Fan Sun-lu explained

Fan San-lu
Native Name Lang:zh-tw
Honorific-Suffix:MLY
Smallimage:Fan Sun-lu 20150620.jpg
Caption:Fan in June 2015
Order:Political Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of China
Term Start:September 2018
Term End:May 2020
Minister:Yeh Jiunn-rong
Yao Leeh-ter (acting)
Pan Wen-chung
Term Start1:20 May 2000
Term End1:January 2006
Minister1:Ovid Tzeng
Huang Jong-tsun
Tu Cheng-sheng
Order2:Member of the Legislative Yuan
Term Start2:1 February 1996
Term End2:20 May 2000
Successor2:Wang Li-ping
Constituency2:Republic of China
Birth Date:1952 10, df=y
Birth Place:Taipei, Taiwan
Party:Democratic Progressive Party
Alma Mater:Tunghai University
Tamkang University

Fan Sun-lu (; born 3 October 1952) is a Taiwanese politician who served on the Legislative Yuan from 1996 to 2000. She served twice as deputy education minister from 2000 to 2006 and again between 2018 and 2020. Since 2020, Fan has been a member of the Control Yuan.

Education

Fan attended Taipei First Girls' High School, and studied political science at Tunghai University. Later, she earned a master's degree in American studies from Tamkang University.[1]

Political career

Fan ran the joint Taipei City Council campaign of tangwai activists Lin Cheng-chieh, Chen Shui-bian, Frank Hsieh and Kang Shui-mu in 1981.[2] Fan was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1995 and 1998 via party list proportional representation as a representative of the Democratic Progressive Party.[1] [3] As a legislator, she advocated for the preservation of historical monuments damaged by the 1999 Jiji earthquake.[4] Fan took a particular interest in the media of Taiwan, and supported the end of media monopolies, in a market that better protected its consumers.[5] [6] [7] Hsu Hsin-liang considered Fan for the position of vice president on the independent ticket he was forming for the 2000 election. She rejected the offer, and Hsu selected Josephine Chu instead.[8] Chen Shui-bian won the election, and subsequently Fan was to join the Ministry of Education as political deputy minister under Ovid Tzeng.[3] [9]

Shortly after taking office, Fan announced that the ministry had begun working toward a plan to rebuild schools forced to close by the Jiji earthquake.[10] As reconstruction efforts continued into 2001, the Chen administration attempted to rebuild an elementary school on public land administered by National Taiwan University. Fan criticized the university for barring the construction.[11] After students at National Cheng Kung University were subject to a police raid targeting distribution of pirated media in April 2001, Fan led a task force charged with investigating the situation.[12] In May, legislator Yang Wen-hsin accused Fan of political interference favoring Changyi Group, a construction firm that had been selected to rebuild schools damaged by the Jiji earthquake.[13] The next year, Fan oversaw the launch of a program that sent men of conscription age overseas as teachers in private schools run by the Ministry of Education.[14] In October, Fan visited the United States and met Secretary of Education Rod Paige to discuss a teacher exchange program between Taiwan and the United States.[15] Though she supported initiatives to increase English-language proficiency,[16] and had previously announced an increase in hires of foreign English-language teachers as part of the Challenge 2008 initiative,[17] Fan stated in February 2003 that the education ministry would be reducing the number of foreign English teachers on its payroll in favor of funding the training of teachers instead.[18] Later that month, Fan announced that the ministry was exploring ways for foreign spouses to learn Chinese, and planned to remove legal barriers to higher educational institutions for members of transnational partnerships.[19] Her position was the subject of speculation by women's rights organizations following a May 2004 cabinet reshuffle in which Tzeng's successor Huang Jong-tsun was replaced by Tu Cheng-sheng.[20] In August 2005, the education ministry lifted a portion of the dress code prescribed to students, a move Fan supported because schools teach students "to be responsible members of society by making decisions for themselves and thinking on their own."[21] In December, Fan was again accused of interference, this time by Yang Chiu-hsing, regarding quality of new construction at Fong Shan Junior High School in Fongshan, Kaohsiung.[22] Fan stepped down from the Ministry of Education in January 2006.[23] [24]

She was placed on the Democratic Progressive Party's party list for the 2008 legislative elections, but was not elected via proportional representation.[25] After losing the 2008 elections, Fan became director of the Kaohsiung Bureau of Education.[26] In September 2018, Fan returned to the Ministry of Education as political deputy minister. She resigned the position in January 2019,[27] but elected to return to her position days later, as Pan Wen-chung, the Tsai Ing-wen administration's first education minister, returned to office.[28] Fan remained in her post through May 2020.[29]

