Liao Cheng-hao (; 30 March 1946 – 31 January 2022) was a Taiwanese legal scholar and lawyer.

Education and career

Liao graduated from

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

with 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 ...

(LL.B.), a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

(LL.B.), and earned his

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(LL.D.) from the university. Liao served as deputy director-general of the

Government Information Office The Government Information Office, Executive Yuan (GIO; ) was a cabinet-level agency of the Executive Yuan of Taiwan, Taiwan (the Republic of China) in charge of promoting government policies and regulating media in Taiwan, domestic media. Histo ...

and

Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive (government), executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, amended constitution, the head of the Execut ...

before leading the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

's Investigation Bureau, starting in 1995. Lao was the first MJIB leader without experience in intelligence. During his tenure, MJIB solved several high profile cases, such as corruption on the part of . Liao was elevated to justice minister in 1996 and served until 1998. In his two-year tenure, Liao was well-regarded for confronting organized crime. His opposition to organized crime included refusal to attend 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 ...

's judicial committee meetings while

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 ...

, a lawmaker allegedly associated with gangs, was a committee member. As justice minister, Liao issued an ultimatum for gangs in Taiwan to disband. While Liao led the justice ministry, he pursued former

Chiayi County Council The Chiayi County Council (CYSCC; ) is the elected county council of Chiayi County, Republic of China. The council consists of 37 councilors lastly elected through the 2022 Republic of China local election on 26 November 2022. History The coun ...

speaker on a number of charges. Hsiao began avoiding authorities in 1996, and only agreed to face the police in September 1999, more than a year after Liao had stepped down from the justice ministry. Liao's exit from the Ministry of Justice was later attributed to his interference with the Investigation Bureau. Reflecting on the influence of criminals in Taiwanese politics in 2010, Liao stated that the group gained prominence in the late 1980s, in the waning years of the

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

period, and peaked in the 1990s, when a third of county and municipal councilors had criminal backgrounds. In September 1999, Liao claimed that

Vincent Siew Siew Wan-chang (; born 3 January 1939), known also by his English name Vincent Siew, is a Taiwanese politician who served as the ninth vice president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2008 to 2012. He was the first Taiwanese-born Prem ...

had pressured him to wiretap phones illegally and advocated for the ministry to perform other illegal acts. When

Lien Chan Lien Chan ( zh, t=連戰, w=, p=, poj=; born August 27, 1936) is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician. He was the chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government from 1990 to 1993, premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, vice ...

and Siew formed the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

ticket for the 2000 presidential election, Liao refused to support the party. Instead, Liao backed independent candidate

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 ...

. Liao withdrew from the Kuomintang to serve as director of Soong's national campaign headquarters. By 2001, both the People First Party and Kuomintang expressed support for Liao to run for Taipei County Magistrate. The

Pan-Blue Coalition The Pan-Blue coalition, Pan-Blue force or Pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and You ...

later chose Wang Chien-shien as a fusion candidate, and he lost to

Su Tseng-chang Su Tseng-chang ( zh, t=蘇貞昌, poj=So͘ Cheng-chhiong, p=Sū Zhēnchāng; born 28 July 1948) is a Taiwanese politician who served as premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2019 to 2023. He was the chairma ...

. In April 2005, Liao regained his Kuomintang membership to run in the party primary for Taipei magistrate. The party nominated

Chou Hsi-wei Chou Hsi-wei (, born 11 March 1958) Taiwanese politician. He was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2005. He then served as Taipei County Magistrate from 2005 to 2010. Chou worked for James Soong and was a member of Soong's People ...

, who won the magistracy. After withdrawing from politics, Liao established the Tosun Public Interest Foundation to help youth and former prisoners, and advocated for improvement in Cross-Strait relations, focusing on legal and religious aspects. Liao died at in

Beitou Beitou District is the northernmost of the twelve districts of Taipei City, Taiwan. The historical spelling of the district is Peitou. The name originates from the Ketagalan word ''Kipatauw'', meaning witch. Beitou is the most mountainous and ...

, Taipei, on 31 January 2022, at the age of 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liao, Cheng-hao 1946 births 2022 deaths National Taiwan University alumni Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Chiayi County Taiwanese Buddhists Ministers of justice of Taiwan 20th-century Taiwanese politicians Taiwanese founders

Education and career

See also

References