Wu Tse-yuan (; 17 August 1945 – 22 September 2008) was a Taiwanese politician, known for his involvement in black gold politics, and ties to gangs.

Education and early career

Wu studied law at

Central Police University Central Police University (CPU; ) is a police academy located in Guishan District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. CPU is the highest educational institution for police education in Taiwan. CPU is an administrative agency under the Ministry of the Interior ...

after attending what became the

National Pingtung University of Education National Pingtung University of Education (NPUE; ) was an institution of higher learning in Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. It has now become part of National Pingtung University. Academics There were 14 departments at the univers ...

. Subsequently, he enrolled at

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 ...

's Graduate School of Building and Planning, and completed a master's degree in transportation engineering at

National Chiao Tung University National Chiao Tung University (NCTU; ) was a public research university located in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Established in 1896 as Nanyang Public School by an imperial edict of the Guangxu Emperor, it was one of China's leading universities. After th ...

, followed by a doctorate in engineering at

Chinese Culture University The Chinese Culture University (CCU; ) is a private Taiwanese university located in Yangmingshan in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan. CCU was established in 1962 and is one of the largest universities in Taiwan with an enrollment of about 32,000 ...

. He later pursued further education at the Graduate Program of Building and Construction within the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Political career

A protégé of

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He was the fir ...

, Wu was also close to

Wang Jin-pyng Wang Jin-pyng (; born March 17, 1941) is a Taiwanese politician. He served as President of the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2016, which makes him Taiwan's longest-serving legislative speaker. Once a leading figure of the Kuomintang (KMT), Wang ...

and

Lien Chan Lien Chan (; born 27 August 1936) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the Chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government from 1990 to 1993, Premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, Vice President of the Republic of China from 1996 to 20 ...

. As leader of the Taiwan Provincial Planning and Developing Department from 1988 to 1992, Wu began taking kickbacks from a company installing water pumps in

Banqiao District Banqiao District () is a district and the seat of New Taipei City, Taiwan. It has the third-highest population density in Taiwan, with over . Until the creation of New Taipei City, Banqiao (then transliterated as Banciao or Pan-ch'iao) was an in ...

. He contested the 1993 local elections as a Kuomintang candidate for the magistracy of Pingtung County and won reelection in 1997.Alt URL
/ref> Wu was indicted in 1996 for his actions in Banqiao, but not detained until a 1997 court order and had been released on medical parole in 1998. Later that year, local media reported Wu's expulsion from the Kuomintang.Alt URL
/ref> He gained legal immunity in December via his election 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 ...

, as a representative for

Pingtung County Pingtung County is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pin ...

. In January 2000, Wu Tse-yuan and Lien Chan were accused of land speculation in Wuqi, Taichung, dating back to 1993. On 30 November 2000, the Taiwan High Court sentenced Wu to fifteen years imprisonment for the Banqiao corruption case. A week later, the Executive Yuan proposed an amendment to the Public Officials Election and Recall Law targeting Wu and other politicians involved with black gold politics. The amendment sought to bar anyone serving a suspended sentence, a sentence longer than ten years imprisonment, or a death sentence from seeking public office. In addition, convicted racketeers released within ten years of an election would also be illegible for that election cycle. In March 2001, Wu was indicted in another corruption scandal involving the Pali Sewage Treatment Plant. He,

Lo Fu-chu Lo Fu-chu (; born 2 July 1943) is a former Taiwanese indigenous peoples, Taiwanese legislator and a self-described leader of the "Celestial Alliance" organized crime group. In the late 1990s and early 2000s he was known as the most notorious pers ...

, and other legislators planned on founding a new political group affiliated with Lee Teng-hui in 2001, but the proposal was postponed that July. Wu left for Japan on 29 December 2001 as part of a junket, and never returned to Taiwan. He was tracked to

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

some time later. In 2004, Taiwan Pineapple Group executive Huang Tsung-hung claimed that he bribed Wu in 1999 and asked Wu to help him secure a loan for his company.

Personal life

Wu Jin-lin Wu Jin-lin (; born 6 October 1947) is a Taiwanese politician. He served as the President of the Examination Yuan from 2014 to 2020. He also briefly served as President of the Examination Yuan in 2008. Education Wu received his bachelor's and ma ...

is his younger brother. The younger Wu ran for a Pingtung County seat in the legislative elections of 2004, and won. The ''

Apple Daily ''Apple Daily'' ( zh, link=no, 蘋果日報) was a popular tabloid published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. Founded by Jimmy Lai, it was one of the best-selling Chinese language newspapers in Hong Kong.

'' was the first Taiwanese publication to report Wu Tse-yuan's death in September 2008, but immediately afterward, both Wu Jin-lin and the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

refused to confirm media reports.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Tse-yuan Members of the 4th Legislative Yuan Magistrates of Pingtung County 1945 births 2008 deaths Pingtung County Members of the Legislative Yuan Expelled members of the Kuomintang Taiwanese politicians convicted of corruption Taiwanese politicians convicted of bribery National Pingtung University of Education alumni National Taiwan University alumni National Chiao Tung University alumni Chinese Culture University alumni Alumni of the University of London Taiwanese expatriates in China Fugitives wanted by Taiwan Fugitives wanted on bribery charges Central Police University alumni