Chang Tien-chin (; born 8 March 1954) is a Taiwanese legal scholar and diplomat. He was the deputy minister of the

Mainland Affairs Council The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is a cabinet-level administrative agency under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The MAC is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of the cross-strait relations p ...

Education and legal career

Chang obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in law 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 ...

in 1976 and 1978, respectively, then completed graduate studies in law in the United States at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

. He earned 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.M.) in

admiralty law Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and conflict of laws, private international law governing the relations ...

and his

Doctor of Juridical Science A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate degree in law that is equivalent to a Ph.D. degree. In most countries, it is the most advanced law degree that can be earned. Australia ...

(S.J.D.) from

Tulane University School of Law The Tulane University School of Law is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States. Campus The law schoo ...

in 1982 and 1984, respectively. He became a lawyer for 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 ...

Political career

Chang took office as deputy minister of the

on 20 May 2016, with the

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 ...

presidential administration. In September 2016, Chang began his duties as vice chairman of the

Straits Exchange Foundation The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF; ; often abbreviated as 海基會) is a semiofficial organization set up by the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to handle civil and business matters with the People's Republic of China (PRC). Th ...

. He was replaced in September. Chang was subsequently named vice chairman of the

Transitional Justice Commission The Transitional Justice Commission (TJC; ) was an independent government agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan) active from 31 May 2018 to 30 May 2022 based on the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice. The commission is responsible for the in ...

in March 2018, and left his position at the Mainland Affairs Council. Chang was formally sworn into office in July 2018, a month after the Transitional Justice Commission had started meeting. In September 2018, a whistleblower made public a recording in which Chang compared the Transitional Justice Commission to the infamous Ming dynasty organization Eastern Depot which stifled dissent. In the recording, he suggested that the

presidential administration should use dirty tricks to defeat Kuomintang mayoral candidate

Hou You-yi Hou Yu-ih (; born 6 June 1956) is a Taiwanese politician, criminologist, and former police officer. He has been the incumbent mayor of New Taipei since 25 December 2018. Previously, he served as Director-General of the National Police Agency f ...

's bid. Subsequently, Chang resigned from his position as deputy chairman of the commission On 1 October 2019, 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 ...

voted unanimously for Chang's impeachment.

References

1954 births Living people Political office-holders in the Republic of China on Taiwan Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Chiayi County {{Taiwan-DPP-politician-stub