James Tsai
Taiwanese politician (born 1952)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tsai Jen-chien (Chinese: 蔡仁堅; born 27 October 1952), also known by his English name James Tsai, is a Taiwanese pharmacist and politician who served as mayor of Hsinchu from 1997 to 2001.
Tsai Jen-chien | |
|---|---|
蔡仁堅 | |
| |
| Mayor of Hsinchu | |
| In office 20 December 1997 – 20 December 2001 | |
| Deputy | Yang Tzu-pao Lin Cheng-chieh |
| Preceded by | Tong Shen-nan |
| Succeeded by | Lin Junq-tzer |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office 1992–1997 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 October 1952 Hsinchu, Taiwan |
| Party | Independent |
Other party | Democratic Progressive Party (1986–2014) |
| Education | Ming Chuan University (MB) Harvard University (MPA) |
Education
After graduating from Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University, Tsai graduated from Taipei Medical University with a Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.) in pharmacy. He then completed graduate studies in the United States at Harvard University, where he earned a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degree from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Political career
A cofounder of the Democratic Progressive Party,[1] Tsai served on the National Assembly from 1992 to 1997, and was the DPP caucus leader throughout his term.[2][3] The legislative body elected its first speaker and deputy speaker during its 1996 session. Tsai was nominated as the DPP candidate for the deputy speakership, and lost to Shieh Lung-sheng.[4] Tsai was elected mayor of Hsinchu in the 1997 local elections. In October 2000, he became the first elected local government leader from Taiwan to visit China.[5] The next year, Tsai lost his bid for reelection.[6][7] He attempted to run for the position again in 2014, without the backing of the DPP, which expelled him for mounting an independent campaign.[8][9]
| 2014 Hsinchu City Mayoralty Election Result | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage | ||
| 1 | Liu Cheng-hsing (劉正幸) | Independent | 1,914 | 0.96% | ||
| 2 | Hsu Ming-tsai | KMT | 75,564 | 37.85% | ||
| 3 | James Tsai | Independent | 40,480 | 20.28% | ||
| 4 | Lin Chih-chien | DPP | 76,578 | 38.36% | .svg){kind=small} | |
| 5 | Wu Shu-min (吳淑敏) | Independent | 5101 | 2.56% | ||
Controversy
During his mayoral term, Tsai was one of many mayors accused of corruption, as he had charged United Microelectronics Corporation a "township chief tax" for community development funds.[10][11]
Soon after leaving office, Tsai was caught in the Chu Mei-feng sex scandal, during which he was represented by attorney Hsu Wen-bin.[12] Tsai and Chu had dated for four years,[13] before the relationship ended in February 2001.[14] Later that year, a sex tape of Chu and married businessman Tseng Chung-ming was released.[15] Prosecutors believed that Tsai and spiritual advisor Kuo Yu-ling asked a detective agency about hidden cameras.[16][17] Tsai was questioned by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office in January 2002,[18][19] and indicted on 7 February.[20] However, Chu chose to drop the case against Tsai in June.[21]
