Chiang Wan-an

Chiang Wan-an ( Chinese: 蔣萬安; born Chang Wan-an; 26 December 1978), also known by his English name Wayne Chiang, is a Taiwanese politician and lawyer who has served as the mayor of Taipei since December 2022. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT), he is the youngest mayor in Taipei's history.

Born to a prominent political family in Taipei, Chiang is the son of Chiang Hsiao-yen, who served as Chairman of the Kuomintang from 2008 to 2014. Because Chiang's father claims lineage to the prominent Chiang family, Chiang is believed to be a great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek, who ruled Taiwan after the Retreat of the Republic of China.

Before entering politics, Chiang graduated from National Chengchi University, earned three law degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, and worked as a corporate lawyer in the United States. He represented Taipei City Constituency 3 as a member of the Legislative Yuan from 2016 to 2022, then ran for the mayoralty, defeating Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Chen Shih-chung.

Early life and education

Chiang was born Chang Wan-an ( zh, c=章萬安, p=Zhāng Wàn'ān) on 26 December 1978 in Taipei, Taiwan. He is the only son of politician Chiang Hsiao-yen and Helen Huang ( zh, c=黃美倫, p=Huáng Měilún, labels=no), and has two elder sisters. His father claims to be an illegitimate son of Chiang Ching-kuo, the only son of Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek. Although the claim has been unrecognized by the main Chiang family, the family supported Hsiao-yen's rise in the Kuomintang. If true, Wan-an would be a great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek.

Wan-an's contested familial relationship with Chiang Kai-shek, who ruled Taiwan after the Great Retreat, has been controversial due to Chiang's divisive legacy as either a symbol of anti-communism or dictatorship. At age six, he was introduced to Soong Mei-ling. However, he was unaware of his familial relation to Chiang until high school, when his father made claims of being an illegitimate son of Chiang Ching-kuo. Following the announcement, the family changed their surname from '' Chang'' to ''Chiang''.

After graduating from Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School, Chiang studied law and international relations as an undergraduate at National Chengchi University (NCCU), where he double majored in both subjects and earned both a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree. Because he graduated at the top of his high school class, he was automatically admitted to the university.

After graduating from NCCU, Chiang spent a year and a half working as an attorney for Lee and Li, the largest law firm in Taiwan, and became a legislative aide in the National Assembly, where he wrote a petition to legalize flights between Taiwan and mainland China. In 2001, he was named a "young leader of Taiwan" and was introduced to U.S. president Bill Clinton. In 2002, Chiang left Taiwan to pursue graduate studies in the United States at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied under law professor Jacques deLisle. He earned his Master of Laws (LL.M.) in 2004, his Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 2006, and a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.), all from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. He frequently traveled between New York City and Philadelphia while a law student.

Legal career

Upon receiving his J.D. degree, Chiang became an associate attorney at the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, California, starting in the fall of 2006. He was admitted as a member of the State Bar of California on December 11, 2007. Chiang later moved to the Crone Law Group, a law firm in Silicon Valley, and worked as an associate specializing in venture capital, corporate law, and securities law from 2009 to 2011. He was soon made a partner of the firm. After practicing for several years, he founded his own law firm before returning to Taiwan in 2013.

Legislative Yuan (2016–2022)

Chiang faced Lo Shu-lei in the first round of the Kuomintang party primary for the legislative elections in April 2015. After Lo failed to build a sufficient lead, another primary was called the next month, which Chiang won. He ran as the KMT candidate for Taipei City's third constituency in the 2016 legislative elections and won a seat in the Legislative Yuan. The Taipei District Prosecutor's Office ended an investigation of vote-buying accusations against Chiang in March, but did not charge him with wrongdoing.

In January 2018, Chiang stated that he would not seek to represent the Kuomintang in the Taipei mayoral election scheduled for November. Chiang ran for reelection in 2020, defeating his closest opponent, Democratic Progressive Party candidate Enoch Wu, by six percent of votes, 51–45%.

Mayor of Taipei (2022–)

In May 2022, the Kuomintang nominated Chiang as its candidate for the Taipei mayoralty in the local elections. Republished as On 10 November 2022, Chiang announced he would resign his legislative seat to focus on his mayoral campaign. A by-election for Chiang's legislative constituency was scheduled for 8 January 2023. On 26 November 2022, he was elected as the Mayor of Taipei. Upon taking office on 25 December 2022, Chiang became the youngest-ever Mayor of Taipei.

Personal life

Chiang met his future wife, Shih Fang-hsuan (石舫亘), while they both were students at National Chengchi University. They dated for ten years and married on 23 May 2009. Their first child, a son named Chiang Te-li (蔣得立), was born in June 2011, and their second son, Chiang Te-yu (蔣得宇), was born on 23 July 2021. In January 2023, they welcomed their third son, Chiang Te-cheng (蔣得正).

Family tree

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiang, Wan-an
1978 births
Living people
Mayors of Taipei
Wan-an
21st-century Taiwanese lawyers
Members of the 9th Legislative Yuan
Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan
Taipei Members of the Legislative Yuan
National Chengchi University alumni
University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni
Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University alumni
Taiwanese expatriates in the United States
Members of the 10th Legislative Yuan