Entering politics to defend social justice

Su Tseng-chang was born in Pingtung County, the southernmost part of Taiwan, in 1947. His father was a civil servant and his mother an elementary school teacher. After graduating from the College of Law of National Taiwan University in 1969, Su passed the certification examination for senior-grade professionals and was admitted to the bar. He then practiced law for ten years.

Su Tseng-chang joined the Taipei Junior Chamber in 1973 and actively participated in the organization’s activities. Later, while serving as president of the chamber and vice-president of the Junior Chamber International Taiwan, he demonstrated his leadership and organizational capabilities, and enhanced the global reputation of Taiwan’s chamber.

In 1979, a clash between democracy activists and the government led to the Kaohsiung Incident, which resulted in the political imprisonment of many human rights activists. Passionate about social justice and human rights, and despite the dangers existing under the “white terror” of the authoritarian regime’s martial law, Su joined the defense team. Along with others, including Chen Shui-bian, who today is the country’s president, he offered legal assistance to those indicted in courts-martial. Motivated by his strong belief in the need for political reform in Taiwan, Su then stood in the 1981 Taiwan Provincial Assembly election. He was convincingly elected with the second-highest number of votes, and was reelected for a successive term four years later, this time with the most votes of any candidate.

From Pingtung County magistrate to member of parliament

After completing his second term in the provincial assembly, in 1989, Su Tseng-chang ran for and was elected as Pingtung County magistrate. Visiting all the county’s 465 townships and city districts during his term in office, Su also promoted the publication of mother-tongue textbooks, planting of trees along 100 kilometers of the county’s main highway, and numerous infrastructure projects. He even led Pingtung farmers to sell and promote their celebrated “black pearl wax apples” in Taipei City and County, gaining much popularity and earning himself the title “black pearl of the Pingtung people.”

Despite Su Tseng-chang’s outstanding record during his four-year tenure as Pingtung County magistrate, his reelection bid in 1993 was overshadowed by his opponent’s smear campaign and intimidation of voters. Although his opponent was eventually found guilty of libel, sentenced, and forced to publicly apologize, these were all long after he had undermined Su’s campaign. This election defeat became an important turning point in Su’s political career, however. Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Shih Ming-teh invited him to become the party’s secretary-general, and, in 1995, he ran for and won a seat representing Taipei County in the national Legislature. In 1997, Su won a fiercely contested election for the position of Taipei County magistrate, which put him in charge of Taiwan’s most populous county.

Leading Taipei County to great achievements

This victory also made Su Tseng-chang the only person to have served as magistrate in both Pingtung and Taipei counties. Consequently, he is extremely familiar with county affairs and, through his resolve and superb managerial ability, his administration completed many major infrastructure projects. This has enabled Taipei County, which has more than 3.7 million people—one-sixth the populace of Taiwan—to become the nation’s leading county in many respects.

For his 2001 reelection bid, Su Tseng-chang ran on his good record and adopted a slogan of “good performance for four years, good infrastructure in eight years.” He won an absolute majority and, as colleagues were defeated elsewhere, became the only DPP county magistrate in northern Taiwan.

Su Tseng-chang has promoted a variety of projects over recent years. He is, for example, a strong believer in education for people of all ages. During his first four-year term as Taipei County magistrate, he built 23 new schools and 4,800 new classrooms, a figure equal to four new classrooms every day. In addition, 300 kindergarten classes and 600 nursery schools were opened, and university classes for senior citizens and laborers, schooling for women, and nine community colleges were established. When Su Tseng-chang took office, Taipei County had only 6 legal nursing homes; six years later there were 126.

Su also endeavored to gain the central government’s budgetary support for dredging the Keelung River and other key waterways to solve problems of flooding. He initiated numerous major transportation infrastructure projects, including the circle and airport lines of the Taipei-area rapid transit system, and congestion-easing roads such as the East-West Expressway and No. 2 Special Expressway. In addition, Su’s administration developed riverbank parks totaling over 900 hectares, and built international-standard tourist attractions such as Danshuei Fishermen’s Wharf, Bali’s Rive Gauche (Left Bank), and museums such as the Yingge Ceramics Museum, Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology at Bali, and Gold Ecological Park Museum at Jinguashih.

With regard to economic development, Su Tseng-chang’s administration frequently sought collaboration with the central government. He established the Dingpu High-tech Industrial Park at Tucheng and the Tatung Technical Industrial Park at Shulin, and attracted world-renowned companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. and DBTEL Taiwan Ltd. to make investments worth a billion dollars, thus creating tens of thousands of jobs. This became a role model for central-local government collaboration in attracting investment.

