_Taiwan
15-07-2004, 10:54
Biography – Zhang Fu Guo (±i¤÷°ê)
Chinese Name: Zhang Fu Guo
English Name: George Zhang
Colloquial Name: General Zhang or The General
Age: 61
Occupation: Current President of ROC
The Early Years
Zhang Fu Guo was born on the 19th of December, 1948 in the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province to his single mother Ming Yu (©ú¥É). His father was killed while fighting the Communists as part of the Chinese Nationalist Army (CNA). He had an older sister, Zhang Sheng Mei (±i¸t¬ü) who was sixteen when he was born. Zhang's mother was educated in Tokyo University and worked as an engineer for the Chinese Nationalist government. Zhang Sheng Hui joined a school run by the Church of England after being converted by an English missionary two years prior, to the strong opposition of her mother who disowned her in response.
In 1949, the Communists reached Shenzhen and Zhang was evacuated with Chiang Kai Shek's loyalists to Taiwan in the arms of his mother as an infant. In the chaos of the evacuation, Zhang's mother was injured in a vehicle accident and developed a limp in her left leg. Many important family documents were also lost, as were the Zhang family geneology records.
Zhang's family settled in the capital Taipei as his mother was required there as part of her government job. She was placed in charge of infrastructure at a very high level, working with other highly ranked government officials. She received an apartment in Taipei as part of her benefits package, and was paid fairly well.
Zhang began his schooling at the age of 5, well ahead of other children at the time due to his mother's large network of contacts. Zhang did brilliantly well at school and was able to skip ahead. Even at a young age, his teachers and students were impressed by his public speaking ability and charisma. He admired his mother greatly and had aspirations of becoming an engineer like her, combined with his interest in aircraft. When he was 18, he was one of the first generation of students at Taipei's University. He graduated three years later with a degree in aerospacial engineering and English, both at the top of his class. Then something happened to change his life and his worldview.
Into the military
Two weeks after his graduation, Zhang's mother received an old letter from the mainland. It was written two years ago, and had been delivered from Hong Kong when one of his relatives escaped there.
The letter was from a relative of Zhang from his father's side. It explained that there was some sort of 'cultural revolution', and how Zhang's sister Sheng Mei had been executed for 'counter-revolutionary' activities. She was a missionary of international acclaim. Sheng Mei was handing out Bibles in Henan province as part of her work as a missionary. An acquaintance of her's had sold her out to the Communists for thirty renminbi. Zhang's mother was devastated by the news and fainted, falling down a stairwell and breaking her neck. She died enroute to hospital, leaving Zhang alone. The following years was the most painful in Zhang's young life. The deaths of his family had fueled a vehement hatred of Communism inside him. His attempts to contact fellow family members on the mainland were unsuccessful. He had failed to find suitable employment, forced to work backbreaking labour at quarry by economic neccesity.
However, fortune smiled on him again. By chance, the story of his sister's execution and her mother's stroke had reached the ears of Madame Chiang Kai Shek, who herself was a Christian. She used her influence to grant Zhang a well paying engineer job in the ROCAF, solving his financial woes. Zhang was employed among the ROCAF's R&D personnel in 1975. He was responsible for structural testing and flight testing of Northrop F-5E/F fighters for the AIDC, then a branch of ROCAF. He worked hard and thus was rapidly promoted through the AIDC, his charasmatic personality helping him to establish a large network of contacts. It was at this time he also met his future wife Christine Wong, an American-born Chinese working for Northrop. He married her in 1980 in Hawaii, after dating for 4 years.
By now, Zhang's career had taken off and he was the Chief Financial Officer of the AIDC. He was a voracious negotiator, and was able to arrange the purchase of a batch of F-20 Tigershark fighters despite US government oppositions. In 1982 his wife gave birth to a son, Zhang He Zhong. It was also around this time that he became a ROCAF General, while continuing to hold a boardroom position. Things were going well for the Zhang family, and Christine gave birth to a daughter Zhang Li Mei in 1984. Christine was also an astute manager of the family's finances, buying properties on the edge of Taipei and pumping money into U.S stocks, most notably Microsoft, AOL, and IBM.
