Outgoing Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) was considered to be the frontrunner in the ruling party's primary for next year's presidential election when he announced his bid three months ago.
But following an acrimonious primary, Su conceded defeat after his main opponent, former premier Frank Hsieh (
Eloquent, vibrant and aggressive, Su, 59, is a former human rights lawyer and a co-founder of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Su graduated from National Taiwan University and worked as a lawyer for 10 years before moving into politics.
Like President Chen Shui-bian (
Dubbed the "Kaohsiung Incident," thousands took to the streets of the southern city to demand greater political freedom in the first public expression of dissent against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
Hundreds of people, including 140 police, were injured in clashes between police and protesters and scores of opposition leaders, including Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), were rounded up and jailed.
Motivated by the injustice surrounding the incident, Su began defending dissidents charged with treason before deciding to enter politics himself. In 1981, he was elected to the now defunct Taiwan Provincial Council and re-elected four years later.
Su helped found the DPP in 1986 in defiance of a ban on new parties imposed by the KMT.
The DPP, which won the presidency in 2000, ended the KMT's half-century rule of the nation.
Su, a father of three, was elected as Pingtung County commissioner in 1989, but failed to get re-elected in controversial polls four years later.
He won a seat in the Legislative Yuan in 1995 and became Taipei County commissioner, the largest constituency on the island, in 1997. He was re-elected in 2001.
Su was chosen as Chen's chief of the staff in 2004 and was elected DPP chairman the following year.
He resigned in December that year as chairman to take responsibility for the DPP's defeat in local elections.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition