19 Facts About Yao Chia-wen

Yao Chia-wen is a Taiwanese politician and lawyer who is an important figure in Taiwan's democratization movement.

Yao Chia-wen was the second chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party, serving from 1987 to 1988.

Yao Chia-wen was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1993 to 1996, and president of the Examination Yuan between 2002 and 2008.

Yao Chia-wen then went to the United States to pursue further graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, as a student at Boalt Hall in 1972.

Yao Chia-wen co-founded the "Legal Advice Center for Citizens" in 1972 after attending UC Berkeley.

Yao Chia-wen is married to Chou Ching-yu, who is a former magistrate of Changhua County.

Yao Chia-wen later received an honorary doctorate in law from Hankyong National University in South Korea.

Yao Chia-wen participated in the National Assembly election, which was suspended due to the termination of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and the United States.

Yao Chia-wen called for the abolition of the National Assembly in his book Maintaining and Amending the Law published in 1978.

In 1979, Yao Chia-wen was arrested and sentenced to a 12-year prison for his involvement in the Kaohsiung Incident.

Yao Chia-wen served in prison for seven years and became the chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party after he was released.

In 1992, Yao Chia-wen joined the Welfare State Alliance faction of the DPP founded by Frank Hsieh.

Yao Chia-wen was elected a member of the Legislative Yuan the same year, but was not re-elected in 1995.

In 1997, Yao Chia-wen started teaching at National Tsing Hua University as an associate professor.

Yao Chia-wen worked as a lawyer again in 1999, as he ran unsuccessfully for legislator again in 1998.

Yao Chia-wen was replaced by the Ma Ying-jeou government in 2008 after Chen Shui-bian's administration left office.

Yao Chia-wen was named a senior adviser to Tsai Ing-wen in October 2016.

Yao Chia-wen has authored more than twenty works in the fields of law, politics, history, and literature, including historical novels such as Jenchihkuan of Wushe and Mission No 9: A Female Agent of the Formosa Era, as well as works like Spring and Autumn of the Ten Nations of the South China Sea presenting concrete views on the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait situations.

Yao Chia-wen was an editor of the Formosa Magazine, which is associated with the Tangwai movement.