-Bian.
Chen started his political career as a lawyer in the 1980s. He was part of the Tangwai movement, which worked for democracy. He was elected to the Taipei City Council in 1981. Later, he helped create the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 1986. He became a member of the Legislative Yuan in 1989 and the Mayor of Taipei in 1994.
In 2000, Chen won the presidential election with 39% of the votes. This happened because the Kuomintang party's votes were split between two candidates. He became the first president who was not from the Kuomintang. At first, many people approved of his work. However, his popularity dropped because of problems in his government and difficulties passing new laws. This was due to the opposition party controlling the legislature. In 2004, he won re-election by a very small number of votes. This happened after he was shot while campaigning the day before the election. The case was officially closed in 2005.
After his presidency, Chen faced legal challenges. He was later imprisoned. His supporters believed that these legal actions were unfair and politically motivated. He was granted medical parole in 2015 due to health issues.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Chen was born on October 12, 1950, into a poor farming family in Guantian District in Tainan County, Taiwan. He was a very bright student from a young age.
He graduated with honors from the famous National Tainan First Senior High School. In 1969, he went to National Taiwan University. He first studied business but then switched to law. He passed the bar exams before finishing his third year, becoming Taiwan's youngest lawyer. He earned his law degree in commercial law in 1974.
In 1975, he married Wu Shu-chen. She was the daughter of a doctor. They have a daughter, Chen Hsing-yu, who is a dentist. Their son, Chen Chih-chung, also studied law.
From 1976 to 1989, Chen worked as a lawyer. He specialized in maritime insurance.
Starting in Politics
Chen became involved in politics in 1980. He defended people involved in the Kaohsiung Incident in court. Even though his clients were found guilty, Chen became known for his strong arguments. He realized that Taiwan's political system was unfair. This made him want to become more active in politics. He joined the Tangwai movement, which pushed for more democracy.
In 1981, Chen won a seat on the Taipei City Council. He served there until 1985. In 1984, he started a magazine called Neo-Formosa. In 1985, he was sentenced to prison for a year because of an article in his magazine. The article criticized a college professor.
While he was appealing his sentence, he ran for county magistrate in Tainan in November 1985. Three days after he lost the election, his wife, Wu Shu-chen, was hit by a farm vehicle. She became paralyzed from the waist down. His supporters believed this was an attempt to scare him. Others thought it was just an accident.
Chen lost his appeal in May 1986 and went to prison for eight months. While he was in prison, his wife campaigned and was elected to the Legislative Yuan. After he was released in 1987, Chen worked as her main advisor. In 2022, the libel charges against Chen and others were officially overturned.
In 1989, Chen was elected to the Legislative Yuan. He helped lead the Democratic Progressive Party in the legislature. He also helped shape the DPP's ideas on Taiwan independence. He was reelected in 1992 but resigned two years later to become mayor of Taipei.
Mayor of Taipei (1994–1998)
Chen was elected Mayor of Taipei in 1994. He won because the votes for the ruling KMT party were split between two candidates. Chen kept many experienced government workers from the previous administration.
As mayor, Chen was praised for his efforts to stop illegal gambling in Taipei. He also fined companies that polluted the environment and improved public works projects. Chen changed the names of many roads in Taipei. For example, he renamed "Longevity for Chiang Kai-shek Road" to Ketagalan Boulevard. This was to honor the aboriginal people of the Taipei area. He also removed buildings that were illegally built on city land. Time Asia magazine named him one of Asia's rising stars. Taipei was also listed as one of the top 50 cities in Asia.
In 1998, Chen lost the mayoral election to Ma Ying-jeou from the KMT. Even though Chen received more votes than in 1994, the KMT gained support from another party. Chen later wrote that losing the election helped him learn and improve. He realized that some people, even if they liked his improvements, voted for Ma because of ethnic differences.
Chen also traveled a lot during this time. He met with leaders in South Korea and Japan.
President of Taiwan (2000–2008)
First Term
Chen won the presidential election on March 18, 2000. He received 39% of the votes. This was because the Kuomintang party's votes were split between two candidates.
