Su Huan-chih (; born July 20, 1956) was the magistrate of

Tainan County Tainan County was a county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Sinying City. History Tainan County was established on 7 January 1946 on the territory of Tainan Prefecture () shortly after the end of World War II ...

from 2001 to 2010, until Tainan County's merger into

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 his ...

. Born in a rural township in southern

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, Su graduated from

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 ...

. He passed the

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associ ...

in 1986 and started his career as a lawyer. Su made his entry into politics in the 1990s. He was elected legislator three times in a row serving from 1992 to 2001. As an experienced legislator, Su launched a magisterial campaign in 2001 and was elected with over 51% of the votes, becoming the second member of the Democratic Progressive Party to ever hold the position.

Early life and career

Su Huan-chih was born on 20 July 1956 in Cigu,

. He grew up in the agriculture-based township during his childhood years. Su began studying at the prestigious

majoring in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

. He decided to drop out and switched his major to laws in 1977. After passing the

, Su started his career as a practicing lawyer. With his academic experience in physics, he was hired by IBM Taiwan to serve as its

patent attorney A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and op ...

. Su gave up his job at IBM and went back to his hometown to run for legislator. He was elected a member of the Legislative Yuan in 1992. He promoted the senior welfare and

environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

. Having been elected three times in a row, Su worked to decrease the difference in resource distribution between northern and southern Taiwan.

Tainan magistracy

Su was elected the magistrate of

and took office on December 20, 2001. He focused on preserving the environment of the region. For example, he worked with international ecologists and planned to build a research center near the habitat of

black-faced spoonbill The black-faced spoonbill (''Platalea minor'') is a species of wading bird in the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, found in eastern Asia. This species has the most restricted distribution of the six spoonbill species, and it is the ...

s with a goal to preserve these

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

birds. The Su administration also improved the technological economy of the region. The net worth of the

Tainan Science Park Tainan Science Park () of Taiwan is located in Sinshih, Shanhua and Anding Districts of Tainan City with a total area of , and is a part of the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP). History On 1 July 1993, the Executive Yuan approved the es ...

grew from NT$50.1 billion in 2001 to NT$451.6 billion in 2006. Apart from the growth in profit, many new industrial parks were established. As a result, Tainan County transformed from an agrarian county to a technological county. Despite the technological innovations, Su also promoted agriculture of southern Taiwan. The Taiwan Orchid Plantation () was founded during his term. The plantation has held three international exhibitions since its establishment. The exhibitions attracted more than 600 thousand visitors gaining NT$400 million from export orders.

Later political career

In March 2018, Su began his independent campaign for the Taipei mayoralty. He ended his Taipei mayoral bid in July, choosing to contest the same office in Tainan. On 24 August 2019, Su founded the and was elected its convenor. During the 2022 local election cycle, Su contested the Taipei mayoralty.

References

External links

Taiwan Orchid Plantation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Su, Huan-chih 1956 births Living people Magistrates of Tainan County Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Tainan Members of the Legislative Yuan National Taiwan University alumni Fu Jen Catholic University alumni Members of the 2nd Legislative Yuan Members of the 3rd Legislative Yuan Members of the 4th Legislative Yuan IBM employees 21st-century Taiwanese judges Taiwanese political party founders 20th-century Taiwanese lawyers