David Chou (; born 13 November 1954) is a Taiwanese politician. He served on the Taipei City Council from 1986 to 1993, when he was seated 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 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

. Chou resigned in 2003, after being convicted on charges of bribery. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment and paroled in 2005.

Education

Chou earned a bachelor's degree in law from Soochow University.

Political career

Chou worked as Chen Shui-bian's legislative assistant from 1982 to 1985, and managed the successful 1986 electoral bid of Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen. He served in many high-ranking positions within 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 ...

and was a member of the Taipei City Council for two terms prior to his 1992 election to the Legislative Yuan. Within the DPP, Chou belonged to the New Era Institute faction. Chou was opposed to the selection of Annette Lu as Chen Shui-bian's running mate for the 2000 presidential elections. During a portion of Chou's third legislative term, he served as DPP caucus convenor.

Controversy

Legal proceedings against Chou began in 1988, when Chen Sheng-hung accused Chou of taking NT$16 million in bribes from Chiaofu Construction Corporation. The case was appealed to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in 2003, which refused to hear the case, upholding a guilty verdict issued by the Taiwan High Court. The Supreme Court additionally placed travel restrictions on Chou to prevent him from leaving Taiwan. He resigned from the Legislative Yuan following the Supreme Court decision. Chou began serving his six-year prison sentence at Hualien Prison in February 2003. Chou's first application for parole was rejected in January 2005. Weeks later, a second application was submitted, and subsequently approved in June 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chou, David 1954 births Living people New Taipei Members of the Legislative Yuan Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 2nd Legislative Yuan Members of the 3rd Legislative Yuan Members of the 4th Legislative Yuan Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan Taiwanese politicians convicted of bribery Soochow University (Taiwan) alumni Taipei City Councilors