Wu Po-hsiung

Wu Po-hsiung (Chinese: 吳伯雄; pinyin: Wú Bóxióng; born 19 June 1939) is a Taiwanese politician who is a former chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT). He has been the Interior Minister (1984-1988), Mayor of Taipei (1988–1990), Secretary-General to the President (1991–1996), and Chairman of the KMT (2007-2009). Wu was nominated as Honorary Chairman of the Kuomintang when he was succeeded by Ma Ying-jeou as the Chairman of the Kuomintang.

Wu Po-hsiung
吳伯雄
Wu Po-hsiung in Beijing, People's Republic of China on June 17, 2012
5th Chairman of the Kuomintang
In office 11 April 2007 – 17 October 2009
Preceded by	Chiang Pin-kung
Succeeded by	Ma Ying-jeou
In office 13 February 2007 – 14 March 2007 Acting
Preceded by	Ma Ying-jeou
Succeeded by	Chiang Pin-kung
Vice Chairman of the Kuomintang
In office 18 June 2000 – 11 April 2007
Chairman	Lien Chan Ma Ying-jeou
Secretary-General of Kuomintang
In office 16 August 1996 – 11 December 1997
Chairman	Lee Teng-hui
Preceded by	Hsu Shui-teh
Succeeded by	John Chiang
Secretary-General of the Presidential Office of the Republic of China
In office 13 December 1994 – 3 August 1996
President	Lee Teng-hui
Deputy	Raymond R. M. Tai
Preceded by	Chiang Yang-shih
Succeeded by	Huang Kun-huei
Minister of the Interior of the Republic of China[1]
In office 1 June 1991 – 15 February 1994
Preceded by	Hsu Shui-teh
Succeeded by	Huang Kun-huei
In office 1 June 1984 – 22 July 1988
Preceded by	Lin Yang-kang
Succeeded by	Hsu Shui-teh
Mayor of Taipei
In office 25 July 1988 – 2 June 1990
Preceded by	Hsu Shui-teh
Succeeded by	Huang Ta-chou
Magistrate of Taoyuan
In office 1 February 1973 – 20 December 1976
Preceded by	Hsu Hsin-chih Lee Shu-you (acting)
Succeeded by	Weng Chien (acting) Hsu Hsin-liang
Personal details
Born	19 June 1939 (age 81) Shinchiku Prefecture, Japanese Taiwan
Nationality	Taiwan (Republic of China)
Political party	Kuomintang
Relations	John Wu (son)[2]
Alma mater	National Cheng Kung University
Occupation	Politician

Wu Po-hsiung
Traditional Chinese	吳伯雄
Simplified Chinese	吴伯雄
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wú Bóxióng Southern Min Hokkien POJ Ngô Peh-hiông

Early life

Born to a Hakka family in Zhongli, Taoyuan in 1939, Wu received a bachelor's degree in business administration from National Cheng Kung University in 1962.

Early political life

He entered politics when he was elected into the Taiwan Provincial Council in the Taoyuan County electoral district from 1968 to 1972

Taoyuan County Magistrate

Wu become the Magistrate of Taoyuan County from 1973 to 1976. His father Wu Hong-ling had served in the same position from 1960 to 1964.[3]

ROC Interior Ministry

Wu become the Ministry of the Interior twice in 1984-1988 and 1991-1994.

ROC citizens permitted to visit China

On 15 October 1987, Wu announced the lifting of prohibition of ROC citizens to travel to the Mainland Area. Citizens were allowed to do so for family visits.[4]

KMT Vice Chairmanship

Wu was the first vice-chairman of the main opposition Kuomintang party after Kuomintang lost in the 2000 ROC Presidential Election to the Democratic Progressive Party.

KMT Chairmanship

After Chairman Ma Ying-jeou resigned on 13 February 2007, he became the acting chairman. Wu, however, subsequently resigned his post as acting chairman and member of the Central Standing Committee on 14 March 2007 in order to compete in the KMT chairman election scheduled for 7 April 2007. Ma announced his support for Wu for chairmanship.[5]

Wu eventually won the party chairmanship election and become KMT Chairman on 11 April 2007. He garnered about 90% of votes cast, defeated KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu. Of all eligible voters, about 53% voted.[6]

Candidate	Total votes cast	Percentage of vote
Wu Poh-hsiung	156,499	87.0%
Hung Hsiu-chu	23,447	13.0%
Voter turnout	53%

Cross-strait relations

2005 China visit

Wu and other Pan-Blue officials in Nanjing in 2005.

In April 2005, Wu joined Lien Chan and other Pan-Blue officials to visit China.

2009 China visit

Calligraphic inscription by Wu Po-hsiung

In May 2009, Wu left for China for an 8-day visit. He was accompanied by three KMT Vice Chairmen, Lin Fong-cheng, Wu Den-yih (which doubles as KMT Secretary-General) and John Chiang. Wang Yi, Director of Taiwan Affairs Office welcomed the delegations upon arrival in Beijing.

