Chiang Wan-an
Chiang Wan-an, also known by his English name Wayne Chiang, is a Taiwanese politician and lawyer who has served as the mayor of Taipei since December 2022. A member of the Kuomintang, he is the youngest mayor in the history of the office.
Born to a prominent political family in Taipei, Chiang is believed to be a great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek. After graduating from National Chengchi University, he earned three law degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and worked as a corporate lawyer in Silicon Valley.
From 2016 to 2022, he represented Taipei City Constituency 3 as a member of the Legislative Yuan. In the 2022 Taiwanese local elections, Chiang ran for the Taipei mayoralty, defeating former health minister Chen Shih-chung and former deputy mayor Huang Shan-shan.
Early life
Chiang was born Chang Wan-an on 26 December 1978 in Taipei, Taiwan. He is the only son of Kuomintang politician Chiang Hsiao-yen and Helen Huang and has two elder sisters. His father claims to be an illegitimate son of Chiang Ching-kuo, the only son of Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek. Although Chiang Hsiao-yen's claim has not been formally recognized by the Chiang family, the family supported Hsiao-yen's rise in the Kuomintang. If true, Wan-an would be a great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek.Chiang Wan-an's contested familial relationship with Chiang Kai-shek, who ruled Taiwan after the Retreat of [the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan|Great Retreat], has been controversial due to Kai-shek's divisive legacy as either a symbol of anti-communism or dictatorship. At age six, Wan-an was introduced to Soong Mei-ling. However, he was unaware of his familial relation to Chiang Kai-shek until high school, when his father made claims of being an illegitimate son of Chiang Ching-kuo. In 2005, the family changed their surname from Chang to Chiang.
Education
After graduating from Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School at the top of his class, Chiang attended National Chengchi University to study international relations. In his sophomore year, he began pursuing a dual degree, graduating with a B.A. in international studies and an LL.B. in public international law in 2000. As an undergraduate, he represented the university at the Philip C. [Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition], where he was recognized as an outstanding debater.After graduation, Chiang spent a year and a half working as an attorney for Lee and Li, the largest law firm in Taiwan, and became a legislative aide in the National Assembly, where he wrote a petition to legalize flights between Taiwan and mainland China. In 2001, he was named a "young leader of Taiwan" and was introduced to U.S. president Bill Clinton.
In 2002, Chiang left Taiwan to pursue graduate studies in the United States at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied under law professor Jacques deLisle. He earned his Master of Laws in 2004, his Juris Doctor in 2006, and a Doctor of Juridical Science, all from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. He frequently traveled between New York City and Philadelphia while a law student.
Legal career
After receiving his J.D. degree, Chiang became an associate attorney at the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, California, starting in the fall of 2006. He was admitted as a member of the State Bar of California on December 11, 2007. Chiang later moved to the Crone Law Group, a law firm in Silicon Valley, and worked as an associate specializing in venture capital, corporate law, and securities law from 2009 to 2011. He was soon made a partner of the firm. After practicing for several years, he founded his own law firm, the Wan-tse International Law Firm, before returning to Taiwan in March 2015 to enter politics, voluntarily relinquishing his U.S. green card.Legislative Yuan (2016–2022)
Chiang faced Lo Shu-lei in the first round of the Kuomintang party primary for the legislative elections in April 2015. After Lo failed to build a sufficient lead, another primary was called the next month, which Chiang won. He ran as the KMT candidate for Taipei City's third constituency in the 2016 legislative elections and won a seat in the Legislative Yuan. The Taipei District Prosecutor's Office ended an investigation of vote-buying accusations against Chiang in March, without charging him with wrongdoing.In January 2018, Chiang stated that he would not seek to represent the Kuomintang in the Taipei mayoral election scheduled for November. Chiang ran for reelection in 2020, defeating his closest opponent, Democratic Progressive Party candidate Enoch Wu, with a 51 percent majority compared to Wu's 45 percent vote share.