Chang Chun-hsiung (), (born 23 March 1938) is a Taiwanese politician. He is a former

Premier of the Republic of China The Premier of the Republic of China, officially the President of the Executive Yuan ( Chinese: 行政院院長), is the head of the government of the Republic of China of Taiwan and leader of the Executive Yuan. The premier is nominally the ...

. Chang was appointed to two separate terms as Premier, both under

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...

. His appointment by then-President Chen in 2000 marked the first time a

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majorit ...

member occupied the premiership. As a founding member of the

(DPP), he was a member of its Central Committee and Executive Member of its Central Standing Committee from 1986 to 2000.

Early life

Chang was born in 1938 in the city of Kagi (present-day Chiayi) when Taiwan (then Formosa) was still a colony of Japan. He earned his LL.B. at the National Taiwan University in 1960. Chang joined the Kuomintang in 1970, but was expelled three year later for mounting a campaign for the Taipei City Council. As a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

, he defended the victims of the Kaohsiung Incident in 1980. From 1982 to 1986 he was President of the Kaohsiung Chapter of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

Political career

He was a member of 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 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

from 1983 to 2000. As a legislator, he was Executive Director and General Convener of the DPP Caucus from 1987 to 1988, 1990, and 1998 to 1999. He was Convener of the Judiciary Committee in 1991, of the Home and Border Affairs Committee in 92, and of the Transportation and Communications Committee in 95. In 1994, Chang stood as the Democratic Progressive Party candidate to run for the mayor of

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City ( Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Ka ...

, but was defeated by the Kuomintang incumbent Wu Den-yih. In the 2000 presidential election he was General Manager of

's campaign. In the Chen administration, he served as Secretary-General of the Office of the President in 2000, Vice Premier of the ROC in 2000 and

from October 6, 2000 to February 1, 2002. Since 2002, he has been Secretary General of the Democratic Progressive Party and a Senior Adviser in the Office of the President. He ran in the 2004 Legislative Yuan election as fourth on the DPP's nationwide slate and was easily elected but resigned (as he promised to do during the campaign) since the Pan-Green Coalition failed to win a majority. He also tendered his resignation as Secretary-General of the Democratic Progressive Party to take responsibility for the defeat. Chang was appointed as the chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation in 2005 after the death of the former chairman

Koo Chen-fu Koo Chen-fu (, 6 January 1917 – 3 January 2005), also known as C.F. Koo, was a Taiwanese businessman and diplomat. He led the Koos Group of companies from 1940 until his death. As a chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), Koo arrang ...

. With the resignation of Su Tseng-chang as Premier on May 12, 2007,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

nominated Chang to fill the post of Premier a second time effective May 21, and Hung Chi-chang succeeded Chang as the chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation. Su's resignation and Chang's second appointment as Premier marked the sixth premier that Chen Shui-bian has appointed during his two terms as President.

Family life

Chang maintained a long-term marriage-like relationship with a paramour while remaining legally married to his first wife, Hsu Jui-ying. After his first term as Premier, he and Hsu divorced, and in 2007 he married his paramour (Chu A-ying) as his second wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Chun-Hsiung 1938 births Living people Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan National Taiwan University alumni Premiers of the Republic of China on Taiwan Taiwan independence activists Taiwanese democracy activists Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Chiayi County Kaohsiung Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 2nd Legislative Yuan Members of the 3rd Legislative Yuan Members of the 4th Legislative Yuan Party List Members of the Legislative Yuan Senior Advisors to President Chen Shui-bian Recipients of the Order of Chiang Chung-Cheng