James Soong facts for kids

Quick facts for kids James Soong
宋楚瑜 Soong Chu-yu
Official portrait, 2016
1st Chairman of the People First Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 March 2000
Deputy	Chang Chau-hsiung
Preceded by	Position established
Senior Advisor to the President
In office 9 November 2016 – 2 May 2019
President	Tsai Ing-wen
1st Governor of Taiwan Province
In office 20 December 1994 – 20 December 1998
Deputy	Lin Fong-cheng Lai In-jaw
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
14th Chairman of the Provincial Government
In office 20 March 1993 – 20 December 1994
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
Prime Minister	Sun Yun-suan
Preceded by	Ting Mao-shih
Succeeded by	Chang King-yuh
Personal details
Born	(1942-04-30) 30 April 1942 (age 83) Xiangtan, Hunan, Republic of China
Political party	People First Party (2000–present)
Other political affiliations	Kuomintang (1981–1999) Independent (1999–2000)
Spouse	Viola Chen (1968–2011)
Education	National Chengchi University (BA) University of California, Berkeley (MA) Catholic University of America (MS) Georgetown University (PhD)

James Soong Chu-yu (born April 30, 1942) is a Taiwanese politician. He is the founder and chairman of the People First Party. Soong was the first and only elected governor of Taiwan Province from 1994 to 1998. He also ran for president several times.

James Soong was born into a military family. His family moved to Taiwan in 1949. He studied in Taiwan and then in the United States. He earned a PhD in political science from Georgetown University. Soong started 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.

Soong played an important role in helping Lee Teng-hui become the leader of the Kuomintang (KMT) party after Chiang Ching-kuo passed away. Soong was the only elected governor of Taiwan Province. This was before the provincial government was made smaller.

In the 2000 Taiwanese presidential election, Soong ran as an independent candidate. He came in second place. His candidacy split the votes of the Pan-Blue Coalition (a group of political parties). This helped Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) win the election. Soong ran for vice president in 2004 with Lien Chan. They lost to Chen Shui-bian by a very small number of votes. Soong ran for president again in 2012, 2016, and 2020.

Early Life and Education

James Soong was born in Xiangtan, Hunan province. His father, Soong Ta, was a military officer. He was very loyal to the Republic of China (ROC) President Chiang Kai-shek. His father became a major general in the army.

After the Kuomintang (KMT) lost the Chinese Civil War, his family moved to Taiwan in 1949. James Soong earned his bachelor's degree in diplomacy from National Chengchi University in 1964.

Soong 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 Library and Information Science (M.S.) from the Catholic University of America in 1971. In 1974, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in political science from Georgetown University.

While studying in Berkeley, Soong met his future wife, Viola Chen. They had a son and a daughter together.

Political Career Highlights

As James Soong was finishing his studies, he was recommended to be 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 continued as his personal secretary from 1978 to 1981 and from 1984 to 1989.

Soong became well-known on December 16, 1978. On that day, he spoke to the nation after the U.S. decided to end ties with the ROC. The U.S. chose to form ties with the People's Republic of China instead. Soon after, President Chiang made Soong the youngest director-general of the Government Information Office (GIO). He served in this role from 1979 to 1984.

Supporting Lee Teng-hui

When Chiang Ching-kuo passed away in 1988, James Soong helped the new president, Lee Teng-hui, gain power. Soong was part of a group that wanted to limit Lee Teng-hui's role in the government. However, during a KMT meeting, Soong spoke strongly in favor of Lee. He said that any delay in Lee becoming party chairman was disrespectful to Chiang Ching-kuo.

Soong became one of the few mainlanders who were also loyal to Lee. Lee Teng-hui even used the term "New Taiwanese" to describe people like Soong. These were people born in mainland China but raised in Taiwan, who now called Taiwan home. Lee quickly promoted Soong to KMT Secretary-General. Soong held this position from 1989 to 1993. In 1993, Lee appointed him Governor of Taiwan Province.

Governor of Taiwan Province

In 1994, James Soong was elected as the only directly elected governor of Taiwan Province. He was seen as a very good campaigner. His strong performance as governor ended hopes that another party would gain more power than the national government.

Even though he had a mainland background, Soong was popular with all groups in Taiwan. This was partly because he was one of the first KMT politicians to try speaking Taiwanese Hokkien in public.

In 1997, the position of premier became open. Soong felt he should be the next premier. But President Lee believed Soong should finish his term as governor. President Lee appointed Vincent Siew instead. This decision caused a disagreement between Soong and Lee.

The position of Governor of Taiwan was removed in December 1998. This happened after a meeting 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 government layers. Soong resigned, but President Lee did not accept it.

Presidential Elections

After not getting the KMT presidential nomination, James Soong ran as an independent in the 2000 Taiwanese presidential election. He suggested a slow union between Taiwan and mainland China. He proposed signing a non-aggression pact first. He also wanted to form a cross-strait union, like the European Union. Soong said that relations between mainland China and Taiwan were neither foreign nor domestic. He worked hard to show he would not "sell out" Taiwan.

The KMT removed Soong and his supporters from the party. Soong lost the election to Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party. Soong received 36.84% of the vote, while Chen got 39.3%. Lien Chan, the KMT candidate, came in third with 23.1%. Some people believed that Lee Teng-hui secretly supported Chen. They thought Lee feared Soong would reveal problems in his government.

After the election, Soong's supporters protested. They wanted Lee Teng-hui to resign as KMT chairman. Lee did resign, and Lien Chan became chairman. Soon after, Soong and his supporters formed the People First Party (PFP). This party was seen as a new group from the KMT.

2004 Election

Despite their past disagreements, Lien Chan (KMT chairman) and James Soong decided to work together. They wanted to prevent splitting the vote in future elections. Soong ran as a vice presidential candidate with Lien Chan in the 2004 Taiwanese presidential election. There were rumors that Soong agreed to be vice president in exchange for more power, possibly even becoming premier. Many KMT members did not like this idea. Soong's supporters pointed out that he was more popular than Lien. Even though Lien and Soong together had more votes in 2000, they lost to Chen in 2004 by a very small margin.

Later Elections

In February 2005, Soong signed an agreement with President Chen Shui-bian. This agreement caused some criticism for Chen. The possibility of cooperation between the DPP and PFP ended in May 2005. This was when Soong visited mainland China to meet with General Secretary Hu Jintao.

In 2005, Soong supported Wang Jin-pyng in the KMT chairmanship election. However, Ma Ying-jeou won by a large margin. On July 22, 2005, Soong was re-elected chairman of the PFP without opposition.

Soong's visit to mainland China followed a visit by KMT chairman Lien Chan. Soong met with CCP general secretary Hu Jintao. They exchanged gifts. Soong gave Hu a piece of glass art, and Hu gave Soong a piece of Jingdezhen porcelain. Soong was only the second major political figure from Taiwan to do this. The meeting led to 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. It also strongly opposed Taiwanese independence.

2006 Taipei Mayoral Election

On October 18, 2006, James Soong officially announced his candidacy for mayor of Taipei City. Taipei is Taiwan's capital and largest city. He ran as a "non-partisan" candidate, meaning he was not officially linked to a party. He said he was taking a break from being chairman of the PFP.

Soong lost the Taipei mayoral election on December 9, 2006. He won only 4% of the votes. After this defeat, James Soong announced he would retire from politics. This meant he would give up his role as chairman of the PFP.

Later Presidential Campaigns

After a petition, Soong ran in the 2012 Taiwanese presidential election. This was his first time running as a People First Party presidential candidate. His running mate was Lin Ruey-shiung, a professor. Soong said that the "Blue-Green rivalry" in Taiwanese politics was like a sickness. He said Lin, as a doctor, was his partner to cure this "disease." He believed Taiwanese people wanted a third party, and the PFP was that choice.

Soong announced he would run in the 2016 Taiwanese presidential election on August 6, 2015. His running mate was Hsu Hsin-ying. The Soong–Hsu ticket came in third place, with 12.8% of the votes.

Soong ran in the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election. He started his campaign on November 13, 2019. He promised this would be his last attempt for the presidency. Soong and Sandra Yu formed the People First Party ticket. They registered their candidacy on November 18, 2019. Soong and Yu finished third in the election, with 4.2% of the votes.

Images for kids

• James Soong 20160107.jpg

  James Soong in 2016

• James Soong (cropped).jpg

  James Soong