Su Tseng-chang

Su Tseng-chang (born 28 July 1947) is a Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2019 to 2023. A founding member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), he also chaired the party in 2005 and from 2012 to 2014. His career has included provincial and national legislative service, the magistracies of Pingtung and Taipei counties, and the position of secretary-general to the president. (cna.com.tw)

Before entering elected office, Su participated in the legal defense of defendants prosecuted following the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident. He subsequently held senior positions during both DPP governments led by Chen Shui-bian and Tsai Ing-wen. His first premiership included major transport openings and an investment and social-welfare program; his second included legislation implementing same-sex marriage and the government's public-health and economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. These roles connect his biography with Taiwan's transition to competitive party politics and the development of its contemporary administration. (history.ey.gov.tw)

Early life, education, and legal practice

Su Tseng-chang was born on 28 July 1947 in Pingtung, southern Taiwan. His early schooling was in his home region: his official legislative biography lists Ren-ai Elementary School in Pingtung City and Pingtung Middle School before his university education. He subsequently moved to Taipei to study law at National Taiwan University, where he received a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.). His legal education and professional qualification preceded his entry into elected office; the same legislative biography records that he passed the national higher examination for lawyers. (direct-koryu.infocms.jp)

Su’s professional activities extended beyond representing individual clients. His legislative biography records service as a director and secretary-general of the Comparative Law Society and as a volunteer lawyer at the Common People’s Legal Service Center. These positions placed his legal practice within professional associations and organized legal assistance. The Comparative Law Society also provided connections among lawyers who later participated in political trials: a history of the Taiwan Law Society identifies Su as a director and deputy secretary-general of its predecessor organization in 1979, when preparations began for the defense of defendants arrested after the Kaohsiung Incident. (ly.gov.tw)

The incident itself occurred on 10 December 1979, when opposition activists associated with Formosa magazine organized a Human Rights Day gathering in Kaohsiung that culminated in clashes between demonstrators and police. Arrests and prosecutions followed. Su’s documented role was as a defense attorney in the subsequent proceedings, not as an organizer of the street confrontation. On 20 February 1980, the Taiwan Garrison Command’s military prosecutors indicted eight leading opposition figures on rebellion charges. Their military trial opened on 18 March at the Jingmei detention and military-justice complex in Xindian; other defendants connected with the incident were prosecuted separately in civilian courts. The distinction between the December 1979 confrontation and the 1980 trials is therefore essential to the chronology of his involvement. (art.archives.gov.tw)

Su joined the fifteen-member defense team and, together with Frank Hsieh, represented Yao Chia-wen, himself a lawyer. Other defense counsel included Chen Shui-bian, Chiang Peng-chien, and Chang Chun-hsiung. The defense addressed several different questions: whether the prosecution’s evidence supported its allegations, whether constitutional protections encompassed public assembly, and how the defendants’ demands for political reform should be understood. These were arguments advanced in the proceedings, rather than findings accepted by the court. On 18 April 1980, the military court convicted all eight principal defendants. Su’s participation in this collective legal defense became a documented point of contact between his professional career and Taiwan’s opposition movement, preceding his election to the Taiwan Provincial Council in 1981. (nhrm.gov.tw)

Provincial politics and the founding of the DPP

Su Tseng-chang entered elected politics in 1981, winning a seat for Pingtung County in the Taiwan Provincial Council. He served in its seventh and eighth terms, from 1981 to 1989, securing reelection in 1985. His first election followed his participation in the defense of defendants prosecuted after the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident, linking his legal advocacy to an electoral career in his home county. His initial provincial candidacy preceded the establishment of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) by five years; he therefore entered the council as an opposition politician rather than as a DPP candidate. (cna.com.tw)

The council was a provincial representative institution, not Taiwan’s national legislature. Its statutory responsibilities included approving the provincial budget, reviewing audit reports on provincial accounts, deciding matters concerning provincial property, considering provincial regulations, and receiving public petitions. Individual councillors could question the provincial government chairman and departmental heads. These powers gave elected representatives institutional means to scrutinize administration and expenditure, although the council’s jurisdiction remained provincial. Direct elections to its predecessor, the Taiwan Provisional Provincial Council, had begun in 1954, and the institution adopted the Taiwan Provincial Council name in 1959. Su thus entered an established electoral body within a political system still dominated by the Kuomintang (KMT). (thesis.lib.nccu.edu.tw)

A documented example of Su’s provincial activity concerned police powers and criminal procedure. On 19 July 1982, the council approved a proposal submitted by Su and other councillors asking the provincial government to convey to the central authorities a request to postpone amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure concerning police powers to summon people for questioning, make arrests without a prior summons, and conduct searches. The procedural route mattered: the councillors were requesting central action through the provincial administration, not themselves amending national criminal law. The proposal carried concerns associated with legal advocacy into the council’s deliberations. (twstudy.iis.sinica.edu.tw)