At first, Chen tried to work with the opposition parties. He appointed a KMT member, Tang Fei, as his first premier. About half of Chen's first cabinet were not from his own party. Even though he supported Taiwan independence, Chen promised in his inauguration speech that he would not declare independence. He also said he would not change the national symbols of the Republic of China, as long as China did not use military force against Taiwan. He promised to be "president of all the people" and stepped down as chairman of the DPP. His approval rating was very high, around 70%.
Chen's government faced many challenges. His policies were often blocked by the legislature, which was controlled by the opposition pan-Blue coalition. The stock market dropped, and unemployment increased. Chen's critics blamed his leadership, but his administration blamed the legislature for blocking their efforts to help the economy.
A big challenge was the debate over building the Number Four Nuclear Power Facility. This project was very expensive and already partly built. The KMT supported it to avoid energy shortages. However, Chen's DPP party was against nuclear power. The premier resigned when Chen decided to halt construction. This led to a big political fight. The opposition tried to remove the president from office. By the end of his first year, Chen's approval ratings had fallen to 25%.
In 2001, Chen visited the United States. He met with members of the U.S. Congress. His trip to New York was special because it was the first time a Taiwanese head of state was allowed to visit there.
After his first year, Chen became less willing to compromise. In 2002, he became the chairman of the DPP again. During his time, pictures of former leaders Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo were removed from public buildings. New passports started to have the word "TAIWAN" on them. The Education Ministry also changed school lessons to focus more on Taiwan's history. Government websites began to use "China" to mean the People's Republic of China, not the Republic of China. Even with these changes, talks with China remained difficult because Chen would not agree to the "One-China policy".
Re-election Campaign
In late 2003, Chen signed a new law about referendums (public votes). He then said he would use this law to hold a vote about China's missiles aimed at Taiwan. The opposition believed this was just to help Chen win the upcoming election.
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In October 2003, Chen visited New York City again. He received a Human Rights Award. He also met with the U.S. Secretary of State in Panama. These high-profile trips helped Chen's popularity in opinion polls.
Chen was shot in the stomach while campaigning in Tainan on March 19, 2004, the day before the election. His vice-president, Annette Lu, was also shot in the leg. The next day, Chen won the election by a very small margin. His opponents refused to accept the results and claimed the shooting was staged.
After the election, Chen planned to hold a referendum in 2006 for a new constitution. He said the new constitution would not change Taiwan's sovereignty. He wanted to reform the current constitution. This would require approval from the opposition parties.
Second Term
On May 20, 2004, Chen started his second term as president. There were still protests from the opposition about the election results. Chen reaffirmed his promises from his first term. He defended his plans for constitutional reform.
Three days before Chen's inauguration, China issued a statement. They accused Chen of moving towards independence. They warned of consequences if he continued policies that aimed for Taiwan independence. However, they also offered to talk if Chen accepted the One China Principle.
In late 2004, Chen wanted to buy US$18 billion worth of weapons from the United States. However, the opposition parties in the legislature repeatedly blocked the deal.
On December 5, Chen announced that state-owned companies and foreign offices with "China" in their name would be renamed to "Taiwan." For example, China Airlines would become Taiwan Airlines. On December 14, 2004, Chen resigned as chairman of the DPP. This happened after his party did not win a majority of seats in the 2004 ROC legislative election.
In 2005, Chen became the first Taiwanese president to visit Europe. He attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican City. The Vatican is one of the few countries that still has diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Usually, Taiwanese presidents cannot visit the Vatican because it requires passing through Italy, which has relations with China. However, for the funeral, Italy allowed all guests to pass through. Chen was treated as a foreign head of state. Time magazine also named Chen one of the Time 100 most influential people in 2005.
Later that year, Chen traveled to Miami and the Caribbean. He met with members of the U.S. Congress. On his way back, he made a stop in the United Arab Emirates. The leader of the UAE greeted him and hosted a formal dinner. This made Chinese officials very angry.
On February 28, 2006, Chen announced that the National Unification Council would "cease to function." This council was set up in 1990 to guide unification with China. Chen used the phrase "cease to function" instead of "abolish" because he had promised not to abolish it during his 2000 campaign. The United States understood this to mean no change in the current situation.
