Biographies
Vincent C. Siew 蕭萬長 Vice President, Republic of China (Taiwan)
Vincent C. Siew was born on January 3, 1939, in Chiayi City, Taiwan. He graduated from the Department of Diplomacy at National Chengchi University in 1961, and earned a master’s degree in international law and diplomacy from the school in 1965. During his years in the civil service, Siew attended a leadership seminar at Georgetown University in 1982 and was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship for short-term study in the United States in 1985.
Siew began his career in the civil service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in 1962. While with MOFA, he served as Consul at the ROC’s Consulate General in Kuala Lumpur from 1969 to 1972. When the ROC withdrew from the United Nations in 1971, Siew shifted his focus to economic affairs, with the conviction that the nation should use its economic strength to expand its diplomatic space.
He is credited with outstanding performance in such posts as Director-General of the Bureau of Foreign Trade (1982-1988), Minister of Economic Affairs (1990-1993), and Chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (1993-1994). His major achievements in these positions include negotiating most-favored-nation treatment with the United States in 1979 and promoting investment projects that boosted economic development, such as the Southern Taiwan Science Park.
Thanks in part to his efforts, international economic cooperation and trade expanded as Taiwan became an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member and gained observer status in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (later renamed the World Trade Organization). Further, Siew pushed forward the Economic Stimulus Package and launched a program to transform Taiwan into a regional operations center that paved the way for long-term development.
In 1993 and 1994, Siew represented President Lee Teng-hui at APEC summit meetings in Seattle and Jakarta, respectively. At these conferences, he helped further integrate Taiwan into the world economy and bring it into the international limelight. Siew was appointed Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council in December 1994. In that capacity, he proposed a series of measures to encourage the development of cross-strait relations. For instance, an offshore shipping center was established in Kaohsiung to facilitate transshipment of goods between mainland China and third countries.
Siew became a Kuomintang (KMT) legislator in 1995. In this role, he organized a cross-party caucus to expedite legislation to facilitate Taiwan’s bid to join the World Trade Organization. Upon being appointed Premier in August 1997, Siew was dubbed the “Commoner Premier” by the media for his coming from a farming family. In 2000, he was chosen as running mate to KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan. Social changes and a split in the KMT, however, led to the first-ever change in governing parties on May 20 of that year.
During Siew’s tenure as Premier, the ROC emerged unscathed from the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis as he steered the country toward steady economic growth. On September 21, 1999, a devastating earthquake struck central Taiwan. Siew did his utmost to alleviate suffering and minimize the economic impact, leading relief efforts and overseeing formulation of legislation that facilitated reconstruction work.
After leaving the civil service, Siew lectured in universities and devoted himself to public causes. Inspired by the example of the European Union, and in consideration of the complexity of relations across the Taiwan Strait, he founded the Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation (CSCMF) in 2001 to promote normalization and systemization of trade between Taiwan and mainland China. In 2003, President Chen Shui-bian recruited Siew to serve as convener of the Presidential Economic Advisory Panel. In that capacity, he helped stabilize the economy after the SARS outbreak.
On June 23, 2007, KMT presidential nominee Ma Ying-jeou announced Siew as his running mate, emphasizing that Siew would serve as chief architect for reinvigorating Taiwan’s economy. During the presidential campaign, Siew assisted Ma in drawing up economic policies with “the spirit of putting Taiwan first for the benefit of the people.” On March 22, 2008, Ma and Siew were elected by a landslide. With this second transfer of power between political parties, a new era in the ROC’s history began.
From April 11 to April 13, 2008, before his inauguration as Vice President, Siew attended the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan Province of mainland China in his capacity as CSCMF Chairman. There, he shared with Chinese Communist Party leader Hu Jintao his views on the future of cross-strait relations. This “ice-breaking” trip, as it was described in media coverage, helped ease tensions and paved the way for further positive cross-strait interaction under the new administration.