Sean Lien

Lien Sheng-wen (; born February 3, 1970), also known by his English name Sean Lien, is a Taiwanese lawyer who has been vice chairman of the Kuomintang since 2021 alongside Huang Min-hui and Andrew Hsia. He is co-founder of Evenstar Capital and previously served as chairman of the Taipei Smart Card Corporation, the company which operates EasyCard.

Early life and education

According to some sources, Lien was born in the United States of America; others indicate that he was born in Taiwan. He is the eldest son of Lien Fang Yu and Lien Chan, who served as the Chairman of the Kuomintang party and was the Vice President of Taiwan. He is the grandson of Lien Chen-tung, and the great-grandson of Lien Heng. He has a brother and two sisters. He is married to Patty Tsai.

Lien graduated from Fu Jen Catholic University in with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in 1992, then completed advanced studies in the United States at Columbia University in New York City. He was awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship and earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Columbia Law School. While at Columbia, Lien was classmates with Hsiao Bi-khim.

Early career Lien served in a senior management position at GE's Asia Pacific Capital Fund II and as a vice president with an Investment Banking Group in Taipei. He is co-founder and senior advisor to the Hong Kong investment company Evenstar Capital.

Political career

In 2008, Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-pin appointed Lien as chairman of Taipei Smart Card Corporation. Lien resigned as Chairman of EasyCard Corporation at the end of 2009, citing health reasons. Assessments of his performance during this brief tenure differ.

During the municipal election on 26 November 2010, Lien was shot in the face at close range while stumping for Chen Hung-yuan, a New Taipei City Council candidate in the Yonghe District of New Taipei City. Lien's wound was minor and he recovered quickly. Lien disagrees with Taiwan judiciary's conclusion that he was shot by mistake. KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou endorsing Sean Lien for Taipei Mayor in 2014 ROC local election. On February 24, 2014, Lien announced his campaign for Taipei City mayor election; on April 19, 2014, he won the KMT mayoral primary. On November 29, Lien lost the race to independent candidate Ko Wen-je.