James Soong facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Soong Chu-yu
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宋楚瑜
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Official portrait, 2016
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| 1st Chairman of the People First Party | |||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 31 March 2000 |
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| Deputy | Chang Chau-hsiung | ||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Position established | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior Advisor to the President | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 9 November 2016 – 2 May 2019 |
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| President | Tsai Ing-wen | ||||||||||||||||
| 1st Governor of Taiwan Province | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 20 December 1994 – 20 December 1998 |
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| Deputy | Lin Fong-cheng Lai In-jaw |
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| Preceded by | Position established | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Position abolished | ||||||||||||||||
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14th Chairman of the Provincial Government
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| In office 20 March 1993 – 20 December 1994 |
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| Appointed by | Executive Yuan | ||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Lien Chan | ||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Lien Chan | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Chao Shou-po | ||||||||||||||||
| Minister of the Government Information Office | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 25 January 1979 – 24 August 1984 |
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| Prime Minister | Sun Yun-suan | ||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ting Mao-shih | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Chang King-yuh | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 30 April 1942 Xiangtan, Hunan, Republic of China |
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| Political party | People First Party (2000–) Kuomintang (1981–1999) Independent (1999–2000) |
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| Spouse | Viola Chen (1968–2011) | ||||||||||||||||
| Education | National Chengchi University (LLB) University of California, Berkeley (MA) Catholic University of America (MS) Georgetown University (PhD) |
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| Military service | |||||||||||||||||
| Branch/service |  ROC Military Police |
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| Years of service | 1964–1966 | ||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Second Lieutenant | ||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 宋楚瑜 | ||||||||||||||||
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Soong Chu-yu (born April 30, 1942), also known as James Soong, is a well-known politician from Taiwan. He started the People First Party and is its leader. Soong was the first and only person elected to be the Governor of Taiwan Province from 1994 to 1998. After that, he ran for president many times.
Born in China to a military family, Soong studied in the United States. He earned a PhD in political science from Georgetown University. He began his political career working for Premier Chiang Ching-kuo. He became well-known as the head of the Government Information Office (GIO) from 1979 to 1984. When Chiang passed away, Soong helped Lee Teng-hui become the leader of the Kuomintang (KMT) party.
Soong ran as an independent candidate in the 2000 presidential election. He came in second, but his candidacy split the votes between himself and the KMT candidate, Lien Chan. This helped Chen Shui-bian win the election. In the 2004 presidential election, Soong ran as vice president with Lien Chan. They lost by a very small number of votes. Soong ran for president again in 2012, 2016, and 2020.
Contents
Early Life and Schooling
Soong was born in China on April 30, 1942, in Xiangtan, Hunan province. His father, Soong Ta, was a military officer who was very loyal to Republic of China President Chiang Kai-shek. He became a major general in the army. Soong's father joined the Kuomintang army when he was 14. He was a close helper to Chiang and his son, Chiang Ching-kuo.
Soong's mother and two younger sisters were Christian, while his father was Buddhist. Soong was his father's first son. His childhood was shaped by the Chinese Civil War. After the Kuomintang (KMT) lost the war, his family moved to Taiwan in 1949. Soong then started school in Taipei. Classmates remembered him as a quiet boy who loved to read.
In 1964, Soong graduated at the top of his class from National Chengchi University. He earned a law degree. He then went to the United States for more studies. He earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1967. He also got a Master of Science (M.S.) in library science from the Catholic University of America in 1971. He stayed in Washington, D.C., and earned his PhD in political science from Georgetown University in 1974. His PhD paper was about how countries develop. While studying in the U.S., Soong became very good at speaking English.
Starting His Career
As he was finishing his studies, the head of the Government Information Office (GIO) suggested Soong become the English secretary for Premier Chiang Ching-kuo. Soong worked as a secretary for the premier from 1974 to 1977. When Chiang Ching-kuo became president, Soong became his personal secretary from 1978 to 1981 and again from 1984 to 1989. Soong became publicly known on December 16, 1978. He spoke to the nation after the U.S. decided to stop official ties with Taiwan.
