Hsieh Chi-ta (Chinese: 謝啟大; pinyin: Xiè Qǐdà; born 10 February 1949) is a retired Taiwanese politician who served in the Legislative Yuan from 1993 to 2002.

Hsieh Chi-ta
謝啟大
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
1 February 1996 – 31 January 2002
ConstituencyTaichung
In office
1 February 1993 – 31 January 1996
ConstituencyHsinchu
Convenor of the New Party National Committee
In office
March 2001 – December 2001
Preceded byHau Lung-pin
Succeeded byLevi Ying (acting)
Yok Mu-ming
Personal details
Born (1949-02-10) 10 February 1949 (age 75)
Shangrao, Jiangxi, Republic of China
NationalityTaiwanese
Political partyNew Party
EducationNational Taiwan University (LLB)
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Hsieh was born in Shangrao on 10 February 1949.[1] At the age of eighteen, she became a schoolteacher.[2] Hsieh's legal career began at age 28, after she had focused her legal studies at National Taiwan University on juvenile delinquency.[3][4] Hsieh was a judge for eleven years prior to her election to the Legislative Yuan, having been appointed to the Yilan and Hsinchu district courts, as well as the Hualien bench of the Taiwan High Court.[5][6]

Political career

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Hsieh represented Hsinchu district in the Legislative Yuan from 1993 to 1996.[7] She served another two terms in the Legislative Yuan, winning the 1995 and 1998 elections as a representative of Taichung.[8][9] During her first term, Hsieh served on the education committee and worked to improve teaching style and curriculum in public schools.[3][10] Soon after taking office, Hsieh unsuccessfully intervened in the capital punishment case of Liu Huan-jung, a Bamboo Union gang member who had killed five people and been placed on Taiwan's death row for seven years before his execution.[11] She petitioned for the Judicial Yuan to rule on ROC Civil Code [zh] Article 1089, which stated that if parents were to disagree on a decision pertaining to the rights of a child, the father's decision was final. As written, Article 1089 was found to be unconstitutional.[12] In further support of children's rights, Hsieh sought harsher punishments for child prostitution.[13]

In her second term, Hsieh was named a member of the judicial committee.[14] In 1997, Hsieh supported the passage of amendments to the Law Governing the Disposition of Juvenile Cases, making guardians partly responsible for the actions of juvenile delinquents.[15] The next year, she drafted an amendment to the Sexual Violation Prevention Act and Witness Protection Act, subjecting rape allegations to immediate investigation.[16] Hsieh also helped pass an amendment regarding compensation to crime victims.[17] Believing that smaller constituencies would prevent elected officials from accurately reflecting "mainstream public opinion", she opposed a 1998 proposal on electoral district reform.[18] The change from multi-member electoral districts to single-member districts coupled with party-list representation eventually occurred in 2008.[19] Hsieh was a strong advocate for women's rights,[20][21] and staunchly against the death penalty.[22]

By her third term, Hsieh was routinely listed by TVBS Weekly Magazine, the Vision Information Internet Association, and the Social Lawmaking League as one of the best legislators.[23] Yet, in April 2001 the Taiwan Association of University Professors listed Hsieh one of the thirteen worst legislators.[24] During the 2000 presidential election, she led an investigation of James Soong's finances in support of his candidacy.[25][26][27][28] Shortly after the election, First Lady of the Republic of China Tseng Wen-hui sued Hsieh, Elmer Fung, and Tai Chi for defamation.[29] The three were cleared of charges,[30] but fined upon appeal to the Taiwan High Court. Hsieh refused to pay the fine and was sentenced to three months imprisonment.[5][31] In her third term, Hsieh opposed the continued operation of the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant and criticized the Republic of China Navy for excessive spending.[32][33] She worked to implement a ban on the selling of life insurance to children under fourteen years of age out of concern that parents could be motivated to kill their children and subsequently file claims.[34][35] By February 2001,[36] Hsieh had become the New Party caucus leader. In June, Hsieh aided a woman who accused Chen Chao-chuan of raping her.[37][38] She ran again in the December 2001 legislative election, but lost.[39] Following the electoral defeat, Hsieh resigned her position as New Party caucus leader on 8 December 2001.[40] Before she left office, Hsieh played a large part in the 2002 passage of the Gender Equality Employment Law.[41]

Shortly after stepping down from the Legislative Yuan, Hsieh moved to China to teach and run a coffee shop.[2][6] Upon her return to Taiwan in December 2003, Hsieh served a three-month jail sentence for incidents of defamation that had occurred in 2000 involving Tseng Wen-hui.[5][31] In 2010, she criticized Ma Ying-jeou's selection of Rai Hau-min as President of the Judicial Yuan.[42] In July 2013, she began working in the Taipei City Government,[43] and resigned from her duties in May 2014.[44][45]

