Lie Kuen-cheng
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Lie Kuen-cheng or Lai Kun-cheng (Chinese: 賴坤成; born 3 June 1964) is a Taiwanese politician, and a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). In addition, he was formerly a legislator, a representative of the National Assembly, and the mayor of Taitung City. He is a lawyer by training. He also presided over the first township and city in Taitung County to have a member of the DPP as its representative, as well as being chairman and the first Taitung County legislator from the DPP.
Lie Kuen-cheng's father, Lie Chun-tsai (賴春在), was a graduate of the first class of the Institute of Revolutionary Practice and the former director of the public service station of seven townships in Taitung County. Due to changes in his father's working environment, he attended five schools as a child. When he was ten years old, his father died, and his family moved to Taipei. He is the only son in his family, with three sisters, and was raised by his mother.[1]
In his junior year of high school, he became quite rebellious, leading to difficulties for his mother in managing him. This led to him dropping out of several schools, including Chiang Kai-shek High School, Jianzhong Night School, Banzhong, Qiangshu Night School, and Jianzhong Day School. His mother then sent him back to Taitung to be disciplined by his uncle, who was the Taitung County chairman at the time. One of his high school instructors suggested he join the Kuomintang, but he refused. Later, in his third year, he and his classmates began collecting Tangwai magazines, which changed his outlook. He was eventually admitted to National Taiwan University Law School.
According to Lie, he spent four years at National Taiwan University "messing around",[citation needed] particularly in his junior year, often skipping classes for hiking and photography – sometimes for up to a week. When he graduated, he did not have to join the military as he did not meet the height requirement. He then worked as a commentator in Yushan National Park for a year. Later, he attended a cram school in northern Taiwan to prepare for the bar exam, and after a year of dedicated study, he passed the bar.
After obtaining his law license, Lie considered starting a business. However, a high school friend who was an assistant to Chen Shui-bian invited him to become a legislative aide. After meeting with Chen Shui-bian, he began working in the Legislative Yuan's DPP caucus, which was in need of support. From March 1990 to October 1991, he served as the chief assistant of the DPP's Legislative Yuan caucus.