Su also participated in the tangwai movement, the opposition networks operating outside the KMT before the formation of a new opposition party. On 28 September 1986, a meeting originally convened at the Grand Hotel in Taipei to endorse opposition election candidates became the founding meeting of the DPP. According to the party’s chronology, 132 participants signed to initiate its establishment. Su was one of the eighteen members of the party-founding organizing committee, alongside figures including Chiang Peng-chien, Frank Hsieh, Chen Chu, and Yu Shyi-kun. His role was therefore part of a collective organizational undertaking rather than the creation of a party by a single leader. (dpp.org.tw)

The DPP’s formation occurred while martial law and restrictions on establishing new parties remained in force. Its first national party congress, held on 10 November 1986, adopted a charter and platform and elected Chiang Peng-chien as chairman. Martial law was lifted on 15 July 1987, during Su’s second provincial term. His service consequently spanned the transition from opposition candidacies outside an organized new party to participation in a party operating before, and then after, the lifting of martial law. He remained a provincial councillor through 1989, when he was elected Pingtung County magistrate. (dpp.org.tw)

Pingtung magistracy and national party organization, 1989–1997

Su won election as Pingtung County magistrate in 1989, standing for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) against Tseng Yung-chuan of the Kuomintang (KMT). The Central Election Commission’s returns recorded 228,481 votes for Su and 192,480 for Tseng: approximately 54.28 percent and 45.72 percent of valid ballots, respectively, giving Su a majority of 36,001 votes. After serving in the Taiwan Provincial Council, he thus moved from a representative assembly into county executive office. His Pingtung magistracy lasted from 1989 to 1993. (web.cec.gov.tw)

His attempt to secure a second term in 1993 ended in defeat by the KMT’s Wu Tse-yuan. In the four-candidate contest, Su received 214,495 votes, or approximately 48.16 percent of the 445,334 valid ballots, while Wu received 226,792, approximately 50.93 percent. The remaining candidates, Chang Wen-an and Lee Ching-wen, received 707 and 3,340 votes. Wu’s winning margin was therefore 12,297 votes. The result ended Su’s county administration after one term; his next position was in the DPP’s national organization rather than another elected government office. (web.cec.gov.tw)

Su served as DPP secretary-general from late 1993 to 1995. This was a party-organizational position, distinct both from public office and from the party chairmanships he later held. A DPP resolution dated 26 April 1995 described his responsibility as assisting the chairman in conducting party affairs and confirmed that he had taken up the post at the end of 1993. The document is a contemporary record of his role within the central party apparatus, although its praise of his performance represented the party’s own assessment. His first term as DPP chairman did not begin until 2005. (dpp.org.tw)

The transition from party administration back to electoral politics was documented before the 1995 legislative election. In its communiqué of 26 April 1995, the DPP’s Central Standing Committee stated that Su had decided to run for the Legislative Yuan and would consequently have to resign as secretary-general. The same communiqué announced that registration for the party’s legislative nomination contests would take place from 1 to 3 May. These records distinguish his departure from the party post from his subsequent election and accession to a legislative seat. (dpp.org.tw)

Elected to the third Legislative Yuan in 1995, Su took office on 1 February 1996. The legislature’s membership record identifies his constituency as Taipei County’s first electoral district—not Pingtung, where he had previously served as magistrate—and lists his affiliation with the DPP and its legislative caucus. Although the third Legislative Yuan’s full term extended to 31 January 1999, Su’s own legislative service covered 1996–1997. He then moved into Taipei County government as magistrate in 1997. (zh.wikipedia.org)

Taipei County magistracy, 1997–2004

Su contested the Taipei County magistrate election on 29 November 1997 as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate, seeking to succeed the party’s incumbent, You Ching. His principal opponent was Hsieh Shen-shan of the Kuomintang (KMT). The six-candidate contest also included independent legislator Lin Chih-chia, Liao Hsueh-kuang, New Party nominee Yang Tai-shun, and Stella Chou. Party divisions shaped the field: Lin stood despite the KMT’s nomination of Hsieh, while Chou ran separately from the New Party’s official candidate. Central Election Commission returns record 571,658 votes for Su, or 40.67 percent, against Hsieh’s 543,516, or 38.67 percent. Lin finished third with 154,590 votes, or 11.00 percent. Su therefore retained the county for the DPP with a plurality and a margin of 28,142 votes over Hsieh, rather than an absolute majority. (en.wikipedia.org)

