33 Facts About James Soong

Soong Chu-yu, known by his English name James Soong, is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician who is the founder and chairman of the People First Party.

James Soong began his political career as a secretary to Premier Chiang Ching-kuo and rose to prominence as director-general of the Government Information Office from 1979 to 1984.

James Soong was born in China on April 30,1942, in Xiangtan, Hunan, province.

James Soong's father, Soong Ta, was a career military officer staunchly loyal to Republic of China President Chiang Kai-shek and rose to the rank of major general in the National Revolutionary Army from an enlisted sailor.

James Soong's mother and two younger sisters were Protestant Christians while his father was a Buddhist.

James Soong was his father's first son and his childhood was largely defined by the Chinese Civil War.

James Soong remained in Washington, DC, to study for his doctorate and earned his Ph.

James Soong served as secretary to the premier from 1974 to 1977 and with Chiang Ching-kuo's accession to the presidency, the personal secretary to the president from 1978 to 1981 and 1984 to 1989.

James Soong gained his public fame on December 16,1978, when he addressed the nation following the decision of the administration of US president Jimmy Carter to break ties with the ROC in order to switch ties to the People's Republic of China.

James Soong was part of the Palace Faction that included Chiang loyalists such as Hau Pei-tsun and Lee Huan and which sought to limit Lee Teng-hui and his native Taiwanese faction's role in the government.

James Soong established himself as one of the few mainlanders who were loyal to Lee.

In support of James Soong, Lee coined the term "New Taiwanese" to describe a person born in mainland China, raised in Taiwan, who calls Taiwan home.

In June 1993, James Soong opened a Credit Suisse account, three months after he had stepped down as KMT secretary-general, and it closed in 2010.

In 1994 James Soong was elected and became the only directly elected governor of Taiwan Province.

James Soong was widely perceived to be an excellent campaigner and his excellent showing in the governorship ended hopes by the DPP of a "Yeltsin effect", by which an elected governor would have more legitimacy than the national government, due to the president being still elected by the National Assembly at that time.

James Soong felt that as Governor of Taiwan, he was the natural successor to Lien, but President Lee believed that James Soong should serve out his term.

President Lee appointed Vincent Siew, whom James Soong considered a subordinate, and this act led to the split between James Soong and Lee.

James Soong advocated a gradual union between Taiwan and the mainland by first signing a non-aggression pact followed by the formation of a cross-strait union similar to the European Union.

James Soong's platform called for the characterization of relations between the mainland and Taiwan as neither foreign nor domestic.

James Soong ran as a vice presidential candidate under Lien Chan in the 2004 election.

James Soong's supporters pointed out that he was more popular than Lien, as consistently demonstrated by polls and the results of the 2000 presidential elections.

The possibility of DPP-PFP cooperation ended in May 2005, when James Soong visited mainland China to meet with General Secretary Hu Jintao of the Chinese Communist Party.

On July 22,2005, James Soong, unopposed, was re-elected chairman of the PFP.

On October 18,2006, James Soong formally announced and registered his candidacy for the mayoralty of Taipei City, Taiwan's capital and largest city, in the local government elections to be held in December 2006.

James Soong registered as a "non-partisan" candidate without a party affiliation, declaring that he had taken a leave of absence from his post as chairman of the PFP.

James Soong described the "Blue-Green rivalry" in Taiwanese politics as an epidemic and stated that Lin, as a doctor, was his partner to cure this "disease".

James Soong contended that Taiwanese people wanted a third party other than the KMT and the DPP and that the PFP was their choice.

James Soong announced his intention to join the 2016 presidential election on 6 August 2015 with running mate Hsu Hsin-ying of the Minkuotang.

James Soong contested the 2020 presidential election, beginning his campaign on 13 November 2019.

James Soong had promised that this campaign would be his last attempt for the presidency.

James Soong has been awarded multiple honorary degrees, including honorary doctorates by the Catholic University of America, the University of South Australia, the University of Maryland, and Sookmyung Women's University.

James Soong has received multiple national decorations, including the Order of Good Hope in 1980 and the Order of Diplomatic Service Merit in 1982.

James Soong was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship in the US in 1982 and he was named an Ellsworth Bunker Distinguished Fellow in 1999 by the Asia Foundation.