Preceded by Chang Chun-hsiung Occupation Politician Succeeded by Yu Shyi-kun Children Chen Chi-mai | Nationality Taiwanese Party Independent politician Constituency Kaohsiung | |
Born 30 March 1941 (age 75) ( 1941-03-30 ) Political party Independent (2005–present) Other political
affiliations Kuomintang (until 1992)
Democratic Progressive Party (1993–2005) | ||
Chen Che-nan (Chinese: 陳哲男; born 30 March 1941) is a Taiwanese politician. He served in the Legislative Yuan from 1987 to 1994.
Contents
Early life and career
Born in 1941 during Japanese rule, Chen was an elementary school teacher prior to a career in politics.
Political career
In the 1970s, Chen began his political career in the Kaohsiung City Government. He was elected to the Legislative Yuan for the first time in 1986, and stepped down in 1994, in the midst of a term. Chen then served the Taipei City Government and mayor Chen Shui-bian in multiple positions, until joining the ROC Presidential Office in 2000, where he continued advising Chen Shui-bian.
Controversy
Chen was expelled from the Kuomintang on 2 December 1992, after becoming increasingly critical of party leaders. His expulsion from the party happened in the midst of a legislative election, but occurred too late for the KMT to officially pull their support of him. Listed on the ballot as a KMT candidate for Kaohsiung, he won and took office nonetheless. Despite expulsion, Chen's vote share was still allocated to the KMT for the purposes of determining party list proportional representation. He joined the Democratic Progressive Party the next year. Businessman Chen You-hao named Chen Che-nan as one of the people who helped Chen Shui-bian solicit donations for Chen Shui-bian's 1998 Taipei mayoral campaign and the 2000 presidential campaign. In a separate case also involving black gold politics, Chen Che-nan was found to have used his political influence to secure favorable court rulings for businessman Liang Po-hsun. The Taipei District Court ruled in December 2006 that Chen was to serve twelve years in prison. An appeal to the Taiwan High Court shortened the sentence to nine years.
Chen Che-nan was deeply involved in the 2005 Kaohsiung MRT foreign workers scandal. This led to his expulsion from the Democratic Progressive Party later that year. Chen also lost an Order of Brilliant Star, awarded in 2002, and an Order of Propitious Clouds, awarded in 2004. As a further consequence of the scandal, Chen left his post as national policy adviser. In 2007, the Kaohsiung District Court dropped all corruption charges against Chen.