Chen Ding-nan

Chen Ding-nan (29 September 1943 – 5 November 2006), sometimes transliterated Chen Ting-nan or referred to as David Chen, was a Taiwanese politician, lawyer, and environmentalist who served as Minister of Justice and was known as a leader of the country's anti-nuclear movement. It has been claimed that Chen formulated his decision to give up his businesses as follows:

At that time, I told myself: Taiwan's society has become like this, what is the meaning of making a larger fortune? — Chen Ding-Nan|title=after the Lin Family Massacre|source=宜蘭經驗 陳定南從政傳奇 starting with being elected in the 1989 elections. During one of the re-elections periods, one of the supporting slogans was reportedly "Support Chen Ding-Nan, Stir Taiwan Province" . and his third term (commencing in 1996), he renewed his term of office for a fourth administration (commencing on 1 February 1999) but left the post early on 20 May 2000 to take up his ministerial appointment.

In 2000, when the DPP came to power, Chen became Minister of Justice, heading the Taiwan's Ministry of Justice until 2005.

In 2005, he ran again for the office of Magistrate of Yilan County but lost to the Kuomintang candidate Lu Kuo-hua. incorporated as a department of every public institution.

1994 provincial governor elections

The first ever elections for the post of provincial governor of Taiwan, held on 3 December 1994, with a turnout of 76 percent, resulted in a clear favor of James Soong (56 percent of votes) of the Kuomintang, followed by Chen (39 percent) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Ju Gau-jeng (4 percent) of The New Party and the two remaining candidates, Wu Tzu of the Taiwan United People's Party and the independent Tsai Cheng-chih (1 percent for the two candidates combined).

For the first and only time during the 1990s, the KMT made corruption its main theme of attacking a candidate of the DPP, as Soong accused Chen of hiring land speculators and drug dealers as campaigners. Soong distributed a series of advertisements attacking Chen for corruption during his two terms as magistrate of Yilan County, containing slogans targeting Chen such as: 'number one at land speculation' and 'cultivating corruption expert series' or depicting Chen in the gown of a judge with the Chinese character for 'speculation' on the gown. In response, Chen accused Soong of breaking the election law with these accusations. Furthermore, other than spreading their own advertisements accusing the Kuomintang of past false accusations, the DPP also responded with promoting Chen's record of fighting corruption as magistrate of Yilan County, for example by means of an advertisement showing a picture of Chen and Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, with the slogan 'Choosing Chen Ting-nan equals Lee Kuan Yew becoming Provincial Governor' , insinuating how Chen had followed Lee's cracking down on corruption and discriminatory privileges.

Sober personal expenditure

Lee Kun-tse , who was Chen's chief secretary while the latter was justice minister, claimed that his former boss used the public bus as a general means of transportation, in contrast with other politicians of high ranks, and noted that he never spent over on a meal and used the public train for his travels home to Yilan. He set the strictest ever minimum amount for election bribery - NT$30.

In June 2004, Chen attempted to close the center down because it became difficult to secure funds. Due to opposition by Eric Chen , Hou Kuan-jen and Shen Ming-lun , the center's prosecutors, the center stayed open. In January 2005, three opposition lawmakers, which were being investigated by the center for alleged acts of bribery, threatened to cut down on the center's proposed budget. This did not happen, as prosecutors shared this threat with reporters. Subsequently, other lawmakers and two non-governmental organizations also vouched their support for the center. Afterwards, the legislature approved the center's budget for 2005. In February 2005 some District Court prosecutors expressed their doubt on the importance of the center, claiming that its role overlaps with their own as part of the district anti-corruption task forces. It has been claimed that Chen never accepted any lobby invitations during his political career.

When DPP candidate Lin Tsung-hsien won the 2009 elections for the Yilan County magistrate, certain media attributed his success partly due to the handing over of Chen's briefcase to Lin by Chen's widow Chang Chao-yi , seen as a gesture symbolizing her endorsement for the candidate.

In 2015, while William Lai was still mayor of Tainan, Lai noted that he saw Chen as the embodiment of integer and diligent government. The media noted that Lai has often said that his political career is greatly influenced by Chen and that he has literally pledged to carry on 'the spirit of Chen Ding-nan' in his own governance.

Death

After the race for the 2005 Yilan County magistrate elections, Chen's health quickly worsened, suffering a constant fever. In April 2006 he was diagnosed with late stage lung adenocarcinoma, a type of lung cancer, after which he was hospitalized multiple times. After two treatments of chemotherapy, doctors stopped the treatment, resorting to an organic diet and Qigong. On 19 October 2006 he was admitted to the hospital with fluid in his lungs and on 6 November 2006, aged 63, he died due to cancer-related causes in the National Taiwan University Hospital.

Chen left instructions asking for no shrine with his portrait to be arranged and no wake to be held for him. Also, he left instructions that his body must be cremated within 72 hours (3 days), and to sprinkle part of his ashes into the Yilan lands and some placed beside his family graveyard. Eventually, due to legal restrictions and the offer from Yilan County Government on making a special project for tree burial that did not match Chen's personality, his ashes were fully buried in his family graveyard in Yilan. It also raised funds for the construction of a memorial park near his former residence in Sanxing Township. On 5 November 2011, marking five years since Chen's death, such a park opened under attendance of Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairman Huang Kun-huei, amongst others, receiving the name of 'Chen Ding-nan Memorial Hall' .

The memorial, to which the admission is free of charge, preserved the house of his birth and new structures were added by architect Huang Chien-hsing , while the landscape was designed by Toshiya Ishimura. Its exhibition hall documents Chen's life and features an artwork depicting Chen's portrait by artist Wang Chun-lung .