The office was the elected executive leadership of Taipei County, not the mayoralty of Taipei City. The county encompassed the surrounding suburban, coastal, and mountainous communities, organized into 29 county-administered cities and townships. Its government administered services through departments responsible for education, finance, public works, land administration, social welfare, agriculture, and labor affairs, among other functions. Taipei City remained a separate jurisdiction with its own municipal government. The county was not reorganized as the special municipality of New Taipei City until 25 December 2010, more than six years after Su left office; describing his 1997 victory as election to the New Taipei mayoralty would therefore be anachronistic. (news.cts.com.tw)

During Su’s first term, the county’s administrative organization was revised under the Local Systems Act. In 1999, county self-government ordinances provided the organizational framework, and the county’s population entitled it to two deputy magistrates. The restructuring also separated firefighting from the police organization by upgrading the fire brigade into a Fire Department, while the County Cultural Center became the Department of Cultural Affairs. These were changes in the county government’s institutional structure, rather than alterations to Taipei City’s administration. (foreigner.ntpc.gov.tw)

Su won reelection on 1 December 2001 against a more consolidated opposition. His main challenger, former finance minister Wang Chien-shien of the New Party, received support after KMT and People First Party candidates withdrew. The official returns give Su 874,495 votes, or 51.31 percent, and Wang 820,808, or 48.16 percent; two other candidates together received fewer than 9,000 votes. Su’s winning margin was 53,687 votes. Unlike his six-way victory in 1997, this result gave him an absolute majority and a second term as magistrate. (en.wikipedia.org)

Su left county government before completing that second term to join President Chen Shui-bian’s administration in May 2004. The Presidential Office’s official chronology dates his assumption of the secretary-generalship to 20 May 2004, succeeding Chiou I-jen. Deputy magistrate Lin Hsi-yao became acting county magistrate. The transfer ended Su’s county executive service and placed him in the presidential administration, rather than in another elected local-government position. (english.president.gov.tw)

Presidential administration and first DPP chairmanship, 2004–2005

Su Tseng-chang became secretary-general to President Chen Shui-bian on 20 May 2004, replacing Chiou I-jen as Chen began his second presidential term. His appointment moved him from Taipei County government into the president’s immediate administrative staff. The secretary-general directed and supervised Presidential Office personnel under the president’s authority and took overall responsibility for the office’s affairs. This coordinating role encompassed the staff machinery supporting presidential functions, including official documents, appointments, communications with government institutions, and public affairs; it was distinct from heading the Executive Yuan and its ministries. Su remained secretary-general until 31 January 2005, and You Si-kun succeeded him on 1 February. (english.president.gov.tw)

His transition to party leadership followed the December 2004 legislative election. Chen resigned as chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after the party won 89 seats in the 225-member Legislative Yuan, falling short of its target of more than 100. Su announced his candidacy for the vacant chairmanship at the end of December and submitted his resignation from the Presidential Office. On 30 January 2005, he won the chairmanship by-election as the sole candidate. Approximately 347,000 party members were eligible to vote, and turnout was 19.73 percent. The DPP’s official chronology dates his assumption of the chairmanship to 15 February, distinguishing the membership ballot from the beginning of his tenure. (taipeitimes.com)

The chairmanship was an internal party office rather than a position in the presidential administration or Cabinet. Su’s authority now rested on a party election, rather than presidential appointment. After the vote, he stated that he intended to broaden the DPP’s appeal and reflect mainstream public opinion. A concrete test of his leadership came in the December 2005 local elections, when he campaigned for DPP candidates, including Luo Wen-chia in Taipei County. On 2 December, Su publicly pledged to resign if Luo lost or if the DPP failed to secure at least ten county and city executive posts. (taipeitimes.com)

In the 3 December elections, the DPP won six of the 23 county and city executive positions being contested, while the Kuomintang won fourteen. Luo lost Taipei County to the Kuomintang’s Chou Hsi-wei. Su offered his resignation that evening, fulfilling his pre-election commitment; the DPP’s official list records the end of his chairmanship as 8 December 2005. His resignation concerned responsibility for the party’s electoral performance and did not itself constitute a change of Cabinet. Premier Frank Hsieh separately offered to resign after the election, but Chen initially declined his offer. (taipeitimes.com)

On 19 January 2006, Chen announced that Su would replace Hsieh as premier. In explaining the selection, Chen cited Su’s experience in local government, the legislature, the Presidential Office, and the DPP leadership. The announcement thus returned Su to government through a separate presidential decision after his party chairmanship had ended; it was not an automatic transfer from party leader to head of the Executive Yuan. (english.president.gov.tw)

First premiership, 2006–2007

Su Tseng-chang served his first term as premier from 25 January 2006 to 21 May 2007, under President Chen Shui-bian. Chen announced his selection on 19 January, naming him to succeed Frank Hsieh as head of the Executive Yuan. Tsai Ing-wen, previously chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council, became vice premier. The appointment placed Su at the head of the Cabinet rather than the presidency; Tsai served as his deputy during this administration. (history.ey.gov.tw)

