Ker Chien-ming | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
柯建銘 | |||||||||||||
_(cropped).jpg) Ker in 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Member of the Legislative Yuan | |||||||||||||
| Assumed office 1 February 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Constituency | Proportional Representation №8 | ||||||||||||
| In office 1 February 2016 – 1 February 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Lu Hsueh-chang | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Cheng Cheng-chien | ||||||||||||
| Constituency | Hsinchu City | ||||||||||||
| In office 1 February 2008 – 1 February 2016 | |||||||||||||
| Constituency | Proportional Representation №2 | ||||||||||||
| In office 1 February 1993 – 1 February 2008 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Hsu Wu-sheng | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Lu Hsueh-chang | ||||||||||||
| Constituency | Hsinchu's 1st district | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Lai Shyh-bao | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Fu Kun-chi | ||||||||||||
| Acting Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party | |||||||||||||
| In office 11 March 2011 – 27 April 2011 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Tsai Ing-wen | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Tsai Ing-wen | ||||||||||||
| In office 11 December 2004 – 15 January 2005 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Chen Shui-bian | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Su Tseng-chang | ||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||
| Born | 8 September 1951 Hsinchu, Taiwan | ||||||||||||
| Party | Democratic Progressive Party | ||||||||||||
| Education | Chung Shan Medical University (BM) Tamkang University (MS) National Chiao Tung University (MBA) | ||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 柯建銘 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 柯建铭 | ||||||||||||
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Ker Chien-ming (Chinese: 柯建銘; pinyin: Kē Jiànmíng; Wade–Giles: Ke1 Chien4-ming2; born 8 September 1951) is a Taiwanese politician and former dentist who serves as minority leader in the Legislative Yuan. From 2016 to February 2024, he was the majority leader, after the Democratic Progressive Party won a majority of seats in the Legislative Yuan for the first time.
Early life and education
Ker was born in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on September 8, 1951.[1] He has two brothers.[2] His father, Ker Tzu-yu (柯子余; 1917–2010), was a prominent orator in the city.[3] Tzu-yu was also the founder of an incense shop.[2]
As a child, Ker contracted and recovered from tuberculosis in elementary school; the illness inspired him to attend medical school.[4] He graduated from National Hsinchu Senior High School in 1960.[5] As a high school student, he registered as a member of the Kuomintang (KMT) at the request of a military instructor.[6]
After high school, Ker attended medical school at Chung Shan Medical University and graduated with a degree in dental science.[7] He then studied abroad in the United States and Japan, obtained his dental license in the U.S., and opened his own dental practice in Hsinchu in 1981.[4] He was an active dentist from 1976 until 1992, during which period he became the president of a Hsinchu dentists' association.[4] He later earned a master's degree in management science from Tamkang University and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree from National Chiao Tung University.[7]
Political career
Ker is a founding member of the Democratic Progressive Party and was first elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1992. He represented Hsinchu district from 1993 to 2008, and again starting in 2016. From 2008 to 2016 and again from 2020, Ker was elected via proportional representation.[8][9][10]
On 17 August 2022, in the aftermath of then Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan on 2–3 August, China blacklisted seven Taiwanese officials including Ker as "diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists" due to their support for Taiwan independence. The blacklist bans them from entering mainland China and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, and restricts them from working with Chinese officials. Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times labelled Ker and the six officials as "diehard secessionists".[11]
On 11 July 2025, during a dispute in the Legislative Yuan, Ker invoked Article 100 of the Criminal Code, stating: "Article 100 of the Criminal Code still exists." (Article 100 of the Criminal Code stipulates penalties for those "intending to undermine the state," with offenders subject to up to five years' imprisonment, which has led critics to regard it as a form of thought crime.) In response, KMT legislator Wu Tsung-hsien also remarked that the DPP had previously advocated abolishing Article 100, and its current attempt to revive it constituted "a betrayal of Taiwanese democracy." Ker countered that Article 100 had not been abolished but was revised and remained in effect. He emphasized that it serves to protect national security and that acts of violence or coercion within the legislature should be prosecuted according to the law.[12] The Kuomintang heavily publicized Ker's remarks, with KMT legislator Ling Tao claiming that Lai Ching-te and Ker would "imitate Yoon Suk-yeol next week by declaring martial law."[13]
References
- ^ Lin, Wei-feng (17 April 2014). "From being a junior high school student to practicing medicine, saving Chen Shui-bian, to running for president, Ko Wen-je and Ko Chien-ming have a long-standing friendship" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). The Storm Media. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ^ a b Huang, Hsiao-pei (18 July 2012). "Ke Ziyu Archives Exhibition: Ker Chien-ming Recalls His Deceased Father". China Times (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ^ "Ke Jianming's father passed away at the age of 92" (in Chinese). Central News Agency. 30 November 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ^ a b c Sun, Yi-chen (March 2019). "An Interview with Alumnus Ker Chien-ming" (PDF). The Journal of the CSMU Dental Alumni Association (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Vol. 25, no. 1. pp. 14–17. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ^ Wu, Zhiyun (20 April 2022). "Zheng Honghui and Ke Jianming return to their alma mater, Hsinchu High School, to participate in the centennial celebration". China Times (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 4 March 2026 – via Yahoo News.
- ^ Chiang, Chih-wei (7 September 2007). "Ko Chien-ming's youthful photos from high school when he joined the Kuomintang have been exposed" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). TVBS. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ^ a b "Legislator, Hsinchu City: Ker Chien-ming". Liberty Times (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2016. Archived from the original on 14 February 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ^ "Legislators: Ker Chien-Ming". The Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
- ^ "Editorial: Gangsters, gangsters everywhere". Taipei Times. 9 November 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2007.
- ^ Wen, Keui-hsiang; Huang, Frances (15 November 2019). "2020 Elections: DPP legislator-at-large list shows diversity". Central News Agency. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "China imposes sanctions on seven Taiwan 'secessionist' officials". Al Jazeera. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ 林, 敬殷; 王, 承中 (11 July 2025). "柯建銘再提刑法100條 傅崐萁指濫用司法對付在野黨". 中央社. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ^ "預告綠營罷免前出10奧步 凌濤喊：賴清德、柯建銘下周可能仿尹錫悅宣布戒嚴". 菱傳媒. 16 July 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- 1951 births
- Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan
- Living people
- Tamkang University alumni
- Members of the 8th Legislative Yuan
- Members of the 9th Legislative Yuan
- Party List Members of the Legislative Yuan
- Hsinchu Members of the Legislative Yuan
- Members of the 2nd Legislative Yuan
- Members of the 3rd Legislative Yuan
- Members of the 4th Legislative Yuan
- Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan
- Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan
- Members of the 7th Legislative Yuan
- Chung Shan Medical University alumni
- Taiwanese individuals subject to Chinese government sanctions