Foray into politics
On the 6th of April 1989, Zhang's life was again changed. He watched the Tianamen incident unfold with horror, live on CNN. As he watched, a fury came over him – a fury that he had not felt before and memories of his sister's death surged back to haunt him. He began to yell in anger at the television set, and his children, taking the cue from their father, did the same.
It was at this moment Zhang made his life goal – to free China from the Communists by reunifying her under the ROC. Using his contacts in politics, he quit his job in the ROCAF and joined the Kuomintang (KMT) Party and stood for election as Mayor of Taipei in 1990, winning the position with ease. During his term, he enacted anti-prostitution laws, increased fines for polluters, and made the unpopular move of raising property taxes. He lost the election in 1994 to Chen Shui Bian.
However, Zhang was becoming increasingly disillusioned with the KMT Head and President of ROC Lee Teng Hui. Zhang disagreed with his pro-independence stance, and publicly condemned him when Lee stated 'the Diayutai Islands are part of Japan'. For this, he was expelled from the KMT and decided to form a new party, the ultra-nationalist United China Party (UCP).
The road to presidentcy
By now, his wife's investments on the NASDAQ had begun reaping enormous returns. The Zhang family was now one of the richest in Taiwan, with an estimated networth of $1.2 billion USD. This allowed him to fund his party, which had a small showing in the 2000 elections when Chen Shui Bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had won with only 39% of the vote due to KMT infighting. Zhang's UCP was painted by the KMT as Nazis and right-wing extremists, and had won only 9% of the vote but it was enough to get Zhang into Parliament however.
In Parliament, Zhang made it clear that he would not tolerate Chen's separatism and proceeded to cripple almost all of the DPP's legislation. His remarks and insults were the cause of many a parliament brawl. His fiery speeches and 'strong man' image led to the UCP capitalising on the DPP's approval slump.
In the 2004 election run-up, Zhang changed his campaigning style. While on the campaign trail, he would wear his ROCAF General uniform, his poweful voice and gestures portraying him as a strong and decisive leader. Opinion polls predicted the UCP would capture between 18-21% of the vote, making Zhang the kingmaker in the world of coalition governments. But once again, fate worked against him.
The eve of the election, an over-enthusiastic UCP supporter shot President Chen and Vice President Annette Lu with a homemade bullet. This caused Chen to win by a tiny margin of 30,000 votes, many of them sympathy votes. Zhang won only 13% of the vote as voters, not enough to support a KMT-UCP coalition.
In 2005 while on a visit to China to discuss trade, Zhang struck up a friendship with Hu Jintao who informed him China had changed much since the 70s. Hu Jintao also handed over the men responsible for murdering his sister to Zhang, who had them hung. Zhang also successfully lobbied Parliament against Chen's $90 billion spendup of US weaponary , persuading them to hand the money over to the ROCAF for R&D. Zhang also split the AIDC from the ROCAF and floated the operation, giving AIDC a cash reserve of some $130 billion.
A year later, Zhang starred in the film Under Attack with Jackie Chan as a supporting actor. Set in the 60s, Zhang played a ROCA General seeking to defend Taiwan's outer islands Quemoy again the PLA. The film was a great publicity for him, but was a disappointment at the box office. The same year, Zhang starred in the TV series The Military Apprentice which was more successful.
In his career of politics, Zhang was handed the gift of a lifetime. President Chen had been embroiled in a 'intern-gate' scandal similar to Clinton's and was forced to resign by collapsing public support, triggering a by-election. Blessed with publicity from his film ventures months ago, Zhang won in a landslide victory, with some 40% of the vote. As the KMT had now reformed and expelled Lee Teng Hui, the UCP agreed to a coalition with them. Currently Zhang is the President of the ROC, and has initiated reforms to lay the groundwork for reunification.