The administration’s principal economic and social-policy framework was the 2006 “Big Investment, Big Warmth” program. The Executive Yuan’s historical chronology records its announcement on 25 October and identifies five component packages: industrial development, financial markets, the industrial workforce, public infrastructure, and social welfare. These were announced policy objectives, not measures of completed investment or demonstrated improvements in living standards. The program combined measures directed toward economic development with a separately specified welfare agenda, rather than constituting a single construction project or benefit payment. (history.ey.gov.tw)

The workforce component illustrates how the framework was intended to operate. It proposed integrating information about labor supply and demand, providing occupational training for priority industries, strengthening practical and technical education, and expanding links among industry, universities, and research institutions. The social-welfare package contained twelve priority plans organized around reducing geographical and income disparities, supporting older people, responding to declining births, and promoting health. Its proposed instruments included employment assistance for disadvantaged groups, educational support, a ten-year long-term-care system, a national pension system, and expanded childcare provision. These measures belonged to a multiyear agenda extending beyond Su’s first premiership. (ws.ndc.gov.tw)

Two major transport openings occurred during his tenure. The Hsuehshan Tunnel opened on 16 June 2006, following approximately thirteen years of construction. On 2 March 2007, Taiwan High Speed Rail began full-line service between Taipei and Kaohsiung. Both were milestones in projects whose development and construction substantially predated Su’s appointment in January 2006. Their opening dates therefore identify events during his administration, not projects conceived and built entirely by his Cabinet. (history.ey.gov.tw)

The transfer to a new administration took place in May 2007. On 14 May, Chen announced that Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Chang Chun-hsiung would become premier. Su and his Cabinet tendered their resignations on 16 May to prepare for the handover, while his recorded term continued until 21 May. Chang took office that day, distinguishing the Cabinet’s collective resignation from the formal conclusion of Su’s premiership. (english.president.gov.tw)

Presidential and mayoral campaigns, 2007–2018

Su contested the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nomination for the 2008 presidential election while serving as premier. His opponents were former premier Frank Hsieh, party chairman Yu Shyi-kun, and Vice President Annette Lu. In the party-membership ballot on 6 May 2007, Su finished second to Hsieh and withdrew from the contest that evening. The nomination procedure originally assigned 30 percent of each candidate’s score to the membership ballot and 70 percent to public-opinion polling. After Hsieh’s three opponents accepted his victory, the party dispensed with the polling stage, clearing the way for his presidential candidacy. Su publicly pledged his support for Hsieh. (taipeitimes.com)

On 15 August 2007, Hsieh announced that Su would be his vice-presidential running mate, placing the former nomination rivals on the same ticket. Hsieh described the selection as an effort to unite the party. Their opponents in the election of 22 March 2008 were Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou and his running mate, Vincent Siew. Hsieh and Su received 5,444,949 votes, or 41.55 percent of valid ballots, against 7,659,014 votes, or 58.45 percent, for Ma and Siew. Su therefore contested the general election as a candidate for vice president, not as the DPP’s presidential nominee. (oneindia.com)

In 2010, Su sought the mayoralty of Taipei City, a jurisdiction separate from Taipei County, where he had previously served as magistrate. He did not contest the simultaneous election in New Taipei City, the municipality succeeding Taipei County; the DPP’s candidate there was Tsai Ing-wen. Su’s Taipei campaign included online social networking intended to reach younger voters. In the election on 27 November, incumbent KMT mayor Hau Lung-pin defeated him with 797,865 votes, or 55.65 percent, to Su’s 628,129 votes, or 43.81 percent. Su carried Shihlin and Datung districts, while Hau won the other ten city districts. (en.wikipedia.org)

Su again sought the DPP presidential nomination in 2011, this time for the election scheduled for January 2012. His competitors were Tsai and former party chairman Hsu Hsin-liang. Unlike the unfinished two-stage procedure of 2007, this contest was decided through five party-commissioned telephone polls, covering approximately 15,000 eligible voters and including respondents who supported the KMT. The results announced on 27 April gave Tsai average support of 42.50 percent, compared with Su’s 41.15 percent and Hsu’s 12.21 percent. These figures measured support in separate hypothetical contests against Ma, rather than shares of a single three-candidate ballot. Tsai won the nomination, ending Su’s second attempt to head the party’s presidential ticket. (scmp.com)

In April 2018, Su agreed to represent the DPP in the New Taipei mayoral election, returning as a candidate to the territory he had governed as Taipei County magistrate from 1997 to 2004. His KMT opponent, Hou You-yi, had served as New Taipei deputy mayor before resigning to campaign. In the election on 24 November, Su received 873,692 votes against Hou’s 1,165,130—approximately 42.9 percent and 57.1 percent, respectively. Su conceded at about 8 p.m., before the final count was confirmed, thanked his supporters, and congratulated Hou. (taipeitimes.com)

