Chang Hsien-yao
張顯耀
Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Straits Exchange Foundation[1]
In office
7 February 2014 – 16 August 2014
ChairmanLin Join-sane
DeputyMa Shaw-chang
Preceded byKao Koong-lian
Succeeded byShih Hui-fen[2]
Special Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China[3]
In office
2 September 2013 – 16 August 2014[4]
MinisterWang Yu-chi
Succeeded byLin Chu-chia
Political Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council
In office
February 2012 – 2 September 2013
MinisterWang Yu-chi
Succeeded byWu Mei-hung
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
1 February 2008 – 31 January 2012
ConstituencyRepublic of China
In office
1 February 2005 – 31 January 2008
ConstituencyKaohsiung 1
Personal details
Born (1963-11-06) 6 November 1963
NationalityRepublic of China
Political partyKuomintang[5]
Alma materCentral Police University
Tamkang University
Université de Paris I

Chang Hsien-yao or Vincent Chang (Chinese: 張顯耀; pinyin: Zhāng Xiǎnyào; Wade–Giles: Chang1 Hsien3-yao4; born 6 November 1963) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the Special Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan in September 2013 until August 2014 and concurrently as the Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) in February 2014 until August 2014.

Early life

Chang studied in Université de Paris I in France from a Kuomintang scholarship.

Early career

Upon graduation, he returned to Taiwan and worked at the National Security Council. Chang had been teaching at Taiwanese universities as assistant professor at Nanhua University, Central Police University and Chinese Culture University.[3]

Political career

In 2000, he joined People First Party (PFP) and ever since had been working closely with the party Chairman, James Soong, serving as the Director of the policy center of PFP.

In 2005, he arranged the meeting between Soong with then-General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Hu Jintao after communicating with the then-Director of Taiwan Affairs Office Chen Yunlin.

Before joining Mainland Affairs Council in 2012, Chang served for the National Security Council.

ROC Mainland Affairs Council Political Deputy Ministry

Cross-strait reciprocal representative offices

In mid April 2013, Chang said that the ROC government is making the preparation for both sides across the Taiwan Strait to establish representative offices on each side by the end of 2013 after a draft bill was approved at the ROC cabinet meeting. Branch office of Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) will be established in Taiwan, while branch office of Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) will be established in Mainland China, although no timetable has been set for the establishment.[6]

ARATS officers in Taiwan later will enjoy some certain degree of special rights which would not fall under ROC jurisdiction and granted some privileges in the discretion of ROC Cabinet. The bill is the base in which both sides sustain an equal and reciprocal relationship, Chang added. However, he also emphasized that ARATS branch office in Taiwan will never be the same like PRC Liaison Office in Hong Kong because Taiwan-Mainland China relations is completely different than Hong Kong-Mainland China relations.[7]

Cross-strait service trade

In end of June 2013, Chang joined a delegation led by Lin Join-sane, Chairman of Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), to visit Shanghai from Taiwan for the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement signing. The Taiwanese delegation includes Cho Shih-chao, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs and Kao Koong-lian, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of Straits Exchange Foundation.[8][9]

The cross-strait service trade agreement was signed on 21 June 2013 which consists of four chapters and twenty four articles. Under the agreement, 64 Taiwanese industries will be opened to Chinese Mainland investments, ranging from transportation, tourism and traditional Chinese medicine sectors. Meanwhile, 80 Chinese Mainland industries will be opened to Taiwanese investments, ranging from finance, retail, electronics, publishing and travel sectors.[10][11] Chang said that the signing of the trade will make Taiwan and Mainland China the most stable market in the world and serves as a path for Taiwan towards the membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Investment from Mainland China will also help Taiwan become more competitive.

SEF Vice Chairmanship and Secretary-General

In early February 2014, Chang was appointed to be the vice chairman and secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), replacing Kao Koong-lian who had earlier on tendered his resignation. Chang's appointed also made the promotion of SEF Maa Shaw-chang from Deputy Secretary-General to become Deputy Chairman to help Chang share the workload.[1]

Chang's first task after assuming SEF post is to prepare for the upcoming 10th Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum.

Resignation and spy allegation

On 16 August 2014, tendered his resignation from both MAC and SEF, citing family reasons as the reason. Lin Chu-chia, MAC Deputy Minister, was immediately appointed to replace Chang.[12]

Few days later on 21 August 2014, Chang held a press conference in Taipei responding to an allegation he received from the government that he had leaked national secrets to Mainland China thus that he was actually sacked from the MAC by Minister Wang Yu-chi. During the press conference, Chang said that he called on President Ma Ying-jeou to take care for himself because Ma had been 'hijacked' by a handful of people and deceived into believing allegations against him were fabricated by those people.

The Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice even suspected that Chang had been recruited as a spy for the Chinese Communist Party. Legislators from the Democratic Progressive Party and People First Party responded by lashing out at the government for making such accusations towards Chang, and even asked that the cross-strait negotiations be temporarily halted.[13][14]

Chang was then being investigated by the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office for breaching the National Security Information Protection Act (Chinese: 國家安全機密保護法) for disclosing five confidential and secret pieces of information on cross-strait economics, trade and trade service agreements on at least two separate occasions. He was then barred from leaving Taiwan.[15][16]

On 25 August 2014, he appeared at the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office trying to clear his name from the spying allegation. After the interrogation, Chang was put into house arrest and listed as a defendant.[17] On 28 August, the Investigation Bureau approved a search warrant for Chang's residence and six other locations. In a different occasion, President Ma Ying-jeou threw his approval behind MAC Minister Wang Yu-chi's decision to sack Chang.[18]

On 10 February 2015 the Investigation Bureau dropped the charges against him, and Wang Yu-chi immediately announced his resignation from his post as MAC minister, stating that he disagreed with the decision but would respect it and take responsibility.[19]

Later political career

Chang announced that his bid to contest the Kuomintang nomination for the Taipei mayoralty in February 2018.[20][21]

Days before the 2024 Taiwanese general election, Chang was questioned by the Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office about suspected violations of the Anti-Infiltration Act and the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act, and later released on bail.[22][23]

References

  1. 1 2 "Chang Hsien-yao to be new deputy head at SEF". Taipei Times. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  2. ↑ "MAC Deputy Minister Shih Hui-fen to double as SEF vice chair - Politics - FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS".
  3. 1 2 "Executive Yuan appoints new deputies for four agencies(Executive Yuan, R.O.C. (Taiwan)-Press Releases)". Ey.gov.tw. 2013-09-02. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  4. ↑ "MAC official resigns two jobs for 'family reasons' - Taipei Times". taipeitimes.com. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
  5. ↑ Chang, Hsien-Yao (2009-10-10). "The Legislative Yuan Republic of China". Ly.gov.tw. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  6. ↑ "No schedule for cross-strait representative offices: MAC". The China Post. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  7. ↑ "Cabinet drafts bill on cross-strait offices". Taipei Times. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  8. ↑ "New pact will modernize services across Strait: SEF". Taipei Times. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  9. ↑ "【2013.06.20】林中森會陳德銘 洽簽服貿協議 -udn tv". YouTube. 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  10. ↑ "Cross-strait service trade pact signed". Taipei Times. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  11. ↑ "SERVICES PACT: TSU knocks cross-strait service trade agreement". Taipei Times. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
  12. ↑ Shih, Hsiu-chuan (17 August 2014). "MAC official resigns two jobs for 'family reasons'". Taipei Times.
  13. ↑ Iok-sin, Loa (22 August 2014). "Accusations, defenses fly in case of alleged spying". Taipei Times.
  14. ↑ "Chang says Ma has been 'hijacked'". Taipei Times.
  15. ↑ "High Prosecutors' Office refuses case - Taipei Times".
  16. ↑ "Taipei District Prosecutors' Office to probe Chang case - Taipei Times".
  17. ↑ "Chang visits prosecutors, rejects all spying 'rumors' - Taipei Times".
  18. ↑ "Chang a 'pest' in cross-strait ties: Ma - Taipei Times".
  19. ↑ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Taiwan's China policy chief Wang Yu-chi resigns over espionage row - News - DW.COM - 10.02.2015".
  20. ↑ Hsu, Stacy (21 February 2018). "Two more KMT members bid to be Taipei mayor". Taipei Times. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  21. ↑ Hsu, Stacy (22 February 2018). "Chang Hsien-yao announces Taipei bid". Taipei Times. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  22. ↑ Hung, Hsueh-kuang; Yang, Evelyn (10 January 2024). "Former KMT lawmaker released on bail in alleged Chinese interference case". Central News Agency. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  23. ↑ Pao, Chien-hsin; Madjar, Kayleigh (11 January 2024). "2024 Elections: Ex-legislator questioned over fake opinion polls". Retrieved 11 January 2024.
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