Chinese Name: Zhang Fu Guo
English Name: George Zhang
Colloquial Name: General Zhang or The General
Age: 61
Occupation: Current President of ROC
The Early Years
Zhang Fu Guo was born on the 19th of December, 1948 in the city of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province to his single mother Ming Yu (©ú¥É). His father was killed while fighting the Communists as part of the Chinese Nationalist Army (CNA). He had an older sister, Zhang Sheng Mei (±i¸t¬ü) who was sixteen when he was born. Zhang's mother was educated in Tokyo University and worked as an engineer for the Chinese Nationalist government. Zhang Sheng Hui joined a school run by the Church of England after being converted by an English missionary two years prior, to the strong opposition of her mother who disowned her in response.
In 1949, the Communists reached Shenzhen and Zhang was evacuated with Chiang Kai Shek's loyalists to Taiwan in the arms of his mother as an infant. In the chaos of the evacuation, Zhang's mother was injured in a vehicle accident and developed a limp in her left leg. Many important family documents were also lost, as were the Zhang family geneology records.
Zhang's family settled in the capital Taipei as his mother was required there as part of her government job. She was placed in charge of infrastructure at a very high level, working with other highly ranked government officials. She received an apartment in Taipei as part of her benefits package, and was paid fairly well.
Zhang began his schooling at the age of 5, well ahead of other children at the time due to his mother's large network of contacts. Zhang did brilliantly well at school and was able to skip ahead. Even at a young age, his teachers and students were impressed by his public speaking ability and charisma. He admired his mother greatly and had aspirations of becoming an engineer like her, combined with his interest in aircraft. When he was 18, he was one of the first generation of students at Taipei's University. He graduated three years later with a degree in aerospacial engineering and English, both at the top of his class. Then something happened to change his life and his worldview.
Into the military
Two weeks after his graduation, Zhang's mother received an old letter from the mainland. It was written two years ago, and had been delivered from Hong Kong when one of his relatives escaped there.
The letter was from a relative of Zhang from his father's side. It explained that there was some sort of 'cultural revolution', and how Zhang's sister Sheng Mei had been executed for 'counter-revolutionary' activities. She was a missionary of international acclaim. Sheng Mei was handing out Bibles in Henan province as part of her work as a missionary. An acquaintance of her's had sold her out to the Communists for thirty renminbi. Zhang's mother was devastated by the news and fainted, falling down a stairwell and breaking her neck. She died enroute to hospital, leaving Zhang alone. The following years was the most painful in Zhang's young life. The deaths of his family had fueled a vehement hatred of Communism inside him. His attempts to contact fellow family members on the mainland were unsuccessful. He had failed to find suitable employment, forced to work backbreaking labour at quarry by economic neccesity.
However, fortune smiled on him again. By chance, the story of his sister's execution and her mother's stroke had reached the ears of Madame Chiang Kai Shek, who herself was a Christian. She used her influence to grant Zhang a well paying engineer job in the ROCAF, solving his financial woes. Zhang was employed among the ROCAF's R&D personnel in 1975. He was responsible for structural testing and flight testing of Northrop F-5E/F fighters for the AIDC, then a branch of ROCAF. He worked hard and thus was rapidly promoted through the AIDC, his charasmatic personality helping him to establish a large network of contacts. It was at this time he also met his future wife Christine Wong, an American-born Chinese working for Northrop. He married her in 1980 in Hawaii, after dating for 4 years.
By now, Zhang's career had taken off and he was the Chief Financial Officer of the AIDC. He was a voracious negotiator, and was able to arrange the purchase of a batch of F-20 Tigershark fighters despite US government oppositions. In 1982 his wife gave birth to a son, Zhang He Zhong. It was also around this time that he became a ROCAF General, while continuing to hold a boardroom position. Things were going well for the Zhang family, and Christine gave birth to a daughter Zhang Li Mei in 1984. Christine was also an astute manager of the family's finances, buying properties on the edge of Taipei and pumping money into U.S stocks, most notably Microsoft, AOL, and IBM.
Foray into politics
On the 6th of April 1989, Zhang's life was again changed. He watched the Tianamen incident unfold with horror, live on CNN. As he watched, a fury came over him – a fury that he had not felt before and memories of his sister's death surged back to haunt him. He began to yell in anger at the television set, and his children, taking the cue from their father, did the same.
It was at this moment Zhang made his life goal – to free China from the Communists by reunifying her under the ROC. Using his contacts in politics, he quit his job in the ROCAF and joined the Kuomintang (KMT) Party and stood for election as Mayor of Taipei in 1990, winning the position with ease. During his term, he enacted anti-prostitution laws, increased fines for polluters, and made the unpopular move of raising property taxes. He lost the election in 1994 to Chen Shui Bian.
However, Zhang was becoming increasingly disillusioned with the KMT Head and President of ROC Lee Teng Hui. Zhang disagreed with his pro-independence stance, and publicly condemned him when Lee stated 'the Diayutai Islands are part of Japan'. For this, he was expelled from the KMT and decided to form a new party, the ultra-nationalist United China Party (UCP).
The road to presidentcy
By now, his wife's investments on the NASDAQ had begun reaping enormous returns. The Zhang family was now one of the richest in Taiwan, with an estimated networth of $1.2 billion USD. This allowed him to fund his party, which had a small showing in the 2000 elections when Chen Shui Bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had won with only 39% of the vote due to KMT infighting. Zhang's UCP was painted by the KMT as Nazis and right-wing extremists, and had won only 9% of the vote but it was enough to get Zhang into Parliament however.
In Parliament, Zhang made it clear that he would not tolerate Chen's separatism and proceeded to cripple almost all of the DPP's legislation. His remarks and insults were the cause of many a parliament brawl. His fiery speeches and 'strong man' image led to the UCP capitalising on the DPP's approval slump.
In the 2004 election run-up, Zhang changed his campaigning style. While on the campaign trail, he would wear his ROCAF General uniform, his poweful voice and gestures portraying him as a strong and decisive leader. Opinion polls predicted the UCP would capture between 18-21% of the vote, making Zhang the kingmaker in the world of coalition governments. But once again, fate worked against him.
The eve of the election, an over-enthusiastic UCP supporter shot President Chen and Vice President Annette Lu with a homemade bullet. This caused Chen to win by a tiny margin of 30,000 votes, many of them sympathy votes. Zhang won only 13% of the vote as voters, not enough to support a KMT-UCP coalition.
In 2005 while on a visit to China to discuss trade, Zhang struck up a friendship with Hu Jintao who informed him China had changed much since the 70s. Hu Jintao also handed over the men responsible for murdering his sister to Zhang, who had them hung. Zhang also successfully lobbied Parliament against Chen's $90 billion spendup of US weaponary , persuading them to hand the money over to the ROCAF for R&D. Zhang also split the AIDC from the ROCAF and floated the operation, giving AIDC a cash reserve of some $130 billion.
A year later, Zhang starred in the film Under Attack with Jackie Chan as a supporting actor. Set in the 60s, Zhang played a ROCA General seeking to defend Taiwan's outer islands Quemoy again the PLA. The film was a great publicity for him, but was a disappointment at the box office. The same year, Zhang starred in the TV series The Military Apprentice which was more successful.
In his career of politics, Zhang was handed the gift of a lifetime. President Chen had been embroiled in a 'intern-gate' scandal similar to Clinton's and was forced to resign by collapsing public support, triggering a by-election. Blessed with publicity from his film ventures months ago, Zhang won in a landslide victory, with some 40% of the vote. As the KMT had now reformed and expelled Lee Teng Hui, the UCP agreed to a coalition with them. Currently Zhang is the President of the ROC, and has initiated reforms to lay the groundwork for reunification.