Second DPP chairmanship, 2012–2014

Su Tseng-chang won the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairmanship election on 27 May 2012, receiving 55,894 votes, or 50.47 percent, in a five-candidate contest. Former Tainan County magistrate Su Huan-chih finished second with 21.02 percent, followed by former vice premier Wu Rong-i with 14.73 percent, former legislator Chai Trong-rong with 11.28 percent, and former chairman Hsu Hsin-liang with 2.49 percent. The party reported turnout of 68.62 percent. Su formally assumed office on 30 May, succeeding acting chairwoman Chen Chu; this was his second period as party leader, following his earlier chairmanship in 2005. (chinanews.com)

The leadership transition followed Tsai Ing-wen’s defeat in the January 2012 presidential election and subsequent departure from the chairmanship. As leader of the opposition party, Su faced the organizational tasks of maintaining unity among competing groups, developing alternative policies, and preparing candidates and local organizations for the 2014 elections. The chairmanship was a party position, not a government executive office. In a January 2013 interview, he identified winning the 2014 local elections as his principal task and described candidate recruitment and election monitoring as concrete preparations. He said the party was training more than 30,000 poll monitors for deployment at over 14,000 polling stations, and argued that a future DPP administration would also need a legislative majority to govern effectively. (taipeitimes.com)

On 13 June 2013, Su addressed an event at the Brookings Institution in Washington, co-hosted with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He organized his remarks around responsibility, reconciliation, and rebalance. Presenting democratic accountability as central to the DPP’s role, he advocated an opposition that offered policy alternatives rather than merely criticizing the government. On cross-strait relations, he attributed to the party’s 1999 resolution the position that Taiwan was sovereign under the name Republic of China and that changes to its status required popular approval through democratic procedures, including a referendum. He also supported dialogue with both the government and people of China, while rejecting sovereignty concessions as a condition of engagement. (brookings.edu)

Su linked these positions to organizational initiatives: a China Affairs Committee, whose first meeting he dated to 9 May 2013, and the reestablishment of a DPP mission in Washington. He characterized the United States as Taiwan’s principal democratic, security, and economic partner. His stated objectives included stronger Taiwanese self-defense, a bilateral free-trade agreement, participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and reduced economic dependence on China. These were proposals advanced as opposition-party chairman, rather than agreements concluded on Taiwan’s behalf. (brookings.edu)

On 14 April 2014, Su announced that he would not seek reelection as chairman, saying that he wished to avoid damage to the party before November’s local elections. Tsai won the subsequent leadership election on 25 May and formally succeeded him at the handover on 28 May. The party’s official chronology therefore records his second chairmanship as running from 30 May 2012 to 28 May 2014, ending before the local elections for which his administration had been preparing. (focustaiwan.tw)

Second premiership: administration and legislation, 2019–2023

Su Tseng-chang returned as premier on 14 January 2019 under President Tsai Ing-wen, succeeding Lai Ching-te. His office—formally president of the Executive Yuan—was constitutionally distinct from the presidency of the republic. The president was head of state; the premier headed the highest administrative organ and directed the Cabinet. Article 3 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution provided for presidential appointment of the premier without legislative confirmation, while making the Executive Yuan responsible to the Legislative Yuan through policy reports and questioning of the premier and ministers. Su therefore coordinated executive administration but depended on the legislature to enact the Cabinet’s proposed laws. (english.ey.gov.tw)

On 21 February 2019, Su’s Cabinet approved a bill implementing Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748. The judicial decision, issued on 24 May 2017, had established the constitutional requirement to protect same-sex couples’ freedom to marry and allowed two years for the necessary legal changes. The Cabinet proposed dedicated legislation, rather than an amendment to the Civil Code’s marriage provisions, following the November 2018 referendum. Su presented this approach as fulfilling both the constitutional interpretation and the referendum result. The institutions performed separate functions: the Judicial Yuan supplied the constitutional ruling, the Executive Yuan prepared and approved the government bill, and the Legislative Yuan passed the implementing act on 17 May 2019. Tsai promulgated it on 22 May; it took effect on 24 May, when same-sex marriage registration became available. (english.ey.gov.tw)

Economic administration included three investment programs targeting returning overseas Taiwanese businesses, domestic corporations, and small and medium-sized enterprises. Introduced together from July 2019, they combined financing assistance with a single service window for land, water, electricity, and taxation issues. In its June announcement, the Cabinet proposed increasing available loans for returning businesses from NT$20 billion to NT$500 billion and providing NT$80 billion for domestic corporations. Government payments of service fees to participating banks were intended to facilitate business lending. These were financing arrangements designed to encourage investment, not equivalent amounts of direct government investment or evidence that the anticipated projects had been completed. (investtaiwan.nat.gov.tw)

