Jail sentence puts crimp in Chou's political career

"His family means a lot to him just like mine matters a lot to me," he said.

Outspoken and down-to-earth, the 49-year-old native of Taipei County has been viewed by many as a cunning politician whose bravado is an invaluable asset.

He is one of the few politicians who dares to stand up for his beliefs, although these sometimes clash with those of his party.

A member of the party's anti-nuclear wing, Chou came forward to attack the DPP-led government after the Executive Yuan decided in August 2001 not to hold a non-binding referendum on the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant during the year-end legislative elections.

In addition to asking then-premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) and Cabinet Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) to apologize to the public, Chou requested the two resign to take the blame for the fiasco.

In December 2001, Chou came to the rescue of his fellow colleague, Lin Chung-mo (林重謨), who had compared independent lawmaker Sisy Chen (陳文茜) to a "prostitute" during the national affairs forum in the legislature.

Lin accused Sisy Chen of "screwing up" the political careers of two former DPP chairmen, Shih Ming-teh (施明德) and Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良).