1. Siew Wan-chang, known by English name Vincent Siew, is a Taiwanese politician who served as the ninth vice president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2012.
48 Facts About Vincent Siew
1. 2.
Vincent Siew was the first Taiwanese-born Premier of the Republic of China and former vice-chairman of the Kuomintang.
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Vincent Siew subsequently received his master's degree from the Graduate Institute of International Law and Diplomacy from NCCU in 1965.
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Vincent Siew completed a leadership seminar at Georgetown University in the United States in 1982 and was awarded Eisenhower Fellowships in 1985.
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Vincent Siew successfully negotiated the establishment of the Trade Mission of the Republic of China in Singapore and its counterpart Singapore Trade Office in Taipei.
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Vincent Siew then joined the Board of Foreign Trade under the MOFA in 1972 which he rose from an inspector, department director until deputy director-general.
7.
Vincent Siew used to travel frequently between Taiwan and the United States for bilateral trade agreement negotiation until the US switched diplomatic relations from ROC to PRC on 1 January 1979.
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Vincent Siew participated in a number of additional trade missions to major trading nations to enhance economic and trade relations and resolve trade disputes.
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Vincent Siew authorized banks to process import-export permits, promoted professional training and introduced a rotating system for economic and trade representatives stationed outside Taiwan.
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Vincent Siew's efforts helped build Taiwan's very substantial foreign-exchange reserves and made Taiwan the world's 13th largest trading nation.
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Vincent Siew was elected a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1996 to 1997.
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Vincent Siew was the KMT vice-presidential candidate in 2000 on the ticket of Lien Chan.
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Vincent Siew is the former chairman of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research and the incumbent Chairman of the Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation.
14.
Vincent Siew resigned as KMT vice chairman and all other posts in the party before the legislative election in December 2004.
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Vincent Siew was criticised by the Pan-Blue Coalition for not taking a greater role in the Lien-Soong campaign and acting as convener for a private group of economic advisers for President Chen Shui-bian.
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Vincent Siew's appointment came at a time of problems with environment, stagnant investment and slow economic growth.
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Vincent Siew settled a yen-year dispute between local government and a community over the construction of Changbin Industrial Park.
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Vincent Siew overcame a legislative freeze of the budget of the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant in Taipei County.
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Vincent Siew eased government controls on cross-strait trade and investments.
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Vincent Siew led a delegation to Europe, Central America and South America to explore opportunities for international economic and trade cooperation which contributed to the promotion of trade diplomacy.
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In November 1991, Vincent Siew represented ROC, under the name Chinese Taipei, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation held in Seoul, South Korea.
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In February 1993, Vincent Siew was appointed as the Chairman of CEPD.
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Vincent Siew initiated a program to develop Taiwan into an operation center for the Asia-Pacific region.
24.
On 15 December 1994, Vincent Siew was appointed to become the Minister of Mainland Affairs Council replacing Huang Kun-huei.
25.
Vincent Siew was appointed as the Premier by President Lee Teng-hui after the 15th National Congress of Kuomintang held in August 1997 in Taipei.
26.
Premier Vincent Siew instructed Taiwan Power Company to sign the unpublished agreement with Mainland China regarding Taiwan's nuclear waste storage in Gansu province.
27.
On 18 March 2000, Vincent Siew joined the 2000 presidential election as a candidate for vice president with his running mate Lien Chan.
28.
In May 2007, Vincent Siew was mentioned as a possible running mate for KMT presidential nominee Ma Ying-Jeou.
29.
On 23 June 2007, ending weeks of speculation, Ma formally introduced Vincent Siew to be his vice-presidential running mate.
30.
On March 22, Ma and Vincent Siew won the 2008 presidential elections.
31.
On 11 April 2008, Vincent Siew departed Taiwan to attend the Boao Forum for Asia, held in Boao, Hainan, which is administered by mainland China.
32.
Vincent Siew is a founding delegate of the forum from 2001, and he attended in his capacity as chairman of the Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation.
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Vincent Siew had met with Chinese Communist Party general secretary Hu Jintao in Bo'ao in 2001.
34.
Vincent Siew's meeting with Hu Jintao was the highest level exchange between Taiwan and mainland China since the 2005 Pan-Blue visits to mainland China.
35.
On 12 April 2008, Vincent Siew met with Hu Jintao at the Boao Asia Forum as part of the Cross-Strait Common Market Foundation delegation, which included other former and future government officials and business leaders from Taiwan.
36.
Hu asked Vincent Siew to convey his greetings to Ma Ying-jeou, Kuomintang chairman Wu Po-hsiung and chairman emeritus Lien Chan.
37.
Vincent Siew raised the issue of regular cross-strait flights and the resumption of regular talks between the two governments, propositions to which Hu expressed agreement.
38.
On 4 September 2008, Vincent Siew embarked on his first overseas trip as vice president, visiting Swaziland for four days.
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Vincent Siew's trip aimed to cement further the diplomatic ties between the two countries, and to celebrate King Mswati III's fortieth birthday.
40.
Vincent Siew declined to run for a second term in Ma's 2012 re-election bid.
41.
Vincent Siew reiterated the intention of Taiwan to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
42.
Vincent Siew told Li that Taiwan and Mainland China should push for greater bilateral trade liberalization to build a comprehensive economic relationship and express Taiwan's wish to join the regional economy.
43.
In November 2014 in his capacity of the Economic Leader of Chinese Taipei, Vincent Siew flew to Beijing to attend the APEC China 2014 where he met with Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People.
44.
Vincent Siew added that the two sides should try to maintain the long-term and healthy development of relation by improving the confidence, mutual trust, respect and interaction.
45.
Part of Vincent Siew delegation included Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi and several Taiwanese business people.
46.
Vincent Siew is married to Susan Chu with three daughters: Ru-ting, Ru-fen and Jhih-you.
47.
Vincent Siew had two cancerous lung tumors removed on his left lung on 20 May 2009 at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
48.
Vincent Siew was then discharged from the hospital on 3 June 2009.