Su’s policy report to the eighth session of the ninth Legislative Yuan, delivered on 27 September 2019, illustrated how the premiership brought ministerial programs into a common legislative account. He reviewed July amendments to the Statute for Industrial Innovation that extended tax incentives for ten years and introduced tax breaks for smart machinery and 5G investment. He also described the offshore-funds repatriation law, effective from 15 August, which offered tax benefits linked to investment in real assets. In discussing investment promotion, Su reported that 134 returning businesses had received approval for nearly NT$600 billion in planned investment, with more than 50,000 jobs anticipated. Those figures described approved projects and expected employment, rather than independently verified completed investment and hiring. (english.ey.gov.tw)

The same report documented continued implementation of the New Southbound Policy through cooperation in medicine, agriculture, tourism, technology, and culture. Su reported US$54.2 billion in trade with the policy’s target countries and 1.36 million visits from those countries during the first half of 2019. These were figures presented in the administration’s own account of its work, not an independent assessment of the policy’s effects. His report also requested legislative consideration of pending bills and described instructions to ministries and agencies concerning election security, illustrating the premier’s combined responsibilities for legislative reporting and interministerial coordination. (english.ey.gov.tw)

Pandemic response and economic relief

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Su’s Cabinet coordinated cross-ministerial decisions and economic assistance, while the Ministry of Health and Welfare and its agencies administered the public-health response. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), activated on 20 January 2020, brought agencies together for operational coordination, initially under Taiwan Centers for Disease Control director-general Chou Chih-haw. Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai attended its opening-day meeting and instructed ministries to support the health ministry with border quarantine, medical supplies and hospital preparedness. Su upgraded the center on 23 January, when health minister Chen Shih-chung assumed command. The CECC therefore provided a specialized command structure within the executive administration, rather than replacing the Cabinet or individual ministries. (cdc.gov.tw)

Early measures combined border screening, supply controls and administrative data sharing. On-board inspections of direct flights from Wuhan began on 31 December 2019, before passengers disembarked. On 24 January 2020, the government announced an export ban on medical-grade masks and requisitioning of domestically produced medical masks. On 27 January, immigration travel records were linked to the National Health Insurance system, enabling frontline medical personnel to consult patients’ recent overseas travel histories. On 2 February, the government announced a two-week postponement of school openings at senior-high-school level and below. Su reviewed these decisions at the Cabinet meeting of 31 December 2020; their implementation involved health, immigration, economic and education authorities. (english.ey.gov.tw)

Economic relief rested on special legislation and successive budget appropriations. The Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens, promulgated on 25 February 2020, initially authorized NT$60 billion. An April amendment added NT$150 billion, followed by approximately NT$209.947 billion in additional funding in October. Assistance included credit guarantees and interest subsidies for businesses, wage supplements and training support for workers on reduced hours, and tax deferrals or reductions for affected enterprises. These instruments distinguished repayable financing from direct subsidies and tax relief, while also funding disease-control measures. (english.ey.gov.tw)

After the nationwide Level 3 alert began on 19 May 2021, the administration introduced “relief package 4.0.” Amendments promulgated on 31 May raised the special-budget ceiling to NT$840 billion; a June appropriation added NT$259.5 billion for the package. Measures included living allowances for eligible self-employed people and workers without fixed employers, assistance for affected part-time and uninsured workers, and subsidies for families with young schoolchildren. Business support included operating subsidies and employee payments in affected service industries, expanded loan facilities and interest subsidies. These were targeted assistance programs, distinct from the broader consumer-voucher scheme introduced later that year. (english.ey.gov.tw)

Su announced the 2020 Triple Stimulus Vouchers on 2 June, with distribution beginning on 15 July. Recipients paid NT$1,000 for NT$3,000 in purchasing power; qualifying disadvantaged recipients received a subsidy covering their contribution. Eligibility initially covered Taiwanese citizens and resident foreign or Chinese spouses, and was extended in November to permanent foreign residents and holders of diplomatic identification cards. Paper vouchers were distributed through post offices and convenience-store channels, alongside digital options linked to electronic payments. The stated purpose was to encourage domestic consumption rather than provide unrestricted income replacement. (english.ey.gov.tw)

The 2021 Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers instead provided NT$5,000 without a recipient contribution. Eligible groups included citizens, foreign spouses, permanent foreign residents and accredited diplomats. Spending began on 8 October 2021 and continued through 30 April 2022. Recipients could collect paper vouchers through convenience stores or post offices, or register digital vouchers to credit cards, electronic payment cards or mobile-payment applications. The administration presented this second program as a means of restoring domestic demand, particularly in service industries affected by restrictions; its projected stimulus effects were policy expectations, not established outcomes. (taipeitimes.com)

