David Chou (Chinese: 周伯倫; born 13 November 1954) is a Taiwanese politician. He served on the Taipei City Council from 1986 to 1993, when he was seated to the Legislative Yuan. Chou resigned in 2003, after being convicted on charges of bribery. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment and paroled in 2005.

David Chou
Chou Po-lun
周伯倫
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
1 February 1993 – 30 January 2003
ConstituencyTaipei County 1
In office
1 February 1993 – 31 January 1999
ConstituencyTaipei County
Member of the Taipei City Council
In office
25 December 1986 – 31 January 1993
Personal details
Born (1954-11-13) 13 November 1954 (age 70)
Taipei, Taiwan
Political partyDemocratic Progressive Party
Alma materSoochow University
Occupationpolitician

Education

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Chou earned a bachelor's degree in law from Soochow University.[1]

Political career

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Chou worked as Chen Shui-bian's legislative assistant from 1982 to 1985, and managed the successful 1986 electoral bid of Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen.[2] He served in many high-ranking positions within the Democratic Progressive Party and was a member of the Taipei City Council for two terms prior to his 1992 election to the Legislative Yuan.[3] Within the DPP, Chou belonged to the New Era Institute faction.[4] Chou was opposed to the selection of Annette Lu as Chen Shui-bian's running mate for the 2000 presidential elections.[5] During a portion of Chou's third legislative term, he served as DPP caucus convenor.[6]

Controversy

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Legal proceedings against Chou began in 1988, when Chen Sheng-hung accused Chou of taking NT$16 million in bribes from Chiaofu Construction Corporation.[7] The case was appealed to the Supreme Court in 2003, which refused to hear the case, upholding a guilty verdict issued by the Taiwan High Court.[8] The Supreme Court additionally placed travel restrictions on Chou to prevent him from leaving Taiwan.[9] He resigned from the Legislative Yuan following the Supreme Court decision.[10] Chou began serving his six-year prison sentence at Hualien Prison in February 2003.[11] Chou's first application for parole was rejected in January 2005.[12][13] Weeks later, a second application was submitted, and subsequently approved in June 2005.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Chou Po-lun (3)". Legislative Yuan. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Chou Po-lun (5)". Legislative Yuan. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Chou Po-lun (4)". Legislative Yuan. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  4. ^ Lin, Chieh-yu (16 September 1999). "Chen's choice for VP runs into factional hot water". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  5. ^ Lin, Chieh-yu (18 September 1999). "Chen Shui-bian sets sights firmly on Annette Lu". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  6. ^ Low, Stephanie (15 March 2001). "KMT thwarts DPP's anti-graft measures". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  7. ^ Ko, Shu-ling (10 February 2003). "Jail sentence puts crimp in Chou's political career". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  8. ^ Hsu, Crystal (30 January 2003). "Court turns down DPP lawmaker's request for appeal". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Chou barred from leaving". Taipei Times. 31 January 2003. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  10. ^ Chuang, Jimmy (13 February 2003). "Chou must serve sentence". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  11. ^ Chuang, Jimmy (17 February 2003). "Chou Po-lun promises to return in preparation for sentence in Hualien". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Chou up for parole". Taipei Times. 25 January 2005. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  13. ^ "No parole for dirty official". Taipei Times. 27 January 2005. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  14. ^ Chang, Rich (7 June 2005). "No string-pulling in former councilor's release, MOJ says". Taipei Times. Retrieved 11 July 2017.