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Tseng Wen-hui

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Tseng Wen-hui
曾文惠
4th First Lady of Taiwan
In role
13 January 1988 – 20 May 2000
PresidentLee Teng-hui
Preceded byChiang Fang-liang
Succeeded byWu Shu-chen
5th Second Lady of Taiwan
In office
20 May 1984 – 13 January 1988
Vice PresidentLee Teng-hui
Preceded byPan Ying-ching
Succeeded byHsu Man-yun
Personal details
Born (1926-03-31) 31 March 1926 (age 98)
Sanshi Village, Taihoku Prefecture, Taiwan, Empire of Japan
NationalityTaiwan
Spouse
(m. 1949; died 2020)
Children3
OccupationHomemaker, former First Lady of the Republic of China[1][2]

Tseng Wen-hui (Chinese: 曾文惠; pinyin: Zēng Wénhuì; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chan Bûn-hūi; (born 31 March 1926) is a Taiwanese public figure, First Lady of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 1988 to 2000, and widow of former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui.[3]

Biography

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Newlyweds Lee Teng-hui and Tseng Wen-hui in front of a National Taiwan University dormitory.

Tseng was born on 31 March 1926 in Sanshi Village, Taihoku Prefecture, now known as present-day New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Tseng married Lee on 9 February 1949, when he was a teaching assistant in the Faculty of Agriculture and Economics at National Taiwan University.[4] The couple had three children. Their eldest son, Lee Hsien-wen, (c. 1950 – 21 March 1982)[5][6] died of sinus cancer.[7] Daughters Anna and Annie, were born c. 1952 and c. 1954, respectively.[5]

Politically, Tseng stated that she preferred to keep a low profile for her husband's sake. However, she became the subject of controversy in 2000 when New Party politicians Elmer Fung, Hsieh Chi-ta, and Tai Chi accused her of attempting to flee to New York City with a suitcase containing NT$85 million. In response, she filed a defamation suit against them on 29 March 2000, making her the only first lady in Taiwan's history to become involved in a lawsuit. The case involved the testimony of Wang Kuang-yu, which marked the first time that any Investigation Bureau director testified in a case under Investigation Bureau jurisdiction.[8] The three were cleared of charges, but Tseng appealed the verdict to the Taiwan High Court.[3] The appeal was submitted in April 2002, and the High Court began its own investigation in November.[9] In December 2003, the High Court reversed the Taipei District Court's decision. All three accusers were fined NT$81,000. Hsieh refused to pay, and was sentenced to three months imprisonment.[10]

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Bloom, Dan (2007-12-07). "New book sheds light on former leader". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  2. ^ Lee, Hsin-fang; Hsu, Stacy (2013-05-27). "Lee Teng-hui recounts political life in memoir". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  3. ^ a b Lin, Mei-chun (2002-04-01). "Newsmakers: Former first lady shows her stronger side". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  4. ^ "歷史剪影". Academia Historica, Republic of China. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  5. ^ a b Tsai, Shih-shan Henry (2005). Lee Teng-Hui and Taiwan's Quest for Identity. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 100. ISBN 9781403977175.
  6. ^ Tsai, Shih-shan Henry (2005). Lee Teng-Hui and Taiwan's Quest for Identity. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 126. ISBN 9781403977175.
  7. ^ Lee, Hsin-fang; Chin, Jonathan (16 December 2015). "Lee Teng-hui walks his granddaughter down aisle". Taipei Times. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  8. ^ Lin, Mei-chun (18 December 2001). "Investigator says Lee's wife didn't flee with millions". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  9. ^ Chu, Monique (8 November 2002). "Ministry backs up former first lady". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  10. ^ Huang, Tai-lin (2 March 2004). "Prison was a cinch, says defamation queen". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 October 2016.