Departure from the premiership and later advisory role

Su Tseng-chang’s second premiership ended on 31 January 2023, when Chen Chien-jen succeeded him as head of the Executive Yuan under President Tsai Ing-wen. His farewell Cabinet meeting had taken place on 30 January, one day before the formal transfer of office. In his remarks, Su identified that session as the 203rd Cabinet meeting he had chaired since returning as premier on 14 January 2019. He thanked ministers and officials and addressed the transition to Chen’s administration. The farewell session therefore marked the conclusion of his Cabinet’s meetings, rather than the date recorded for the end of his premiership in the Executive Yuan’s historical register. (history.ey.gov.tw)

The handover ceremony took place in the Executive Yuan’s Assembly Hall on 31 January. Vice President Lai Ching-te supervised the transfer of the premier’s seal of office to Chen, formally completing Su’s departure after more than four years in the post. Chen and the incoming political appointees had taken their oaths at the Presidential Office earlier that morning. This was a change of Cabinet within Tsai’s presidency, not a presidential succession; Lai participated in the ceremony in his capacity as vice president. (cna.com.tw)

The completed chronology separates Su’s executive service from his leadership of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). His first party chairmanship was in 2005, before his first premiership, which lasted from 25 January 2006 to 21 May 2007 under President Chen Shui-bian. He subsequently chaired the DPP from 30 May 2012 to 28 May 2014, with Tsai succeeding him as party leader. His second premiership ran from 14 January 2019 to 31 January 2023. Neither premiership coincided with his own tenure as DPP chairman: the party chairmanship and leadership of the Executive Yuan were distinct appointments, even when their holders belonged to the same party. (dpp.org.tw)

On 1 August 2024, after Lai had become president, the Presidential Office announced Su’s appointment as a senior advisor to the president. Su was among 27 senior advisors appointed alongside 73 national policy advisors; the announced appointment period extended from 1 August 2024 through 19 May 2026. The senior-advisor position was honorary and consultative, not a return to Cabinet leadership. The Presidential Office describes its function as providing opinions and advice to the president, limits the number of senior advisors to 30, and stipulates that their terms cannot extend beyond the president’s own term. Su’s appointment thus placed him in the president’s advisory structure rather than in charge of ministries or executive administration. (president.gov.tw)