Prior to departure, Wu said that we would not mention the "Republic of China" if the Beijing government did not mention the "People's Republic of China" as well. If Beijing was to refrain from mentioning the One China principle, then he also would not talk about the 1992 consensus.

The delegations visited several cities. In Beijing, they visited the Guangdong-Guangxi House, where Sun Yat-sen was elected as Chairman of Kuomintang in 1912. In Hangzhou, they visited the Manao Temple, where a museum of Lian Heng is located. In Nanjing, they visited Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. And in Chongqing, they attended the Taiwan Week celebration organized by Taiwanese businessmen doing business in China.[7]

2012 Beijing visit

Wu lead a delegation from Taiwan to visit Beijing in March 2012 to meet Hu Jintao, the then-General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC); Wu proposed that cross-strait relations be governed under the framework of "one country, two areas" (一國兩區), in which from the Republic of China's point of view, ROC consists of Taiwan area and the mainland area.[8]

Among the delegates are three of Kuomintang vice chairpersons, which are Lin Fong-cheng, John Chiang and Hung Hsiu-chu.[9]

Taiwanese branch of Bank of China

The opening ceremony of the first Taiwanese branch of Bank of China.

On 27 June 2012, Wu attended the opening ceremony of the first Taiwanese branch of the Bank of China. The ceremony was held in Taipei and Wu was accompanied by Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung, Bank of China President Li Lihui and the bank's Taiwan branch General Manager Tsai Rong-jun.[10]

2013 Beijing visit

Wu visited Beijing on 12–14 June 2013 to meet with Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party for the first time since Xi took office, accompanied by high ranking KMT officials, such as Chan Chun-po, Hung Hsiu-chu, Huang Min-hui and Su Chi. Accompanying Xi Jinping was Wang Huning, Li Zhanshu, Yang Jiechi and Zhang Zhijun from the CPC.[11][12]

2013 Yunnan CPC secretary visit

During a meeting between Wu and visiting Yunnan Communist Party of China secretary, Qin Guangrong, to Taiwan in mid September 2013, Wu said that Taiwan and Mainland China should put aside political questions and disagreements aside to facilitate bilateral exchanges. He said that by showing patience, setting aside differences and focusing on economic cooperation and cultural exchanges, more common areas such as lifestyle and values would emerge.

During the meeting, Qin encouraged Taiwanese businessmen to invest in Yunnan and make use of the province as the gateway to Southeast Asia and South Asia, creating business opportunities. He added that Yunnan welcomes Taiwanese farmers, township wardens, teachers, students, media and religious and business representatives. Qin's delegation, which consisted of more than 200 people, participated in several activities while in Taiwan, such as promoting bilateral exchanges in education, culture, technology, tourism and civil aviation.[13]

2013 Nanjing visit

In October 2013, Wu traveled to Nanjing, Jiangsu to give a speech at the Xianlin Campus of Nanjing University.[14]

Personal life

Outside of Taiwanese politics, Wu is a prominent and practicing Buddhist and plays an active role in the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order. Before he ascended to the KMT chairmanship, Wu served as the second worldwide president of the Buddha's Light International Association.[15]

See also

• Kuomintang
• Politics of the Republic of China
• History of the Republic of China
• Elections in the Republic of China

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Lien says nation cannot afford KMT Taipei loss - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com.
3. Shan, Shelley (20 November 2014). "2014 ELECTIONS: KMT's John Wu loses Taoyuan re-election bid". Taipei Times. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
4. "Kuomintang News Network". Kmt.org.tw. 1991-05-20. Archived from the original on 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
5. Liao, George "KMT's Ma announces his support for Wu as party's new chairman" Taiwan News
6. https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070407/wl_asia_afp/taiwanpoliticskmtvote_070407211027. Retrieved April 8, 2007. Missing or empty |title= (help)
7. "KMT chairman Wu Po-hsiung visiting Beijing". The China Post. 2009-05-26. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
8. "'One country, two areas' proposed by Wu Po-hsiung". Taipei Times. 2014-05-22. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
9. "KMT honorary chairman to visit Beijing|Politics|chinadaily.com.cn". Usa.chinadaily.com.cn. 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
10. "Bank of China opens its first Taiwanese branch - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com.
11. "KMT, CPC top brass to discuss 'major issues'". The China Post. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
12. "Kuomintang News Network". Kmt.org.tw. 2013-06-10. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
13. "Taiwan, China should put aside disputes: KMT's Wu". Taipei Times. 2014-05-22. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
14. "KMT honorary chairman visits Nanjing University CCTV News - CNTV English". 2013-06-13. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
15. "Wu Po-hsiung chaired the panel of moderators, with Lee Jih-Chu, ... "

External links

• Kuomintang Official Website