Chen Shui-bian

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Lore & Background

Chen Shui-bian was born to an impoverished tenant farming family of Hoklo ethnicity in Kuantien Township, Tainan County (now part of Tainan City). He graduated from National Taiwan University in 1974, became Taiwan's youngest lawyer, and made a name as a human rights lawyer and supporter of Taiwanese independence. He entered politics in 1981 as a Tangwai candidate for the Taipei City Council, joined the DPP in 1987, and served in the Legislative Yuan from 1989 to 1994. Chen was elected mayor of Taipei in 1994, the first directly-elected DPP mayor, and led reforms to improve the civil service, oversaw the construction of the Taipei Metro to completion, and launched a crackdown on crime and prostitution. He lost the 1998 mayoral election to Ma Ying-jeou despite a positive approval rating. In 2000, he won the presidency with 39% of the vote after a split in the KMT, marking the first peaceful transfer of power to an opposition party in Taiwan. He was re-elected in the hotly-contested and polarising 2004 election over a joint ticket of Lien Chan and James Soong. After leaving office in 2008, Chen was arrested in November 2008 on charges of corruption and sentenced to life imprisonment before being commuted to 20 years imprisonment. He was released from prison on medical parole in 2015.

Reader's Guide

Chen Shui-bian's significance lies in his role as the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party, ending over half a century of Kuomintang rule in Taiwan and establishing a precedent for peaceful democratic transfer of power. His presidency was marked by a narrow mandate—winning with 39% in 2000—and a divided opposition. He moderated his pro-independence stance with the Four Noes and One Without in his inaugural address. His mayoral tenure in Taipei is remembered for infrastructure (completing the Taipei Metro) and anti-crime reforms, but his presidency was overshadowed by political gridlock with the pan-Blue coalition-controlled legislature and legal troubles that led to his arrest in November 2008 on corruption charges, a life sentence commuted to 20 years, and release on medical parole in 2015.

Did You Know?

• Chen was not formally issued a birth certificate until 18 February 1951 because of doubts he would survive.
• He passed the bar exams before completing his junior year with the highest score, becoming Taiwan's youngest lawyer.
• His wife Wu Shu-chen was left paralyzed from the waist down after being hit twice by a hand tractor while thanking supporters after Chen lost the 1985 county magistrate election.
• Chen was sentenced to a year in prison for libel in 1985 due to his editorship of Neo-Formosa magazine.
• He was released from prison on medical parole in 2015 after a life sentence was commuted to 20 years.