37 Facts About Frank Hsieh

Frank Hsieh Chang-ting is a Taiwanese politician and former defense attorney who served as Ambassador of Taiwan to Japan from 2016 to 2024.

Frank Hsieh then obtained a master's degree and later completed doctoral coursework in jurisprudence at the Graduate School of Law of Kyoto University in Japan.

Frank Hsieh was a practicing attorney from 1969 to 1981, serving as a defense attorney in the martial courts following the Kaohsiung Incident of 1980.

Frank Hsieh cofounded the party and was the one who proposed its current name.

In September 1995, Peng Ming-min and Frank Hsieh were placed on the Democratic Progressive Party ticket for the 1996 presidential election.

In 1997, Frank Hsieh successfully negotiated the surrender of the gunman in the Alexander family hostage crisis, raising his national profile.

Frank Hsieh's administration focused on improving water quality in surrounding rivers as well as a general overhaul of the port of Kaohsiung.

Frank Hsieh supported placing the port, at the time run largely by the central government, under the jurisdiction of Kaohsiung City Government.

Frank Hsieh was largely responsible for the establishment of the Kaohsiung Metro.

Frank Hsieh was re-elected for a four-year term in 2002.

Frank Hsieh was projected to win easily, but People First Party chair James Soong publicly supported Kuomintang candidate Huang Jun-ying, which helped Huang earn more votes.

In January 2005, Frank Hsieh was appointed premier, forcing him to leave his post as mayor of Kaohsiung.

Frank Hsieh eventually resigned as premier in the aftermath of the 2005 "Three-in-One" elections, which the DPP lost in a landslide.

Frank Hsieh was frequently considered to be a leading contender for the DPP nomination in the 2008 presidential election, and formally announced his intention to run in the election on February 16,2007.

Frank Hsieh was the second to formally declared candidacy, after the Kuomintang's Ma Ying-jeou did so three days prior.

In July 2007, Frank Hsieh visited the United States, branding it "the journey of Love and Trust".

In September 2007, Frank Hsieh openly declared that he was running for the presidency of the State of Taiwan, saying that "recogniz[ing] ourselves as a nation first and then fight[ing] for what we want during negotiations with other countries" is important.

Frank Hsieh believes that improving the economy is as important as preserving national dignity, and that the goal of economic development is more than just making money, but it is improving the happiness of people.

In January 2008, Frank Hsieh accused candidate Ma Ying-jeou of having a United States green card.

Frank Hsieh stated that if Ma made public documented proof that he had renounced the green card, Frank Hsieh would withdraw from the election.

Frank Hsieh had stated that if he lost this election, he would not run for office again.

Frank Hsieh resigned from the DPP chairmanship to take responsibility for the defeat.

In July 2010, Frank Hsieh stood for the DPP's central committee standing membership election and won.

In October 2012, Frank Hsieh went to mainland China for five days as the highest-ranking DPP official ever to visit.

Frank Hsieh met with then State Councilor Dai Bingguo, then President Chen Yunlin of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and then Director Wang Yi of the Taiwan Affairs Office.

Frank Hsieh reiterated his "Two Sides, Two Constitutions" initiative while on an April 2013 visit to the United States, and urged Beijing to accept difference across the Taiwan Strait for both sides being able to facilitate dialogue.

In late June 2013, Frank Hsieh attended a two-day forum on cross-strait relations entitled "Development and Innovation of Cross-Strait Relations" in Hong Kong.

Frank Hsieh said that mutual trust between DPP and Beijing was important and that all of the bilateral exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should benefit the public and address their needs.

Frank Hsieh added that rebalancing cross-strait interactions is important as well.

Frank Hsieh reiterated his 'constitutions with different interpretations' view that Taipei and Beijing can coexist if both sides respect each other's constitutional legitimacy.

In March 2016, local media began reporting that Frank Hsieh had accepted a position as Taiwan's representative to Japan in Tsai Ing-wen's administration.

Frank Hsieh has discussed the possible lifting of Taiwanese restrictions on imports from Fukushima Prefecture, which had been put in place as a result of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the cause of meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Frank Hsieh left his post in mid-August 2024, and is to be replaced by Lee I-yang.

Frank Hsieh is married to Yu Fang-chih ; together, they have a daughter and a son, who served in the military on Tungyin Island and has served as Taipei City councilor since 2014.

Frank Hsieh later learned to play the ocarina, and released his own album in 2005.

Frank Hsieh first claimed part-aboriginal descent in 2005, and stated that he enjoyed Bunun music.

Frank Hsieh is of seventh generation native Taiwanese of Hoklo descent; his ancestor Hsieh Kuang-yu migrated from Tongshan, a village in Fujian province, the ancestral hometown being Zhao'an County.