Chai Trong-rong (; June 13, 1935 – January 11, 2014), sometimes known in English as Trong Chai, was a

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

politician. Born in Japanese-era Taiwan, Chai earned his master's and doctorate degrees in the United States. He was a pro-democracy advocate and founded the Association for a Plebiscite () and

Formosa Television Formosa Television () is a television station based in New Taipei, Taiwan. Established on March 27, 1996, FTV began broadcasting on June 11, 1997. Formosa Television is also the first free-to-air television station which was established witho ...

. A member of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

(DPP), Chai was elected a national legislator multiple times, serving 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 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

from 1993 to 1996 and again from 1997 to 2012. He took part in three DPP chairmanship elections, but lost all three.

Early life and education

Chai Trong-rong was born on June 13, 1935, in Hotei Village, Tōseki District,

Tainan Prefecture was one of the administrative divisions of Taiwan during the Taiwan under Japanese rule, Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Tainan City, Chiayi City, Chiayi County and Yunlin County. Population Administrative divisions ...

Japanese Taiwan The island of Taiwan, together with the Penghu Islands, became a dependency of Japan in 1895, when the Qing dynasty ceded Fujian-Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after the Japanese victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. The sho ...

(modern-day

Budai Budai ( zh, c=布袋, p=Bùdài; ko, 포대, Podae; ja, 布袋, Hotei; vi, Bố Đại) was a Chinese monk who is often identified with and venerated as Maitreya Buddha in Chan Buddhism. With the spread of Chan Buddhism, he also came to b ...

Chiayi County Chiayi County (Mandarin pinyin: ''jiā yì xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Ka-gī-koān'') is a county in southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City. It is the sixth largest county in Taiwan. Name The former Chinese placename was ...

, Taiwan). At the time, Taiwan was still part of the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

. After the Second World War, his father served as a Chiayi County council member for two terms. After his graduation from the

National Tainan First Senior High School The National Tainan First Senior High School () is a public senior high school in East District, Tainan, Taiwan. It was established in 1922 and is considered one of the most prestigious high schools in Taiwan, usually only accepting students who ...

, Chai attended the

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...

(NTU) studying

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. He later switched his major to law and graduated from the NTU

College of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

in 1958. He was then

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

and served in the Republic of China (Taiwan) Army for sixteen months. In 1960, Chai went to the United States and studied at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

, where he earned his master's degree in

. As a result of participating in the

Taiwan independence movement The Taiwan independence movement is a political movement which advocates the formal declaration of an independent and sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Strait relations. Currently, Tai ...

, Chai was placed on the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

's black list and was unable to return to Taiwan. He continued studying and attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, earning his doctorate in 1969. In 1986, Chai became a professor of political science at the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

Entry into politics

Chai established the

World United Formosans for Independence The World United Formosans for Independence (WUFI) is an organization promoting Taiwan independence. It was established in 1970 by like-minded organizations in Canada, the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Taiwan. Its aim is to establish a Republic of T ...

(WUFI) in 1970 and became its first president. Then in 1982, he founded the

Formosan Association for Public Affairs The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that seeks to build worldwide support for Taiwan independence. Its name "Formosan" refers to Taiwan's historical name of " Formosa", and its ...

(FAPA), serving as its first president as well. Chai returned to Taiwan to attend a funeral in June 1990. He was issued a new passport and joined the

(DPP) shortly after his arrival. He founded the Association for a Plebiscite in November. The goal of the association was to reform through the will of the people.

Legislative career

Chai was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...

a legislator representing

Chiayi City Chiayi (, Taiwanese Hokkien, Taigi Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Ka-gī''; ), officially known as Chiayi City, is a Provincial city (Taiwan), city located in the plains of southwestern Taiwan. Formerly called ''Kagee'' during the late Qing dynasty and ...

in 1992. Although he was not reelected in 1995 running against

Vincent Siew Vincent C. Siew or Siew Wan-chang (; born 3 January 1939) is a Taiwanese politician who served as the Vice President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2008 to 2012. He was the first Taiwanese-born Premier of the Republic of China and former ...

of the

, he was elected into the

again in the 1997 by-election and reelected in 1998, 2001 and 2004. During these terms, Chai was involved in the National Defense, Overseas Compatriot Affairs, and Foreign Affairs Committees. He supported the localization policies of the

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...

administration. In 2005, he urged the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

to get rid of contexts of "aboveboard Chinese" (; a Chinese nationalistic term imposed by the

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

regime

after World War II The aftermath of World War II was the beginning of a new era started in late 1945 (when World War II ended) for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (U ...