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7. 陳儀深：陳文成案是美麗島事件一部分cna.com.tw
8. 「一九七九年美麗島（高雄）事件研究─事實經過、文獻史料調查、與口述補訪」計畫案結案報告書nhrm.gov.tw
9. 蘇貞昌zh.wikipedia.org
10. 2010 ELECTIONS: PROFILE: Su Tseng-chang: Comeback kidtaipeitimes.com
11. 台灣省議會議員質詢權之研究thesis.lib.nccu.edu.tw
12. 中華民國地方議會議事錄總庫journal.th.gov.tw
13. 戰後臺灣歷史年表---普及版twstudy.iis.sinica.edu.tw
14. 民主進步黨：歷史dpp.org.tw
15. Political Partiestaiwan-database.net
16. DPP marks 14 yearstaipeitimes.com
17. 屏東縣第11屆縣長選舉候選人在各鄉鎮市得票數一覽表web.cec.gov.tw
18. 屏東縣第12屆縣長選舉候選人在各鄉鎮市得票數一覽表web.cec.gov.tw
19. 褒揚蘇貞昌秘書長決議文dpp.org.tw
20. 民主進步黨第六屆第35次中常會聞稿dpp.org.tw
21. 1995年中華民國立法委員選舉zh.wikipedia.org
22. 1997–98 Taiwanese local electionsen.wikipedia.org
23. 選情分析:台北縣長選舉競逐激烈news.cts.com.tw
24. 新北市（臺北縣）歷屆選舉資料web.cec.gov.tw
25. Publication & Launch] "Who Did You Vote For?" 1997 Taipei County Magistrate Election in Pictures on Open Museumascdc.sinica.edu.tw
26. History—New Taipei City Governmentforeigner.ntpc.gov.tw
27. Taipei Yearbook 2010www-ws.gov.taipei
28. Revenue Service Office, New Taipei City Government—General Descriptiontax.ntpc.gov.tw
29. 2001–02 Taiwanese local electionsen.wikipedia.org
30. Commissioner vows to continue effortstaipeitimes.com
31. Secretary-General to the Presidentenglish.president.gov.tw
32. Su Tseng-changen.wikipedia.org
33. Organization of the Office of the Presidentenglish.president.gov.tw
34. Party Chairsdpp.org.tw
35. Su elected as new DPP chairpersontaipeitimes.com
36. Su Tseng-chang enters race for DPP chairmantaipeitimes.com
37. Su stakes his job on Taipei Countytaipeitimes.com
38. Hsieh offers to resign for poll debacletaipeitimes.com
39. President Chen Announces Former Chairman of Democratic Progressive Party Su Tseng-chang to Take up Post as Premierenglish.president.gov.tw
40. 蘇貞昌 - 行政院珍貴史料展示history.ey.gov.tw
41. Tsai Ing-wen confirmed as Su deputytaipeitimes.com
42. 中華民國臺灣地區就業市場情勢月報：2006年第10期ws.ndc.gov.tw
43. 大溫暖社會福利套案規劃策略（表3-11）ws.ndc.gov.tw
44. President Chen Shui-bian Names SEF Chairman Chang Chun-hsiung as New Premierenglish.president.gov.tw
45. Su, Cabinet step down to pave way for new premiertaipeitimes.com
46. New premier Chang takes oath of officetaipeitimes.com
47. DPP members head to polls for election primaries tomorrowtaipeitimes.com
48. Hsieh to run as DPP candidatetaipeitimes.com
49. Taiwan's Hsieh picks former premier as running mateoneindia.com
50. Vincent Siewen.wikipedia.org
51. Election Result By Party Votes For The 12th R.O.C President Electionvote.nccu.edu.tw
52. 2010 ELECTIONS: Voters confirm ‘status quo’taipeitimes.com
53. 2010 ELECTIONS: Hau Lung-bin wins in Taipeitaipeitimes.com
54. Election Result By Party Votes For The 5th Taipei City Mayor Electionvote.nccu.edu.tw
55. Tsai Wins DPP Poll in Taiwanthediplomat.com
56. DPP expected to nominate Sutaipeitimes.com
57. Su Tseng-chang wins DPP chair votetaipeitimes.com
58. 苏贞昌当选民进党主席 得票率为历年最低chinanews.com
59. Su Tseng-Chang and the Future of the DPPjamestown.org
60. INTERVIEW: Su casts light on DPP’s perspectivetaipeitimes.com
61. Strengthening U.S.-Taiwan Relations: A New Partnership for a New Agebrookings.edu
62. DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang will not run for re-election (update)focustaiwan.tw
63. Tsai Ing-wen elected as DPP chairtaipeitimes.com
64. DPP’s Tsai vows to make changestaipeitimes.com
65. New premier to lead Cabinet grounded in will of the peopleenglish.ey.gov.tw
66. Main text—Constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan)english.president.gov.tw
67. Additional Articles—Constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan)english.president.gov.tw
68. Executive Yuan affirms marriage equality ruling, moves to make necessary legal changesenglish.ey.gov.tw
69. Cabinet passes bill concerning same-sex marriageenglish.ey.gov.tw
70. Taiwan advances rights for all with promulgation of same-sex marriage lawenglish.ey.gov.tw
71. Rights of Same-sex Marriageshumanrights.moj.gov.tw
72. 投資臺灣入口網 Invest Taiwan_關於我們_投資臺灣事務所_投資臺灣三大方案investtaiwan.nat.gov.tw
73. Three major programs to give businesses greater confidence to invest in Taiwanenglish.ey.gov.tw
74. Premier Su Tseng-chang's oral policy report to 8th session of 9th Legislatureenglish.ey.gov.tw
75. Taiwan CDC announces activation of Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for Severe Special Infectious Pneumonia to comprehensively prevent novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak in China and ensure health of Taiwanese publiccdc.gov.tw
76. Central Epidemic Command Centercovid19.mohw.gov.tw
77. Premier reflects on 2020's successful COVID-19 responseenglish.ey.gov.tw
78. COVID relief and stimulus for industryenglish.ey.gov.tw
79. Relief package 4.0 plus quintuple stimulus vouchersenglish.ey.gov.tw
80. Executive Yuan announces 'triple stimulus' voucher programenglish.ey.gov.tw
81. CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan nationals, foreign spouses to receive stimulus vouchersocacnews.net
82. The NT$1,000 subsidy, for the Triple Stimulus Voucher receivable by disadvantaged citizens, has started to be deposited into respective accounts since July 2.covid19.mohw.gov.tw
83. 'Triple stimulus' vouchers extended to more foreigners in Taiwanenglish.ey.gov.tw
84. Government Announces Stimulus Vouchersnews.pts.org.tw
85. Vouchers’ scope expansion mulledtaipeitimes.com
86. 'Quintuple stimulus voucher' program set to provide even greater boost to Taiwan's economyenglish.ey.gov.tw
87. Outgoing Premier Su Tseng-chang's remarks at his final Cabinet sessionenglish.ey.gov.tw
88. 行政院聯合交接典禮 陳建仁接下閣揆印信cna.com.tw
89. 陳建仁接任行政院長「打造溫暖而堅韌的臺灣」 讓全民受到溫暖照顧ey.gov.tw
90. 總統府公布新聘資政、國策顧問名單president.gov.tw
91. Senior Advisors to the Presidentenglish.president.gov.tw