On May 3, 2006, Chen canceled plans to travel through the United States on his way to Latin America. The U.S. only offered a brief refueling stop in Alaska, where Chen would not be allowed to leave the plane. Chen and Taiwan saw this as a slight. This was seen as a sign of the U.S.'s growing frustration with Chen's actions. Chen still went to Latin America. He attended the inauguration of the president of Costa Rica, one of Taiwan's allies. He met with Laura Bush, who was representing U.S. president George W. Bush.
On May 12, 2007, Premier Su Tseng-chang resigned. Chen then appointed Chang Chun-hsiung as the new premier. During Chen's time as president, Taiwan had six different premiers in seven years. The Democratic Progressive Party also had seven different chairmen during this period.
Chen's term as president ended on May 20, 2008. Ma Ying-Jeou became the new president. Chen's approval ratings dropped from 79% at the start to 21% by the end of his presidency.
After the Presidency
Chen left office on May 20, 2008. His special protection as president was removed. He faced serious legal challenges related to his time in office. He was placed under restrictions, meaning he could not leave Taiwan.
After investigations, Chen was found to have been involved in financial issues. He and his wife were found guilty of certain charges. Chen was later imprisoned. His supporters argued that his trial and imprisonment were unfair and politically motivated. Chen was the first Taiwanese president to receive a prison sentence.
In 2010, a court reduced Chen's sentence. His supporters protested his continued detention, calling it unjust and political revenge.
In 2016, the United States Department of Justice announced it would return about $1.5 million to Taiwan. This money came from the sale of properties in the U.S. that were bought with funds from the alleged issues.
Health and Medical Parole
Chen was later transferred to a hospital for medical tests. He was diagnosed with sleep apnea, severe depression, and other memory problems. His symptoms included stuttering and memory loss.
In January 2015, Chen was released from prison on medical parole because of his health condition. His time on medical parole does not count toward his prison sentence. A condition of his parole is that he cannot take part in public political discussions. In January 2021, he started a radio show that is not about politics. Some people questioned this, saying Chen appeared to be in good health.
Chen currently hosts a radio program.
Chen's View on Taiwan's Status
In 1999, Chen's party, the Democratic Progressive Party, changed its rules. They stated that Taiwan was already independent as the Republic of China. This meant there was no need to formally declare independence. In his 2000 inauguration speech, Chen promised the "Four Noes and One Without." This meant he would not declare independence, change the country's name, or push for certain constitutional changes. He also promised not to get rid of the National Unification Council. These promises were made as long as China did not use military force against Taiwan.
However, in August 2002, Chen became frustrated because China did not respond to his efforts. He described the relationship as "one country on each side." He then started a referendum (public vote) in 2004 about relations with China. This showed a stronger stance.
In a 2007 interview, Chen repeated the DPP's view that Taiwan was already independent.
After his presidency, Chen has said he wishes to visit the village in China where his ancestors came from in the 1700s. In 2018, Chen supported a plan to change the referendum law. This would allow a vote on formal independence in 2019, but this goal was not achieved.
Honors and Awards
Taiwan:
Grand Cordon of the Order of Brilliant Jade – (May 2001)
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Foreign Honors
Burkina Faso:
Grand Cross of the Ordre de l'Étalon, formerly National Order of Burkina Faso – (August 2000)
Chad:
Grand Cross of the National Order of Chad – (August 2000)
Dominican Republic:
Grand Cross with Gold Breast Star of the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella – (March 2001)
El Salvador:
Grand Cross with Gold Star of the National Order of Doctor José Matías Delgado – (August 2004)
Gambia:
Commander of the Order of the Republic of The Gambia
Liberia:
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Pioneers of Liberia – (March 2001)
Malawi:
Grand Commander of the Order of the Lion – (July 2002)
Panama:
Extraordinary Grand Cross of the Order of Vasco Núñez de Balboa – (July 2000)
Paraguay:
Grand Collar of the National Order of Merit – (June 2001)
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See also
In Spanish: Chen Shui-bian para niños
- Politics of the Republic of China
- Justice Alliance faction
- Four Wants and One Without
- Four-Stage Theory of the Republic of China
