Friday, December 30, 2005

Lien Chan Named Person of the Year


The Honorary Chairman of KMT Lien Chan was named Person of Year 2005 by Nanfang Weekend, the No. 1 newspaper in China by subscriptions.

Former Vice President (1996-2000) of Taiwan, Lien lost two presidential elections in the year 2000 and 2004. However, his political life reached its highest peak on April 26th 2005, when his plane touched down at Nanjing Lukou Airport, which marked the third hand-shake between the National Party (KMT) and China Communism Party (CCP). The two parties joined efforts in 1924-1927 to unite China from warlords, and they collaborated again in defending China against Japanese invasion.

Lien was also hailed when he voluntarily stepped down from the post of the Chairman of the KMT despite tremendous support after serving his terms. All previous leaders of KMT employed a range of techniques from declaring the martial law to redefining the constitution in order to keep their positions.

Lien Chan was born in Xi'an in 1936. He received his BS and MS from the National Taiwan University and a Ph.D. in political science in 1965 from the University of Chicago. Lien was often accused of being arrogant, partly because he never bothered to make comments or explanations on these accusations. Rumor has it that Lien is the most wealthiest person in Taiwan, which is not true but is still cited on daily basis by his political opponents. After retirement, he surrendered eligibility of treatment as a former vice president to claim benefits of retired civil servants, which technically renders more monthly income from pension because of his long serving years.

This year's list of candidates: 600 thousands adjunct rural teachers, Shenzhou 6 project group, Lu Jun, Li Yizhong, Zhang Baoqing, Li Yanhong, Chen Danqing, Lien Chan, Ding Junhui and the Super Girls.

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