In June 2020, the Tsai Ing-wen presidential administration nominated Fan to serve as a member of the Control Yuan.[30] [31] She was confirmed to the office the next month.[32] While a member of the Control Yuan, Fan participated in investigations regarding sexual abuse against student athletes[33] and the youth suicide rate.[34] [35]

Personal

Fan is married to Chang Fu-chung.[13] [22]

Notes and References

  1. News: Fan Sun-lu (3). 3 July 2017. Legislative Yuan.
  2. News: Pan. Han-shen. The DPP goes from green to black. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 29 May 2007.
  3. News: Fan Sun-lu (4). 3 July 2017. Legislative Yuan.
  4. News: Yu. Sen-lun. Taiwan historic sites scrutinized. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 5 October 1999.
  5. News: Chu. Monique. Legislators attack GIO's remedy for cable TV wars. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 11 January 2000.
  6. News: Chu. Monique. Cable titans cash in on connections. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 3 February 2000.
  7. News: Yu. Sen-lun. Watchdog group. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 13 February 2000.
  8. News: Low. Stephanie. Hsu chooses New Party running mate. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 21 November 1999.
  9. News: Low. Stephanie. Teachers' group supports reform. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 11 May 2000.
  10. News: Lin. Mei-chun. Consensus reached for school reconstruction work. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 4 June 2000.
  11. News: Chuang. Chi-ting. NTU slams government over school relocation plan. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 20 March 2001.
  12. News: Students get support in MP3 case. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 17 April 2001.
  13. News: Lin. Mei-chun. Profits said to be at the root of 921 construction spat. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 24 May 2001.
  14. News: Huang. Sandy. Conscript teachers go abroad to serve. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 30 January 2002.
  15. News: US agrees with plan to exchange trained teachers. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 3 November 2002.
  16. News: Chuang. Jimmy. Official says English should be job requirement. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 19 July 2002.
  17. News: MOE to snap up foreign teachers. 3 July 2017. 7 January 2003.
  18. News: Chang. Yun-ping. Ministry grapples with English-education plan. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 6 February 2003.
  19. News: Foreign spouses could be sent to language classes. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 26 February 2003.
  20. News: Yiu. Cody. Women's groups eye appointments. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 7 May 2004.
  21. News: Mo. Yan-chih. Hair flies in debate over ban on schools' regulations. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 22 August 2005.
  22. News: DPP officials urged to resolve spat. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 25 December 2005.
  23. News: Ku. Er-Teh. All aboard, all aboard the scandal bandwagon. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 6 January 2006.
  24. News: Bishop. Mac William. English teacher plan falls short. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 17 January 2006.
  25. News: 〈快訊〉不分區立委開票結果 一覽表. 3 July 2017. TVBS. 12 January 2008. zh.
  26. News: Huang. Liang-chieh. Hung. Tin-hung. Chin. Jonathan. Sampan shipwrighting preserved at Cijin center. 3 July 2017. Taipei Times. 8 January 2016.
  27. News: Lin . Rachel . Education groups worried as deputy ministers quit . 14 January 2019 . Taipei Times . 14 January 2019.
  28. News: Maxon . Ann . Pan returns to launch policies he planned . 14 January 2019 . Taipei Times . 15 January 2019.
  29. News: Microsoft empowers millions of students and educators in Taiwan to learn digitally with Office 365 and Teams . 22 June 2020 . Microsoft . 26 May 2020.
  30. News: Control Yuan nominees confirmed . 23 June 2020 . 23 June 2020.
  31. News: Control Yuan nominees confirmed . 18 May 2022 . Taipei Times . 23 June 2020.
  32. News: Lin . Sean . Punches thrown as Chen Chu approved . 18 May 2022 . Taipei Times . 18 July 2020.
  33. News: Wu . Su-wei . Chin . Jonathan . Report reveals 548 complaints over athletes’ treatment . 18 May 2022 . Taipei Times . 27 December 2021.
  34. News: Hsieh . Chun-ling . Hetherington . William . Suicides rise for 15-to-24-year-olds . 18 May 2022 . Taipei Times . 26 April 2021.
  35. News: Chen . Yun . Hetherington . William . Suicides among young people rising yearly; counselors needed, report says . 18 May 2022 . Taipei Times . 23 August 2021.