For those pursuing politics as a career, being a member of a political family can help a lot. In many cases, a political career is predestined by birth or by marriage into such a family.
This is exactly how a number of sitting legislators have come to their positions today. Among them are members of the second and third generations of political families, as well as the spouses of family members.
A typical example is the Kaohsiung County-based Yu family. This DPP-affiliated family now has two members in the legislature: Yu Jane-daw (
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
The family, which gained political sway when Yu Teng-fa (
During this period, Huang Yu-jen (
Extending their influence beyond Kaohsiung County, members of the family have taken turns running for a seat on the Taiwan Provincial Assembly and Legislative Yuan. Before Yu Jane-daw, who is now in his second term, Yu-Chen Yueh-ying, Yu Cheng-hsien and his sister Yu Lin-ya (
While the Yu family's tradition runs back several generation, many young members of the Legislative Yuan are also carrying on where their parents left off.
Three-term DPP Legislator Wang Hsueh-fung (王雪峰), daughter of retired five-term Taipei City Council deputy Wang Kun-ho (王昆和), first came into contact with politics when she was in primary school around 30 years ago.
"When I was in fourth grade, I stumped for my father on his campaign truck," the former lawyer said.
Wang joined the democracy movement while in college in the late 1980s. But it was not until 1992, when at age 28 she was elected a National Assembly deputy, that her political career took off. Three years later she won her first term as a legislator.
Chen Chi-mai (
"Influenced by my father, I ran for legislator after finishing graduate school and took to a political path," the 38-year-old legislator recalled.
His father, Chen Che-nan (陳哲男) deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office, held a seat in the legislature for three terms until 1994.
In many cases, however, children of a political family have no alternative but to follow their parents' profession.
Two-term KMT Legislator Lin Yi-shih (
According to the 34-year-old legislator, he, unlike other candidates, was under extremely heavy pressure to win so as not to "disgrace" his family.
A politician for 40 years who served four terms as a deputy in the Kaohsiung County Council and another four terms as a deputy in the Taiwan Provincial Assembly, Lin Hsien-pao was leader of a local political faction in Kao-hsiung County.
Another case is Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), a 31-year-old freshman legislator also from the DPP, who is daughter of former Taiwan Provincial Assembly deputy and democracy activist Chiu Mao-nan (
According to Chiu Yi-ying, her father had planned for her political bid since she was a little girl.
"I already knew when I was little that I would enter politics one day," Chiu said.
Chiu Yi-ying joined her father's campaign team in 1994, which paved the way for her first election campaign -- the 1996 National Assembly elections. In the end she was elected with the most votes in her Pingtung County constituency.
After becoming the youngest member of the DPP's Central Standing Committee in 1998, she enjoyed further success in December last year, winning a seat in the legislature.
There are other legislators who have entered politics by chance, thanks to the contacts and resources their parents established in the political scene.
The KMT's Wang Yu-ting (王昱婷) was only 25 when she was first elected a legislator in 1998. Wang, who is now in her second term, said she never intended to become a politician, having watched how her father sacrificed time with the family to perform his duty as a representative of the people.
But she was nominated as a legislative candidate by the KMT for a seat reserved for women in her constituency in Tainan City.
Another example is the DPP's Lin Tai-hua (
She was notified 15 minutes before the registration deadline that she was to represent the DPP for a seat reserved for women in Kaohsiung County in last year's legislative elections. And she succeeded.
"My candidacy was totally accidental," Lin said.
While support and resources from the family can help legislators win seats, they frequently have to work hard to prove that they are up to the job.
Senior KMT Legislator Hwang Chao-shun (黃昭順), daughter of late Control Yuan President Hwang Tzuen-chiou (黃尊秋), seems to have overcome this problem in the 22 years since she first stepped onto the political scene as a deputy in the Kaohsiung City Council.
According to Hwang, having an influential father did not guarantee that she would survive the test of voters.
"People won't vote for a politician because he has an influential family background. He will still suffer defeat if his service wins little approval from the people," Hwang said.
Likewise, the DPP's Lan Mei-chin (藍美津), who was elected a legislator last year after serving four terms as a deputy to Taipei City Council, was better known as wife of former democracy activist Huang Tien-fu (黃天福), or sister-in-law of late DPP chairman Huang Hsin-chieh (黃信介), when her political career began in 1985.
Victory in re-election bids over the years and her successful advance into the legislature indicate that there is public approval for her that goes beyond her family background.
"With my credentials in the Taipei City Council and service for my constituents, I've pried open a road belonging to myself," Lan said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS