Frank Hsieh

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Frank Chang-ting Hsieh (Chinese: 謝長廷; Hanyu Pinyin: Xiè Chángtíng; Wade-Giles: Hsieh Ch'ang T'ing; Pe̍h-oē-jī: Siā Tiông-têng or Chiā Tiông-têng) (born May 18, 1946), a politician of the Democratic Progressive Party, was the mayor of Kaohsiung City until his appointment as Premier of the Republic of China by president Chen Shui-bian on February 1, 2005 a post from which he declared to resign on January 17, 2006.

Born in Dadaocheng, Datong District, Taipei, Hsieh received his Bachelor of Laws degree from National Taiwan University and Master of Laws degree from Kyoto University. He was a practicing attorney from 1969 to 1981, serving as a defense attorney in the Kaohsiung Incident of 1980. He was a Taipei city councilman from 1981 to 1988 (two terms) and a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1989 to 1995. Hsieh ran in the 1996 presidential as a vice-presidential candidate with Peng Ming-min on the DPP ticket. They finished second with 21.1% of the vote. He won the Kaohsiung mayoral election in 1998. In 2002, he was re-elected.

Hsieh was involved in the Democratic Progressive Party's establishment and organization in 1986, suggesting the party's name. He became the chairman of the party from June 2000 to 2002 (preceded and succeeded by Chen Shui-bian).

Hsieh hosted a TV show, Frank Asks Qingtian (長廷問青天), from October 3, 1996 to June 11, 1997 on TVBS. He also hosted a radio show Frank's Express Letters (長仔之限時批) on the radio station Greenpeace (unrelated to the environmentalist organization) FM 97.3 MHz from June 1996 to June 1997.

Hsieh is widely considered to be a contender for the DPP nomination in the 2008 presidential election.

Hsieh is married to Hsieh-Yu Fang-chih (游芳枝). Together, they have one son and one daughter.

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