Soon after, President Chiang made Soong the youngest director-general of the GIO. He held this position from 1979 to 1984.
Supporting Lee Teng-hui
When Chiang Ching-kuo passed away in 1988, Soong was important in helping the new president, Lee Teng-hui, gain power. Soong was part of a group that wanted to limit Lee Teng-hui's power. However, during a meeting on the day of Chiang's funeral, Soong surprisingly spoke in favor of Lee. He said that any delay in Lee becoming party leader was disrespectful to Chiang.
Soong became one of the few mainland-born politicians who were also loyal to Lee. To support Soong, Lee used the term "New Taiwanese." This described someone born in mainland China but raised in Taiwan, who now calls Taiwan home. Lee quickly promoted Soong to be the KMT Secretary-General. Soong held this job from 1989 to 1993. In 1993, Lee appointed him Governor of Taiwan Province.
Governor of Taiwan (1994–1998)
In 1994, Soong was elected and became the only directly elected governor of Taiwan Province. People thought he was a great campaigner. His strong performance as governor ended hopes that an elected governor would have more power than the national government.
Even though Soong was from mainland China, he was popular with all groups of people in Taiwan. This was partly because he was one of the first KMT politicians to try speaking in Taiwanese Hokkien at public events.
After Premier Lien Chan was elected vice-president in 1996, the position of premier became open in 1997. Soong felt that as Governor of Taiwan, he should be the next premier. But President Lee believed Soong should finish his term as governor. President Lee appointed Vincent Siew instead. Soong saw Siew as someone below him, and this caused a disagreement between Soong and Lee.
The job of Governor of Taiwan was ended in December 1998. This happened after a meeting in 1996 suggested making the government simpler. Soong and his supporters believed this was a political move by President Lee to reduce Soong's power. However, others said it was a practical step to avoid having too many similar government jobs. Soong resigned on December 31, 1998, but President Lee did not accept his resignation.
Running for President (2000–Present)
2000 Presidential Election
After not getting the KMT's nomination for president, Soong ran as an independent in the 2000 presidential election. Soong suggested a slow union between Taiwan and mainland China. He wanted to first sign a peace agreement and then form a union similar to the European Union. He said that the relationship between mainland China and Taiwan was neither foreign nor domestic. Even though many saw him as friendly to mainland China, Soong worked hard to show he would not "sell out" Taiwan.
The KMT responded by removing Soong and his supporters from the party. In the last months before the 2000 election, the KMT accused Soong of taking money. Soong said the money was from the KMT and that Lee Teng-hui had approved the transfer. Later, a court published a KMT memo signed by Lee, which supported Soong's statements.
The issue affected Soong's public image. He was leading in the polls at first, but he narrowly lost the election. He received 36.84% of the vote, while Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party won with 39.3%. Lien Chan came in third with only 23.1%.
After Soong lost, his supporters protested outside the KMT party headquarters. They blocked the building for a few days. They succeeded in pressuring Lee Teng-hui to resign as KMT chairman. Within weeks, Soong and his supporters formed the People First Party (PFP), which was like a new party created from the KMT.
Prosecutors later dropped all charges against Soong in the money case. In 2003, the investigation was reopened. However, with the KMT and PFP working together for the 2004 presidential election, the KMT helped Soong. KMT chairman Lien Chan said the KMT was misled into filing the lawsuit against Soong.
2004 Presidential Election
Even though Lien, the KMT chairman after 2000, and Soong had personal disagreements, the KMT and People First Party agreed to work together in future elections. This was to prevent splitting the votes. Soong ran as a vice presidential candidate with Lien Chan in the 2004 election. There were rumors that Soong agreed to be vice president in exchange for Lien promising him important power, like being premier. Many KMT members did not like this, seeing Soong as someone who took advantage of situations. Soong's supporters pointed out that he was more popular than Lien. Even though Lien and Soong together received 60% of the vote in 2000, they lost to Chen in 2004 by a very small margin of 0.22% of the vote.
