Wu Den-yih
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Wu Den-yih ( Chinese: 吳敦義, born 30 January 1948) is a Taiwanese politician. He graduated 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 ...
and worked as a journalist before beginning a career in politics with a 1973 appointment to the
Taipei City Council Taipei City Council () is the city council of Taipei, Taiwan. One of the largest Administrative divisions of Taiwan, local councils in Taiwan, the city council is currently composed of 61 councillors, all elected most recently in the 2022 Taiw ...
. Wu was then elected Magistrate of Nantou County, serving from 1981 to 1989. Following two terms as magistrate, he was named Mayor of Kaohsiung in 1990. Wu remained mayor until 1998, having won the office in a 1994 direct election. He then served two full terms 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 2002 to 2008. Shortly after winning a third term in the legislature, Wu was named Premier of the Republic of China in 2009. He served until 2012, when he and
Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, t=馬英九; pinyin: ''Mǎ Yīngjiǔ''; ; born 13 July 1950) is a Taiwanese politician, lawyer, and legal scholar who served as the sixth president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT ...
formed 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 ...
(KMT) presidential ticket. Wu served as the tenth vice president of the Republic of China, stepping down in 2016. In May 2017, he was elected party chairman. Wu stepped down from the position in January 2020. Previously, Wu had served the KMT as secretary-general from 2007 to 2009, first vice chairman in 2014, and as acting chairman in 2014 and 2015.


Early life and education

Wu was born in Caotun,
Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...
, Taiwan in 1948. He attended
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 ...
, where he was president and editor-in-chief of the ''University News'' (大學新聞) student periodical in from 1968 to 1969. One of the essays Wu wrote for the publication prompted
Chiang Ching-kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (, 27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China. The eldest and only biological son of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China and ended ...
to support Wu's entry into politics. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in history in 1970. Upon graduation, he was conscripted into the military.


Early career

Upon completing his compulsory military service in the
armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
, Wu worked as a
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
for the '' China Times'' before entering starting his political career. While with the ''China Times'', he was known for his accurate reporting and insightful commentary.


Early political career

In 1973 at the age of 25, he was appointed to a position in the
Taipei City Council Taipei City Council () is the city council of Taipei, Taiwan. One of the largest Administrative divisions of Taiwan, local councils in Taiwan, the city council is currently composed of 61 councillors, all elected most recently in the 2022 Taiw ...
, serving as the youngest member of the
council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
. While in the office, he was resolute in upholding the view of working with high standard of integrity. For some corrupt officials, he asserted that bending the law is even worse than the corruption itself. He further added that although corruption violates the law, the law nevertheless survives. But if one publicly manipulates the law with impunity, the law dies. Wu worked for the council for eight years. During his time in the council, he also still worked as an editorial writer at ''China Times'' providing his opinions and thoughts on current political issues. After serving the Taipei City Council, Wu made a successful campaign for the magistracy of Nantou County. He was elected to two terms, serving from 1981 to 1989. He was named Mayor of Kaohsiung in 1990. Wu was directly elected to a second term in office, but lost reelection to Frank Hsieh in 1998. In 2001, Wu was elected to 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 ...
for the first time, winning reelection twice thereafter, in 2004 and 2008.


KMT Secretary-General

From 2007 to 2009, Wu was the secretary-general of the Kuomintang.


2009 mainland China visit

In May 2009, Wu left for
mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
for an 8-day visit. He was accompanied by three senior KMT members, Wu Po-hsiung,
Lin Fong-cheng Lin Fong-cheng (; born 20 March 1940) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the vice chairman of the Kuomintang from April 2007 to April 2014. Kuomintang Secretary-General 2005 mainland China visit In April 2005, Lin joined Lien Chan and other P ...
and John Chiang. Wang Yi, Director of Taiwan Affairs Office welcomed the delegations upon arrival in
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. The delegations visited several cities. In Beijing, they visited the Guangdong-Guangxi House, where
Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...
was elected as
Chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...
of
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 ...
in 1912. In
Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
, they visited the Manao Temple, where a museum of Lian Heng is located. In
Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...
, they visited Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. And in
Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...
, they attended the Taiwan Week celebration organized by Taiwanese businessmen doing business in mainland China.


