A well-known scholar-turned-politician, the DPP's 65-year-old Overseas Legislator Parris Chang (張
"He's an opportunist with an inconsistent political stance," said Linda Arrigo, a veteran human rights activist and ex-wife of former DPP Chairman Shih Ming-teh (施
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
Arrigo said that Chang has been straddling the fence between the DPP and the KMT in a bid to enhance his own political power.
Some DPP members, nevertheless, gave Chang their approval, saying that "it can't be denied that Chang's expertise on foreign and military affairs has made a contribution to the party."
Born in Chiayi County (嘉
At the age of 11, Chang had a chance to meet his political role model Wu San-lien (吳
Chang honed his interest in politics and decided to major in political science when he studied at National Taiwan University.
As a college freshman, Chang, along with his classmate -- former minister of foreign affairs Frederick Chien (錢復) -- passed an examination that would pave his way as a prospective diplomat. However, he skipped the training sessions and ever since has devoted himself to academic studies.
After having received his M.A. from the University of Washington in 1963 and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1969, Chang became a professor of political science and taught at Pennsylvania State University in 1970.
"Chang specialized in international relations and China studies, which was quite unique for Taiwanese students at that time," senior advisor to the president Yao Chia-wen (姚
Because of Chang's academic background, he was invited to China in 1972 and held a five-hour debate with the then-Chinese premier Chou Enlai (周恩來). At that meeting, Chang defiantly proposed building Taiwan into a neutral state -- he called it an "Eastern Switzerland (東方的瑞士)" -- following his "Singapore Model (新加坡模式)" theory of 1979.
Chang's "Singapore Model" suggested that Taiwan should develop and maintain a reciprocal relationship with China as Singapore has done with Malaysia.
"His `Singapore Model' successfully made an ideological breakthrough and promoted the ideal of Taiwan independence, which was quite an accomplishment," Yao said.
But to many advocates of Taiwan independence in the US -- who stayed there fearing persecution at home -- Chang seemed to be "too careful" and cowardly to make his political ideals clear, Arrigo said.
"Some overseas Taiwanese-Americans were suspicious of Chang's political stance and found it quite hard to identify with him," said a DPP official who used to work in the party's mission to the US, on condition of anonymity.
Despite that, Chang continued to achieve notoriety by writing scores of articles which established his academic reputation and expanded his connections in American diplomatic and political circles.
He was the first Taiwanese columnist for Newsweek magazine and also served as a consultant to the US Department of State, the RAND Corporation and other organizations.
"Most of his American connections were considered extremely conservative and belonged to the right wing," Arrigo said.
In 1992, Chang's popularity and connections in the US prompted the then DPP Chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許
Elected to the Legislative Yuan for the first time in 1993, Chang has continued developing his political career in Taiwan, serving as chairman of the foreign relations committee and the national defense committee.
He was later appointed by Shih as director of the party's first Mission to the US in 1995, despite strong opposition within the party.
"Chang has the capability of knowing how America makes China policy, which was quite an asset to the party," former AIT chairman Nat Bellocchi said.
Shih also said that Chang's familiarity with American political circles won him the position, adding that as a legislator, Chang was the only one who could act as a facilitator between the party and the government's representative office in the US.
But a dispute over airfares to the US drew the glare of the DPP's central standing committee.
Money was not the only element adding to the controversy surrounding Chang. His alleged sexual offense was another.
Arrigo said last week that "Chang is a habitual sexual harasser." Former DPP official Hsieh Shu-yuan (謝淑媛) also said that she was aware that the late DPP director of women's development, Peng Wan-ru (彭婉如), had received complaints accusing Chang of sexual harassment."
Chang also dabbles in studying international military strategy and was said to have played an important role in the US' arm sales to Taiwan, as he also has close connections to the US' department of national defense.
"He is nicknamed Mr TMD [in Taiwan's military circles] since he strongly promotes [Taiwan's] military," said military commentator Chang Yu-hua (張
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