You Ching (; born 20 March 1942) is a Taiwanese diplomat who served as the Taiwanese representative to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

from 2007 to 2008.

Early life and education

Born 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 ...

, You earned a bachelor's degree in law from the

National Chengchi University National Chengchi University () is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. First established in Nanjing in 1927, the university was subsequently reestablished in 1954 in Taiwan as the first reestablished "National University". The u ...

(1965), 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.B.) from Chinese Culture University, and a doctorate in law from the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

(1978). He became a practicing lawyer in 1978.

Entry into politics

A '' Tangwai'' activist and Kaohsiung Incident lawyer, You Ching founded the Taiwan Panorama magazine (博觀; not to be confused with present-day Taiwan Panorama 台灣光華) in 1982. The magazine called for the establishment of an opposition party, at a time when 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 ...

-imposed

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

disallowed any opposition parties. He was instrumental in drafting the founding documents 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).

Political career

You was elected as the first non-

member of 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 ...

in 1980. After the establishment of the DPP in 1986, he first served as a member of 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 1987 to 1989, and then served two terms as the magistrate of

Taipei County New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...

from 1989 to 1997. He was again elected to the legislature in 2001 and reelected in 2004. In 2006, You went on a three-day trip with a legislator group to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to discuss a bilateral

free trade agreement A free trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating state (polity), states. There are two types of trade agreements: Bilateralism, bilateral and Multilateralism, m ...

between the two countries with

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden ( ; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United States Senate special el ...

and other U.S. officials. You became the Taiwanese representative to Germany in 2007 and served until 2008.

Personal life

You Ching's younger brother You Hung was a member of the Legislative Yuan between 1993 and 1999.

References

1942 births Living people Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Party List Members of the Legislative Yuan Kaohsiung Members of the Legislative Yuan Taipei Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan Magistrates of Taipei County National Chengchi University alumni Heidelberg University alumni Taiwanese political party founders Taiwanese members of the Control Yuan {{Taiwan-diplomat-stub