As a politician, Yu has an all-round curriculum vitae. He was Taiwan's provincial assembly deputy (1981 to 1989), served two terms as Ilan county commissioner (1989 to 1997) and was the DPP's secretary-general from 1999 to last year.
"He is one of the few within the DPP who has accumulated experience as a lawmaker, executive official, and party manager," Chen said.
"Even before the transfer of political power, the KMT's Lien Chan (
When Chen was still Taipei City mayor, he planned to elevate Yu to succeed him after serving two terms as mayor. He did appoint Yu as president of the Taipei Rapid Transit Company. But things didn't go as planned. Chen lost his 1998 re-election bid, and Yu took a post as DPP secretary-general. When Chen started his campaign for the 2000 presidential election, Yu became chairman and speaker of the DPP's campaign staff.
After Chen's victory in the presidential election, Yu first served as vice premier. But in the aftermath of Pachang Creek incident (八掌溪事件) -- in which four workers drowned in the river and were washed away in full view of media cameras because of slow governmental rescue efforts -- he stepped down to shoulder the political fallout.
"The public and media severely criticized President Chen's administration and even urged then-premier Tang Fei (
After a four-month break Yu returned to political circles and was appointed secretary-general to the president. "If president Chen could successfully win the presidential reelection, Yu would definitely be Chen's top choice in the DPP for premier," said Chen Chin-teh.
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