Wang Ju-hsuan (; born 2 October 1961), also known as Jennifer Wang, is a Taiwanese lawyer and politician. She was the Minister of the

Council of Labor Affairs The Ministry of Labor (MOL; ) is a ministry of the Republic of China (Taiwan) representing opinions of employees, political and academic circles to review labor policies, laws and regulations, as well as related projects and programs in Taiwan. MO ...

from 2008 to 2012. In 2015, Wang was selected as

Eric Chu Eric Chu Li-luan (; born on 7 June 1961) is a Taiwanese politician. He was born into a political family with strong Kuomintang (KMT) ties, and served as Vice Premier of the Republic of China, under Premier Wu Den-yih. Prior to this, Chu served ...

's running mate 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 ...

(KMT) ticket for the 2016 Republic of China presidential election, which they eventually lost.

Early life

Wang was born on 2 October 1961 in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

and grew up in

Changhua County Changhua County (Mandarin Pinyin: ''Zhānghuà Xiàn''; Wade-Giles: ''Chang¹-hua⁴ Hsien⁴''; Hokkien POJ: ''Chiang-hòa-koān'' or ''Chiong-hòa-koān'') is the smallest county on the main island of Taiwan by area, and the fourth smallest ...

. She studied at

Taipei First Girls' High School Taipei First Girls High School (TFG; ; colloquially or ), is a Taiwanese all-girls senior high school, located in Zhongzheng District, Taipei City. Accepting only the top scorers in the national Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior Hig ...

in Taipei. She obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees in law 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 ...

in 1984 and from

Fu Jen Catholic University Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU, FJCU or Fu Jen; or ) is a private Catholic university in Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1925 in Beijing at the request of Pope Pius XI and re-established in Taiwan in 1961 at ...

in 1988, respectively. She then obtained her doctoral degree from

Renmin University of China The Renmin University of China (RUC; ) is a national key public research university in Beijing, China. The university is affiliated to the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry and the Beijing Municipal People's Government. RUC ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Non-political career

Wang was Chairwoman of the National Organization for Women in 1994, Chairwoman of the

Awakening Foundation The Awakening Foundation () is a Taiwanese feminist organization aiming to provide the women of Taiwanese society with the resources necessary to combat gender discrimination. Beginning as an offshoot of the gender equality magazine "Awakening Ma ...

in 1998-1999, Executive Director of Taipei Bar Association in 1999-2002, and adviser to the Gender/Sexuality Rights Association of Taiwan in 2002-2008.

Political career

Wang served as adviser to Taipei Mayor

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 ...

in 1996-1998, member of the Employment Discrimination Review Committee of the

Taipei City Government The Taipei City Government (TCG) is the municipal government of Taipei. History The Taihoku City Government was founded on 10 October 1920 in Taihoku Prefecture during Japanese colonial rule. The original city hall was located at the site of ...

in 1996-2008, member of Commission on Women's Right Promotion of

Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan. ...

in 1998-2003, adviser to the Taipei City Government in 1999-2008, member of the Presidential Human Rights Advisory Council in 2004-2005 and member of the Labor Pension Fund Supervisory Committee of the Executive Yuan in 2007-2008.

Council of Labor Affairs Ministry

Wang was appointed Minister of the

(CLA) on 20 May 2008. Her term was noted for controversial policies, including the filing of lawsuits against laid-off workers, the implementation of an unpaid leave system, and the so-called "22K policy", which was criticised for decreasing salaries. She resigned on 28 September 2012 after her proposal to raise the minimum wage in Taiwan was disputed by

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Sean Chen. Wang was replaced by CLA Deputy Minister Pan Shih-wei.

2016 Presidential election

Appointment to the KMT ticket

On 18 November 2015, Wang was officially appointed as the running mate of KMT presidential candidate

. Shortly after Wang's candidature was announced, allegations surfaced that she had improperly profited from property speculation on housing units intended to house military families. Wang responded by suing one of her accusers, legislator

Tuan Yi-kang Tuan Yi-kang (; born 14 November 1963) is a Taiwanese politician. A former leader of the Democratic Progressive Party's now-abolished New Tide faction, he has served on the party's Central Standing Committee, the Taipei City Council and the Leg ...

, for defamation while stating that her family had bought three units since 2008. After further allegations surfaced, Wang then listed five properties she and her family owned or had owned while stressing the legality of her actions. A few days later Wang revised the list of properties she had invested in to include twelve units, apologised for having "failed to meet the moral standards expected of me", and pledged to donate the profits from their sales to charity. The case was dropped in January 2016, as prosecutors decided Tuan had done adequate research to bring the allegations forth. However, prosecutors also found that the allegations were false and cleared Wang of any wrongdoing.

Election result

Wang and Chu finished second in the election on 16 January 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Ju-hsuan Taiwanese Ministers of Labor Living people 1961 births National Taiwan University alumni Fu Jen Catholic University alumni Renmin University of China alumni Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Taipei Women government ministers of Taiwan