2005 Events
After the 2004 presidential election, Soong wanted the KMT and People First Party to merge. However, he stopped trying after the 2004 legislative election. The PFP did not do well in that election. In February 2005, Soong signed an agreement with President Chen Shui-bian. This agreement caused a lot of criticism for Chen. The idea of the DPP and PFP working together ended in May 2005. This was when Soong visited mainland China to meet with General Secretary Hu Jintao of the Chinese Communist Party.
In the 2005 KMT chairman election, Soong supported Wang Jin-pyng at the last minute. However, Ma Ying-jeou defeated Wang by a large margin. On July 22, 2005, Soong was re-elected chairman of the PFP without anyone running against him.
On November 17, 2005, Soong won a lawsuit against former president Lee Teng-hui. Lee had said that Soong was playing mahjong while his supporters were protesting in April 2004. A court ruled that Lee had to apologize and pay Soong money because Lee's comment had harmed Soong's reputation.
Soong's visit to mainland China happened soon after KMT chairman Lien Chan's visit. Beyond a personal visit, the important part of his trip was his visit to Beijing. There, he met with CCP general secretary Hu Jintao. Soong was only the second major political figure from Taiwan to do this. The meeting resulted in a shared political plan between the Communist Party and Soong's People's First Party. This plan called for practical steps to connect Taiwan and mainland China, while strongly opposing Taiwan becoming fully independent.
2006 Taipei Mayoral Election
Financial Issue
On August 17, 2006, Taiwan's Administrative Supreme Court made a ruling against Soong in a tax case. He was charged with gift taxes from 1994. This was because he had sent money from his election campaign account to his daughter-in-law's account in the United States. Soong said he sent the money to pay off campaign debts and to start a foundation. However, the court found that the money was not given to the foundation until December 2001. The court ruled that the money had been used as his private funds, and therefore, gift tax was owed. He was asked to pay NT$13 million in gift tax, plus a fine of NT$13 million, for a total of NT$26 million.
Taipei Campaign
On October 18, 2006, Soong officially announced that he would run for mayor of Taipei City. This is Taiwan's capital and largest city. The election was held in December 2006. Soong ran as an independent candidate, saying he had taken a break from his job as chairman of the PFP.
After he lost the Taipei mayoral election on December 9, 2006, Soong announced that he would retire from politics. This meant he would give up being the chairman of his party, the PFP. With this announcement and no clear goal, the PFP faced an uncertain future.
Claims by Former President Chen Shui-bian
In May 2005, Chen Shui-bian claimed that Soong met with Chen Yunlin in the United States in February of that year.
Following this claim, on February 15, 2007, a court ruled that President Chen Shui-bian had to pay James Soong money and apologize in major newspapers. The court said President Chen did not check his facts before making his claim.
2012 Presidential Election
After a petition, Soong ran for president in the 2012 presidential election. This was his first time as a People First Party presidential candidate. He ran with Lin Ruey-shiung, a professor from National Taiwan University. Soong said that the political rivalry in Taiwan was like a sickness. He stated that Lin, as a doctor, was his partner to cure this "disease." He believed that Taiwanese people wanted a third party besides the KMT and the DPP, and that the PFP was their choice.
2016 Presidential Election
Soong announced he would run in the 2016 presidential election on August 6, 2015. His running mate was Hsu Hsin-ying. The Soong–Hsu team finished third, with 12.8% of the votes.
2020 Presidential Election
Soong ran in the 2020 presidential election. He started his campaign on November 13, 2019. He had promised that this would be his last attempt to become president. Soong and Sandra Yu ran together for the People First Party. They registered their candidacy on November 18, 2019. Soong and Yu finished third in the presidential election, with 4.2% of the votes.
Personal Life
While he was a graduate student at Berkeley, Soong met his wife, Viola Chen. They had a son and a daughter.
Awards and Honors
Soong has received many honorary degrees. These include honorary doctorates from the Catholic University of America, the University of South Australia, the University of Maryland, and Sookmyung Women's University. He has also received several national awards. These include the Order of Good Hope in 1980 and the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit in 1982. He was given an Eisenhower Fellowship in the U.S. in 1982. In 1999, he was named an Ellsworth Bunker Distinguished Fellow by the Asia Foundation.
