Sean Lien

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.

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.

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.

References

References

1. (9 March 2000). "Editorial: Fathers of the nation? - Taipei Times".
2. "Sean Lien embarks on a sacred quest to serve all in his beloved Taipei City". The China Post.
3. (30 December 2003). "DPP targets the Lien family's wealth". [[Taipei Times]].
4. (6 February 2004). "The book that built the Lien family". Taipei Times.
5. (12 July 2014). "Lien Hui-hsin's prosecution deferred for one year". China Post.
6. (3 June 2004). "DPP steps up pressure on Lien to explain his wealth". Taipei Times.
7. (13 November 2014). "Sean Lien's wife giving up Canadian citizenship". Taipei Times.
8. (9 April 2009). "DPP pans EasyCard boss for taking study leave in US". [[The Taipei Times]].
9. (10 November 2014). "Taipei mayor race has more at stake". [[China Post]].
10. (2 December 2004). "'I do not work with China': Lien Chan". Taipei Times.
11. (25 October 2014). "Taiwan mayoral challengers take fight for votes to KMT strongholds". [[South China Morning Post]].
12. (8 October 2014). "Legislator disputes Sean Lien claim on leaving Evenstar". Taiwan News.
13. Sean Lien J.D.. (April 2023). "Sean Lien: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". [[Bloomberg Businessweek]].
14. (22 August 2008). "Hau appoints KMT's Sean Lien EasyCard board member - Taipei Times".
15. "Sean Lien resigns from EasyCard Corp. Chair - the China Post".
16. (11 January 2014). "Defamation lawsuit filed by Sean Lien over EasyCard issue - Taipei Times".
17. "CommonWealth Magazine".
18. "Sean Lien says he's giving up six weeks pay - the China Post".
19. (17 December 2010). "Sean Lien shooting not staged, prosecutors say". South China Morning Post.
20. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101207064137/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LL07Ad02.html Asia Times]
21. (25 October 2012). "Gunman who shot Sean Lien handed life sentence - Taipei Times".
22. (20 April 2014). "Sean Lien wins KMT primary for Taipei mayoral election". Want China Times.
23. "Taiwan PM quits after election losses". Al Jazeera.
24. "2014 Local Elections".