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Chang Ching-fang (; born 23 November 1952) is a Taiwanese politician.


Education

Chang was educated at Ta-Tung Primary School, Shu-Lin High School, then Heng-Yi Senior High School. He graduated from
Soochow University Soochow University or Suzhou University may refer to: *Soochow University (1900–1952) (), a university in Suzhou (Soochow), Jiangsu, China *Soochow University (Taiwan) (, 1951–present), a university in Taipei, Taiwan, founded by faculty from th ...
, where he received a
Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
, and then
Barrington University The University of Atlanta was a Private university, private, For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit, distance education university headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It opened in Mobile, Alabama as Barrington University ...
, where he earned a
Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...
.


Political career

Chang was first elected to the legislature in December 1998, as a
Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...
representative of Taipei County.
Taiwan Solidarity Union The Taiwan Solidarity Party (TSP) is a political party in Taiwan which advocates Taiwan independence, and is affiliated with the Taiwanese localization movement. It was officially founded on 12 August 2001 as the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU ...
candidate Liao Pen-yen was expected to claim some of Chang's vote share in 2001, but both were elected to office. Chang received support from the DPP to run for a third term in 2004, but lost. During his first term on the
Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...
, Chang drew attention to a number of environmental concerns, including pollution of the
Kaoping River The Gaoping River, also spelled Kaoping River (), is the second longest river in Taiwan after Zhuoshui River with a total length of . It is located on the southern part of the island, flowing through Pingtung County and Kaohsiung City. It is th ...
, and the environmental effect of the Longmen Nuclear Power Plant. He worked with Chai Trong-rong to pass stricter law against electoral fraud. Additionally, Chang backed efforts to regulate imported drugs. Chang commented frequently on exchanges between Taiwan and China, mainly in relation to tourism. In August 2000, he called out
Taipower The Taiwan Power Company (), also known by the short name Taipower (), is a state-owned electric power industry providing electricity to Taiwan and its off-shore islands. History Taipower was established on 1 May 1946. Its origins can be trace ...
for importing Chinese gravel illegally for use in building the Longmen nuclear plant. Later that year, he opined that an increase in Chinese visitors would expose Taiwan to increased espionage. In March 2002, Chang criticized brokers that defrauded Taiwanese students who wished to pursue higher education in China. He was supportive of an initiative allowing children of
taishang Taishang () are Taiwanese businesspeople operating in mainland China. The ''tai'' part of the term stands for Taiwan, and the ''shang'' part stands for business or businessperson. There are no official statistics on the number of Taishang working ...
to study in Kinmen, rather than the Chinese educational system. In October 2002, John Chang announced that 121 lawmakers had signed his petition advocating airline flights across the Taiwan Strait. One of the signatories was Chang Ching-fang, but he pulled his support days later. Among Chang Ching-fang's counterproposals included that flights from China to Taiwan transit in Okinawa, and that Taiwan's government lift select restrictions on Chinese entrepreneurs to elicit further investment in Taiwanese real estate. Chang supported
Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...
's decision to shift Cross-Strait policy away from "no haste, be patient." However, Chang was largely critical of its replacement, the
three links The Three Links or Three Linkages () was a 1979 proposal from the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to open up postal, transportation (especially airline), and trade links between mainland China and Taiwan, with th ...
. In 2004, Chang claimed that China treated Taiwanese businesspeople unfairly, especially those who supported the
Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...
. Chang Ching-fang maintained an interest in national security. In June 2000, Chang asked the
Control Yuan The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China, both during its time in mainland China and Taiwan. Designed as a hybrid of auditor and ombudsman by Taiwanese law, the Control Yuan holds th ...
to investigate a former National Security Bureau official who visited China days after retirement. In October, Chang submitted evidence in a separate legal case implicating the NSB's Liu Kuan-chun, who was suspected of embezzling money from the agency. Chang reported to the NSB in March 2002 that Liu was in Canada.


Controversy

While in office, Chang noted the underworld connections of Lin Ming-yi,
Lo Fu-chu Lo Fu-chu (; born 2 July 1943) is a former Taiwanese legislator and a self-described leader of the "Celestial Alliance" organized crime group. In the late 1990s and early 2000s he was known as the most notorious person involved with organized c ...
, and
Wu Tse-yuan Wu Tse-yuan (; 17 August 1945 – 22 September 2008) was a Taiwanese politician and engineer known for his involvement in black gold politics and ties to gangs. Education and early career After graduating from National Pingtung Senior High Sch ...
. In January 2002, Chang and Yeh Yi-jin accused several of their legislative colleagues of accepting bribes. In April, Chang accused legislator Wang Chung-yu, former president of the Association of Industry for Environmental Protection ROC, of using the group's funds improperly. In November 2003, Chang alleged that
James Soong Soong Chu-yu (; born 30 April 1942), also known by his English name James Soong, is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician who is the founder and chairman of the People First Party. Soong was the first and only elected governor of Taiw ...
had an affair with Yang Yun-tai. Members of Soong's People First Party filed a lawsuit against Chang. Yang did the same, and the court ruled in her favor in August 2005. In December 2003, Chang called a press conference to present evidence that Pan Jung-kuang had joked about
Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...
while giving a lecture. Pan apologized after Democratic Progressive Party members filed suit against him. In February 2004, Chang sued Thomas Lee for libel, because Lee had accused Chang of involvement in black gold politics. Chang later filed a related lawsuit against Chen Yu-hao.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Ching-fang 1952 births Living people Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan New Taipei Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 4th Legislative Yuan Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan Soochow University (Taiwan) alumni