Chai Trong-rong (; June 13, 1935 – January 11, 2014), sometimes known in English as Trong Chai, was a Taiwanese politician. Born in Japanese-era Taiwan, Chai earned his master's and doctorate degrees in the United States. He was a pro-democracy advocate and founded the Association for a Plebiscite () and Formosa Television. A member of 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 ...

(DPP), Chai was elected a national legislator multiple times, serving in 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 ...

from 1993 to 1996 and again from 1997 to 2012. He took part in three DPP chairmanship elections, but lost all three.

Early life and education

Chai Trong-rong was born on June 13, 1935, in Hotei Village, Tōseki District,

Tainan Prefecture was one of the administrative divisions of Taiwan during the Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Tainan City, Chiayi City, Chiayi County, and Yunlin County. Population Administrative divisions Cities and districts In ...

Japanese Taiwan The island of Taiwan, together with the Penghu Islands, became an annexed territory of the Empire of Japan in 1895, when the Qing dynasty ceded Fujian-Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after the Japanese victory in the First Sin ...

(modern-day Budai,

Chiayi County Chiayi is a County (Taiwan), county in Taiwan. Located in Regions of Taiwan, southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City, it is the sixth largest county in the island of Taiwan. Its major tourist destination is Alishan Natio ...

, Taiwan). At the time, Taiwan was still part of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

. After the Second World War, his father served as a Chiayi County council member for two terms. After his graduation from the

National Tainan First Senior High School The National Tainan First Senior High School () is a public senior high school in East District, Tainan, East District, Tainan, Taiwan. It was established in 1922 and is considered one of the most prestigious high schools in Taiwan, usually only a ...

, Chai studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

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 ...

(NTU). He later switched his major to law and graduated from the NTU College of Law in 1958. He was then

conscripted Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

and served in the Republic of China (Taiwan) Army for sixteen months. In 1960, Chai went to the United States and studied at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

, where he earned his master's degree in

. As a result of participating in the

Taiwan independence movement The Taiwan independence movement is a political movement which advocates the formal declaration of an independent and sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Strait relations. Into the 21st- ...

, Chai was placed on 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 ...

's black list and was unable to return to Taiwan. He continued studying and attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, earning his doctorate in 1969. In 1986, Chai became a professor of political science at the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

Entry into politics

Chai established the World United Formosans for Independence (WUFI) in 1970 and became its first president. Then in 1982, he founded the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), serving as its first president as well. Chai returned to Taiwan to attend a funeral in June 1990. He was issued a new passport and joined the

(DPP) shortly after his arrival. He founded the Association for a Plebiscite in November. The goal of the association was to reform through the will of the people.

Legislative career

Chai was elected a legislator representing

Chiayi City Chiayi (,), officially known as Chiayi City, is a Provincial city (Taiwan), city located in Chianan Plain in Regions of Taiwan, southwestern Taiwan, surrounded by Chiayi County with a population of 263,188 inhabitants as of January 2023. The H ...

in 1992. Although he was not reelected in 1995 running against

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 ...

of the

, he was elected into the

again in the 1997 by-election and reelected in 1998, 2001 and 2004. During these terms, Chai was involved in the National Defense, Overseas Compatriot Affairs, and Foreign Affairs Committees. He supported the localization policies of the

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 ...

administration. In 2005, he urged the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

to get rid of contexts of "aboveboard Chinese" (; a Chinese nationalistic term imposed by the Chiang Kai-shek regime after World War II) from the back cover of

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

workbooks. In response to the Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China, Chai and legislator proposed draft for an "Anti-Annexation Law."

Chairmanship campaigns

Despite the fact that Chai was endorsed by renowned

pharmacologist Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

Chen-Yuan Lee, he lost the DPP chairmanship election in 1996. However, the resignation of

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 ...

as DPP chairperson in 2005 led to Chai's decision to run again. He was the first in the party to register his candidacy. Chai was one of the three candidates who registered. He was endorsed by vice president

Annette Lu Lu Hsiu-lien (; born 7 June 1944), also known by her English name Annette, is a Taiwanese politician and lawyer. A feminist active in the tangwai movement, she joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 1990, and was elected to the Legis ...

and foreign minister

Mark Chen Tang-shan/Tan-sun Chen (; born 16 September 1935), also known by his English name Mark Chen, is a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese politician and atmospheric scientist who served as Secretary-General of the Office of the President of the Republic of C ...

. The election was held in January 2006. Former Secretary-General of the Presidential Office

Yu Shyi-kun You Si-kun (; born 25 April 1948), also romanized Yu Shyi-kun, is a Taiwanese politician. He was one of the founding members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and is known to be a strong advocate of Taiwan independence. He led the DPP ...

won with over 54% of the votes while Chai received 36%. In 2008, after the defeat of Frank Hsieh in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

, DPP candidate Hsieh resigned as chairman and announced the date for the chairmanship election. Chai declared his candidacy on April 14. Although the DPP passed a resolution to ban all

factions Faction or factionalism may refer to: * Political faction, a group of people with a common political purpose * The Faction, an American punk rock band * Faction (''Planescape''), a political faction in the game ''Planescape'' * Faction (literatu ...

within the party in 2006, discord between former members of different factions was still present, and was thought to be one of the factors that led to the DPP's loss in the presidential election. Chai, along with Koo Kwang-ming, emphasized the importance of consolidating the party's policy on independence, while

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; pinyin: ''Cài Yīngwén''; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party ...

focused on the cooperation of former factions and expansion of the party's support base. Chai was supported by

Tainan City Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the " prefectural capital" for its over 260-year histo ...

mayor Hsu Tain-tsair, but decided to withdraw from the race in May and gave his support to another candidate,

Koo Kwang-ming Koo Kwang-ming (; 15 October 1926 – 27 February 2023) was a Taiwanese statesman, businessman, and Taiwanese independence, independence activist. Personal life Koo was the eighth son of Koo Hsien-jung, a prominent Lukang businessman who had r ...

. However, it was too late to officially withdraw from the election, and Chai received 5% of the votes.

Personal life and death

Chai married Tsai Li-jung in 1963. He had two Ivy League-educated daughters, Jessie and Justine, and, later, four grandchildren. Chai died on January 11, 2014, due to multiple organ failure.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Chai, Trong Rong 1935 births 2014 deaths Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 2nd Legislative Yuan National Taiwan University alumni Taiwan independence activists Taiwanese educators Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent University of Southern California alumni University of Tennessee alumni Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Chiayi County Members of the 3rd Legislative Yuan Members of the 4th Legislative Yuan Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan Members of the 7th Legislative Yuan Chiayi City Members of the Legislative Yuan Party List Members of the Legislative Yuan Taiwanese political scientists Taiwanese business executives 20th-century Taiwanese businesspeople Television executives