ROC Premiership


Premiership appointment

Wu was designated to succeed Liu Chao-shiuan as Premier of the Republic of China on 8 September 2009 by President
Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, t=馬英九; pinyin: ''Mǎ Yīngjiǔ''; ; born 13 July 1950) is a Taiwanese politician, lawyer, and legal scholar who served as the sixth president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT ...
. Liu and his Cabinet resigned en masse on 10 September to take responsibility for damage caused by Typhoon Morakot, with Wu succeeding the post the same day. Wu was appointed to the position due to his rich party and administrative experience. Wu spent his first night as Premier in
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...
where he visited the Typhoon Morakot survivors at their temporary shelters in the Republic of China Military Academy in Fengshan District.


2012 ROC Presidential Election

On 19 June 2011, Ma Ying-jeou announced that he and Wu would form the Kuomintang ticket for the 2012 presidential election, as incumbent Vice President Vincent Siew chose not to stand for reelection. Ma and Wu won the election with 51.6% of the vote, and took their respective offices on 20 May 2012.


2012 Boao Forum for Asia

On 1–2 April 2012, ROC Vice President-elect Wu, in his capacity as the top advisor of the Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation, attended the 2012
Boao Forum for Asia The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA; zh, c=博鳌亚洲论坛, p=Bó'áo Yàzhōu Lùntán), initiated by 25 Asian countries and Australia (increased to 28 in 2006), is a nonprofit that hosts high-level forums for leaders from government, business and ...
in Haikou,
Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...
. Wu represented Taiwan as "China's Taiwan" during the forum. In the forum, Wu met with PRC Vice Premier Li Keqiang in which both of them agreed to address various of cross-strait issues. While touring to a fruit farm during the forum period, Wu said that he will take care of the Chinese companies doing business in Taiwan. He added that he will make every effort in assisting any Chinese people who wish to invest in Taiwan.


ROC Vice Presidency


Taiwanese fisherman shooting incident

After the shooting incident of Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine government vessel on 9 May 2013 at the disputed water in
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
, speaking at a seminar in Longtan, Wu hoped that Taiwan and the Philippines can settle their maritime territorial dispute, and wished that all parties involved can work together to achieve the East China Sea peace initiative proposed by President Ma Ying-jeou in August 2012 to jointly explore and develop the resources in the sea area because this continuing dispute hinder the development of the sea resources.


KMT Chairmanship

On 9 January 2017, Wu announced his candidacy for the 2017 KMT chairmanship election at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center in an event attended by former and current KMT legislators. He was the third person, after Hau Lung-pin and incumbent chairperson Hung Hsiu-chu, to announce his candidacy for the position. Wu won the election on 20 May, and received a congratulatory letter from
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...
. Wu responded by emphasizing the
1992 Consensus The 1992 Consensus is a political term referring to the alleged outcome of a meeting in 1992 between the semi-official representatives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-led People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China and the Kuomintang ...
and expressed his intention to create peace across the Taiwan Strait. Following
Han Kuo-yu Han Kuo-yu (Chinese language, Chinese: 韓國瑜, born 17 June 1957), also known as Daniel Han, is a Taiwanese politician and retired Republic of China Army officer who is the current president of the Legislative Yuan. Han graduated from the ...
's loss in the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election, Wu resigned from the Kuomintang chairmanship on 15 January 2020.


Cross-strait relations

Speaking in October 2016, Wu said that both sides of the Taiwan Strait should engage in a healthy competition, build its society better and give more contribution for the building up of a strong and prosperous Chinese nation. He said that Mainland China's ambition for unifying Taiwan under
one country, two systems "One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Deng Xiaoping developed the one country, two systems ...
and Taiwan's ambition for
independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
or unification would destabilize cross-strait relations, stressing that peace is the best choice for both sides of the strait at the moment.


Personal life

Wu is married to Tsai Ling-yi. They have three sons and one daughter.


Awards and honors

: * Special Grand Cordon of the Order of Propitious Clouds (2012) *
Order of Chiang Chung-Cheng Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...
(2016) : * National Order of Merit (2015)


References


External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Den-Yih 1948 births Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Living people Magistrates of Nantou County Mayors of Kaohsiung Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan Members of the 7th Legislative Yuan Nantou County Members of the Legislative Yuan Premiers of the Republic of China on Taiwan Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Vice presidents of the Republic of China on Taiwan Chairpersons of the Kuomintang Taipei City Councilors Recipients of the Order of Chiang Chung-Cheng Recipients of the Order of Propitious Clouds