Furthermore, by featuring different local characteristics, the county’s year-round series of cultural events attracts substantial numbers of tourists and creates many business opportunities. It therefore embodies the development concept of “industrializing culture” and “civilizing industry.” Su Tseng-chang and his county government successfully sponsored the 2003 National Games, and Taipei County athletes also won the team championship for six consecutive years. In 2004, Taipei County successfully hosted the Taiwan Lantern Festival, which attracted about 4 million visitors.

For his contributions to Taiwan’s democratic development and his administrative achievements—which, by then, included serving as provincial assemblyman, legislator, DPP secretary-general, and county magistrate of Pingtung and Taipei—Su was awarded an honorary doctoral degree of law by Kyungnam University, Republic of Korea in April 2004.

President Chen’s important political partner

In light of this outstanding political career and his extensive and successful electioneering experience, Su Tseng-chang was appointed by President Chen Shui-bian as his general campaign manager for the 2004 presidential election. Following Chen’s successful reelection and the inauguration of his second term, on May 20, 2004, Su Tseng-chang was appointed secretary-general of the Office of the President.

On taking up this position, Su Tseng-chang was immediately entrusted with initiating the Constitutional Re-engineering Project. Preparatory work launched by him included establishment of the Constitutional Reform Committee under the Office of the President, and holding of seminars to collect insights from experts in the fields of human rights, social welfare, women’s rights, youth development, labor rights, and the media. This was undertaken so as to ensure that subsequent constitutional reform perfectly reflects the needs of Taiwan society. Su’s efforts raised public concern regarding constitutional reform and had a decisive influence on the Legislative Yuan’s adoption, on August 23, 2004, of an amendment to the Constitution, laying the groundwork for the second-phase Constitutional Re-engineering.

Su Tseng-chang was appointed as the DPP’s general campaign manager for the election of the Sixth Legislative Yuan at the end of 2004. Adopting a theme of “reform and progress,” his campaign taskforce traveled throughout the country drumming up support for DPP nominees. Although the DPP won 89 seats, 2 more than in the previous election and with a slight increase in votes, the outcome was not as good as had been expected. President Chen Shui-bian resigned from the DPP chairmanship.

From party chairman to the nation’s premier

In the light of this election failure, the DPP was clearly in need of transformation. Su Tseng-chang announced that he would run for the now vacant chairmanship of the Democratic Progressive Party. During his campaign, he pledged to “open a wider road” for both the DPP and the whole of Taiwan’s society.

Su’s campaign clearly touched a nerve within the party’s rank and file, and, on January 31, 2005, he was elected DPP chairman with an almost unanimous 99.71 percent of votes cast. He took up the post on February 15, 2005.

As the party chairman, Su led the DPP to co-organize the March 26 parade in democratic and peaceful protest against the so-called anti-secession law enacted by China earlier that month. Also under Su’s stewardship, in May 2005 the DPP won 127 seats in the Ad Hoc National Assembly Election and promoted a constitutional amendment for parliamentary reform. This aimed to abolish the National Assembly, halve the number of congressional seats, launch a single-seat district system, and include the right to referendum in the Constitution. These changes will help improve government efficiency and make the Constitution timely, relevant, and viable. In December 2005, however, the DPP fared poorly in the three-in-one local government elections winning control of six city and county administrations compared to ten previously. Su resigned immediately from the party chairmanship.

Pledging to form a clean and competent government and a cabinet of action

Su Tseng-chang still had yet another important role to play in President Chen Shui-bian’s government, however, and on January 25, 2006, he was appointed ROC premier. Su declared that his aspiration was to “walk the right path and act pragmatically,” demanding that all cabinet members serve to their full potential and with honesty. He also set a deadline for his political appointees to place their assets into trust. He pledged that his new team would form a “cabinet of action,” which, emphasizing Taiwan’s sustainable development and the wellbeing of future generations, would endeavor to tackle all issues with due seriousness and draw up plans for the country’s future. He demanded that these plans be implemented with efficiency and effectiveness so that his cabinet fulfills its responsibilities to the people.

Su Tseng-chang proposed that economic prosperity and social stability be the top priorities of his administration. He stressed the importance of exercising government authority, believing that a government is disgraced if it fails to create an environment in which its people can live in peace and work prosperously.

Su believes that only by properly exercising its vested authority can a government ensure social stability and order, best allocate national resources, safeguard fairness and justice, narrow the gap between rich and poor, and take care of the socially disadvantaged. Only such an administrative approach can meet people’s expectations, justify the government’s existence, and bring hope to Taiwan.

Su Tseng-chang has always believed that a country’s greatness is shown by its care for society’s disadvantaged rather than by its military or economic power. A government should give the disadvantaged an equal footing and make sure they do not lose out at the starting line. Through a variety of policy tools, the Taiwan government should tailor measures to meet the specific needs of different disadvantaged groups, make up for deficiencies in each person’s life, and safeguard the dignity of each individual, so that everyone can lead a safe and comfortable life.