References

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  1. ^ "访台湾知名人士谢启大" (in Chinese). China Central Television. 12 February 2003. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b Hsieh, Chun-Man; Shang, Tao-Ming (29 May 2003). "Defeated New Party brass take flight across the Strait". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b Peng, Tammy C. (16 April 1993). "First-time legislator's talents not being wasted". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Chuang, Jimmy (12 August 2002). "Murder has critics seeking tougher laws for juveniles". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Chuang, Jimmy (1 December 2003). "Hsieh arrives to serve jail sentence". Taipei Times. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  6. ^ a b Chuang, Jimmy (29 May 2003). "Officials on tail of libellous lawmaker". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Chou Hsieh Chi-ta (2)". Legislative Yuan. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Chou Hsieh Chi-ta (3)". Legislative Yuan. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Chou Hsieh Chi-ta (4)". Legislative Yuan. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  10. ^ Chen, Venny (3 June 1994). "Taiwan pushes school reforms". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Lee, Rachel F. F. (27 April 1993). "Capital punishment issue heats up in Taiwan society". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Chen, Venny (30 September 1994). "Father favoritism unconstitutional". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ Shen, Deborah (24 March 1995). "Progress achieved on weighty child prostitution law". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "Taiwan's Police:The State of the Force". Taiwan Today. 1 May 1998. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  15. ^ Chang, Linda (9 October 1997). "Strengthened juvenile law ensures proper upbringing". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ Chang, Linda (26 June 1998). "Revisions to rape laws spark debate". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ Chang, Linda (15 May 1998). "Victim recompense law passes". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ Chang, Frank (8 January 1999). "Lien endorses two-vote system; Vice president wants 'quality". Taiwan Today/Taiwan Info. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  19. ^ Chen, Shu-Ching Jean (11 January 2008). "Taiwan Experiments With New Voting System". Forbes. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  20. ^ Yu, Susan (16 May 1997). "Mothers' Party issues strong call for a safer society". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ Chiu, Ken (17 May 1996). "Infertile women want ban on surrogate mothers lifted". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  22. ^ Spaeth, Anthony (1 November 1999). "Facing the Firing Squad". CNN. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  23. ^ Her, Kelly (1 March 1999). "Cleaning Up Taiwan's Campaign Culture". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  24. ^ Huang, Joyce (16 April 2001). "Professors make list of legislature's 'troublemakers'". Taipei Times. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  25. ^ "Soong is given 24-hour deadline to come clean". Taipei Times. 4 January 2000. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  26. ^ Chen, Lauren (8 January 2000). "Aides say Soong stronger after his financial scandal". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  27. ^ "Lien's march rocks, Soong rally falls flat". Taipei Times. 12 March 2000. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  28. ^ Chen, Lauren (27 December 1999). "Hsieh shields Soong from media hype". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  29. ^ Lin, Mei-chun (1 April 2002). "Newsmakers: Former first lady shows her stronger side". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  30. ^ Chuang, Jimmy; Lin, Mei-chun (27 March 2000). "Trio cleared of slander charges". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  31. ^ a b Huang, Tau-lin (2 March 2004). "Prison was a cinch, says defamation queen". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  32. ^ Chiu, Yu-Tzu (27 September 2000). "Tang says Cabinet cannot nix nuke project". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  33. ^ "New Party plans to cut navy's budget over missed meeting". Taipei Times. 9 December 2000. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  34. ^ Chou, Stanley (14 December 1999). "Children's life insurance ban sparks debate". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  35. ^ Chou, Stanley (12 April 2001). "Ban on life insurance for children likely". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  36. ^ Stephanie, Low (16 February 2001). "Opposition stalls law on referendum". Taipei Times. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  37. ^ "Presidential aid denies rape". Taipei Times. 15 May 2001. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  38. ^ "Woman repeats charges Chen advisor raped her". Taipei Times. 16 May 2001. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  39. ^ Lu, Myra (7 December 2001). "Voters give ruling party legislative advantage". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  40. ^ Chiu, Yu-Tzu (3 December 2001). "Commissioner vows to continue efforts". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  41. ^ Chang, Violet (4 January 2002). "Law hailed as victory for equal rights advocates". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 10 October 2016.[permanent dead link]
  42. ^ Wang, Flora (5 October 2010). "DPP to oppose Judicial Yuan appointments". Taipei Times. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  43. ^ Wang, Wen-hsuan; Chung, Jake (3 May 2014). "TSU takes aim at government employment practices". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  44. ^ Wang, Chris (13 May 2014). "Ma recruits from his 'inner circle' yet again: critics". Taipei Times. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  45. ^ Hsiao, Alison (9 May 2014). "Controversial Taipei civil servant Hsieh Chi-ta quits". Taipei Times. Retrieved 6 September 2022.