Yu Chen Yueh-ying (; 2 September 1926 – 26 May 2014) was a Taiwanese politician, judge and matriarch of the Yu family, a political family who dominated politics in the former

Kaohsiung County Kaohsiung County was a county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was located in Fongshan City. History Kaohsiung County was established on 6 December 1945 on the territory of Takao Prefecture () shortly after the end of W ...

for more than thirty years. (Kaohsiung County was merged with

Kaohsiung City Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiu ...

on December 25, 2010, to form a

special municipality Special municipality may refer to: * Special municipality (Netherlands) There are twelve provinces of the Netherlands (), representing the administrative layer between the national government and the local municipalities, with responsibility fo ...

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

). Her six children include former

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Yu Cheng-hsien Yu Cheng-hsien (; born 8 May 1959) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the Minister of the Interior from 2002 to 2004. Political careers 2008 legislative election * All registered: 242,349 * Voters (turnout): 156,440 (64.55%) * Valid (percent ...

, who headed the ministry from 2002 to 2004.

Early life

Chen Yueh-ying was the youngest of eleven children born to factory owner Chen Tsai-hsing. She married Yu Jui-yen at the suggestion of a matchmaker. Yu Chen's father-in-law, Yu Teng-fa, served as the

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of Kaohsiung County from 1960 until 1963.

Political career

In 1963, Yu Chen entered politics by running as a candidate for the

Taiwan Provincial Council The Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council (TPCC) was the council of the streamlined Taiwan Province of the Republic of China. In July 2018, all duties of the Taiwan Provincial Government and TPCC were transferred to the National Development Co ...

at the behest of Yu Teng-fa. She served on the Provincial Council for four terms. In 1981, Yu Chen ran for Kaohsiung County

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

, but lost by

Tsai Ming-yao Cài () is a Chinese-language surname that derives from the name of the ancient Cai state. In 2019 it was the 38th most common surname in China, but the 9th most common in Taiwan (as of 2018), where it is usually romanized as "Tsai" (based on ...

of 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 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 Taiw ...

) by just over 3,000 votes. She was elected 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 ...

in 1982. In 1985, Yu Chen ran for Kaohsiung County commissioner a second time and defeated incumbent commissioner Tsai Ming-yao in a rematch. She became the first female county commissioner in 1987, following the end of

martial law in Taiwan Martial law in Taiwan () refers to the periods in the history of Taiwan after World War II during control by the Republic of China Armed Forces of the Kuomintang-led Government of the Republic of China regime. The term is specifically used to ...

. Yu Chen served as county commissioner for two terms until 1993. Her son,

, succeeded her as Kaohsiung County Commissioner for two consecutive, four year terms. He then served as Taiwan's Interior Minister from 2002 to 2004 as a member of

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 ...

. Yu Chen was later named an adviser to President Chen Shui-bian.

Death

She died at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Kaohsiung on May 26, 2014, at the age of 87. Her funeral was held in the Yu family's hometown of Ciaotou District.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yu Chen Yueh-ying 1926 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Taiwanese women politicians Members of the 1st Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Kaohsiung Members of the Legislative Yuan Democratic Progressive Party (Taiwan) politicians Magistrates of Kaohsiung County Senior Advisors to President Chen Shui-bian Yu family of Kaohsiung