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. 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,

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, Taiwan). At the time, Taiwan was still part of the Empire of Japan. 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, Chai attended the National Taiwan University (NTU) studying political science. 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 and served in the

Republic of China (Taiwan) Army The Republic of China Army (ROCA), previously known as the Chinese Nationalist Army or Nationalist Revolutionary Army and unofficially as the Taiwanese Army, is the largest branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. An estimated 80% of the ...

for sixteen months. In 1960, Chai went to the United States and studied at the University of Tennessee, where he earned his master's degree in political science. As a result of participating in the Taiwan independence movement, Chai was placed on the Kuomintang's black list and was unable to return to Taiwan. He continued studying and attended the University of Southern California, 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 (WUFI) in 1970 and became its first president. Then in 1982, he founded the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (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 a legislator representing Chiayi City in 1992. Although he was not reelected in 1995 running against Vincent Siew of the Kuomintang, 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 administration. In 2005, he urged the Ministry of Education 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

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