) from the back cover of

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

workbooks. In response to the

Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China The Anti-Secession Law () is a law of the People's Republic of China, passed by the 3rd Session of the 10th National People's Congress. It was ratified on March 14, 2005, and went into effect immediately. President Hu Jintao promulgated ...

, Chai and legislator Chuang He-chi proposed draft for an "Anti-Annexation Law."

Chairmanship campaigns

Despite the fact that Chai was endorsed by renowned

pharmacologist Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

Chen-Yuan Lee Chen-Yuan Lee (; December 4, 1915 – November 1, 2001), was a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese pharmacologist and political activist. He is famous for his research on snake venom. He was a recipient of the prestigious Redi Award from the Internation ...

, he lost the DPP chairmanship election in 1996. However, the resignation of

Su Tseng-chang Hope Su Tseng-chang (; born 28 July 1947) is a Taiwanese politician serving as premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2019, and previously from 2006 to 2007. He was the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party in 2005 and from 2012 ...

as DPP chairperson in 2005 led to Chai's decision to run again. He was the first in the party to register his candidacy. Chai was one of the three candidates who registered. He was endorsed by vice president

Annette Lu Annette Lu Hsiu-lien (; born 7 June 1944) is a Taiwanese politician. A feminist active in the tangwai movement, she joined the Democratic Progressive Party in 1990, and was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1992. Subsequently, she served as Ta ...

and foreign minister

Mark Chen Mark Tang-shan/Tan-sun Chen (), born September 16, 1935, in Tainan Prefecture (now part of Tainan City), Taiwan, is a Taiwanese politician, former Secretary-General of the Office of the President of Taiwan under former President Chen Shui-bian. ...

. The election was held in January 2006. Former Secretary-General of the Presidential Office

Yu Shyi-kun You Si-kun (; born 25 April 1948), also romanized Yu Shyi-kun, is a Taiwanese politician serving as a member and the president of the Legislative Yuan. He was one of the founding members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and is known ...

won with over 54% of the votes while Chai received 36%. In 2008, after the defeat of

Frank Hsieh Frank Hsieh Chang-ting (; born May 18, 1946) is a Taiwanese politician and former defense attorney. A cofounder of the Democratic Progressive Party, he has served on the Taipei City Council, the Legislative Yuan, as the mayor of Kaohsiung City ...

in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

, DPP candidate Hsieh resigned as chairman and announced the date for the chairmanship election. Chai declared his candidacy on April 14. Although the DPP passed a resolution to ban all factions within the party in 2006, discord between former members of different factions was still present, and was thought to be one of the factors that led to the DPP's loss in the presidential election. Chai, along with Koo Kwang-ming, emphasized the importance of consolidating the party's policy on independence, while

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...

focused on the cooperation of former factions and expansion of the party's support base. Chai was supported by

Tainan City Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of hist ...

mayor

Hsu Tain-tsair Hsu Tain-tsair (; born 23 January 1953) is a Taiwanese politician who served as the mayor of Tainan City from 2001 to 2010. Born in Tainan County (now part of Tainan City), Hsu got his PhD candidacy in economics in the United States, where he s ...

, but decided to withdraw from the race in May and gave his support to another candidate,

Koo Kwang-ming Koo Kwang-ming (; born on 15 October 1926) is a Taiwanese statesman, businessman and independence activist. Family background Koo was born into a life of privilege. He was the eighth son of Koo Hsien-jung, a prominent Lukang businessman who h ...

. However, it was too late to officially withdraw from the election, and Chai received 5% of the votes.

Personal life and death

Chai married Tsai Li-jung in 1963. He had two Ivy League-educated daughters, Jessie and Justine, and, later, four grandchildren. Chai died on January 11, 2014 due to multiple organ failure.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Chai, Trong Rong 1935 births 2014 deaths Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 2nd Legislative Yuan National Taiwan University alumni Taiwan independence activists Taiwanese educators Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent University of Southern California alumni University of Tennessee alumni Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Chiayi County Members of the 3rd Legislative Yuan Members of the 4th Legislative Yuan Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan Members of the 7th Legislative Yuan Chiayi City Members of the Legislative Yuan Party List Members of the Legislative Yuan Taiwanese political scientists Taiwanese business executives 20th-century Taiwanese businesspeople Television executives