Tsai Jen-chien (; born 27 October 1952), also known by his English name James Tsai, is a Taiwanese pharmacist and politician who served as mayor of

Hsinchu Hsinchu (, ), officially Hsinchu City, is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan that is not a special municipality, with estimated 450,655 inhabitants. Hsinchu is a coastal city bordering the Taiwan ...

from 1997 to 2001.

Education

After graduating from

Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (HSNU; Traditional Chinese: 國立臺灣師範大學附屬高級中學, 附中, 師大附中) is a Taiwanese senior high school (or "high school," as opposed to "middle schoo ...

, Tsai graduated from

Taipei Medical University Taipei Medical University (TMU; ) in Taiwan is located in Taipei's Xinyi District. Founded as Taipei Medical College in 1960, it was renamed as Taipei Medical University in 2000. TMU has expanded into a university with ten colleges, 6,000 stud ...

with a

Bachelor of Medicine A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

(B.M.) in

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

. He then completed graduate studies in the United States at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he earned a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

(M.P.A.) degree from the

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Political career

A cofounder 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 ...

, Tsai served on the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 1992 to 1997, and was the DPP caucus leader throughout his term. The legislative body elected its first speaker and deputy speaker during its 1996 session. Tsai was nominated as the DPP candidate for the deputy speakership, and lost to Shieh Lung-sheng. Tsai was elected mayor of Hsinchu in the 1997 local elections. In October 2000, he became the first elected local government leader from Taiwan to visit China. The next year, Tsai lost his bid for reelection. He attempted to run for the position again in 2014, without the backing of the DPP, which expelled him for mounting an independent campaign.

Controversy

During his mayoral term, Tsai was one of many mayors accused of corruption, as he had charged

United Microelectronics Corporation United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC; ) is a Taiwanese company based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. It was founded as Taiwan's first semiconductor company in 1980 as a spin-off of the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI ...

a "township chief tax" for community development funds. Soon after leaving office, Tsai was caught in the

Chu Mei-feng Chu Mei-feng (; born 5 August 1966) is a Taiwanese TV journalist, former Taipei City Councillor, and former director of Hsinchu City's Bureau of Cultural Affairs. Early life and education Chu graduated from Xinheguomin Primary School, followed ...

sex scandal, during which he was represented by attorney Hsu Wen-bin. Tsai and Chu had dated for four years, before the relationship ended in February 2001. Later that year, a sex tape of Chu and married businessman Tseng Chung-ming was released. Prosecutors believed that Tsai and spiritual advisor Kuo Yu-ling asked a detective agency about hidden cameras. Tsai was questioned by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office in January 2002, and indicted on 7 February. However, Chu chose to drop the case against Tsai in June.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsai, James 1952 births Living people Mayors of Hsinchu Expelled members of the Democratic Progressive Party (Taiwan) Taiwanese political party founders Taipei Medical University alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni