Wu Te-mei explained

Wu Te-mei
Native Name Lang:zh-tw
Honorific-Suffix:MLY
Order1:Member of the Legislative Yuan
Term Start1:1 February 1990
Term End1:31 January 1996
Term Start2:1 February 1984
Term End2:31 January 1990
Order3:Member of the Kaohsiung City Council
Term Start3:December 1981
Term End3:December 1985
Birth Date:1947 11, df=yes
Birth Place:Kaohsiung
Death Place:Cianjhen, Kaohsiung
Party:Kuomintang
Children:3
Nationality:Taiwanese
Occupation:politician

Wu Te-mei (; 23 November 1947 – 6 December 2015) was a Taiwanese politician.

Wu was born on 23 November 1947 in Kaohsiung.[1] [2] In 1972, her husband mounted an independent bid for the Kaohsiung City Council. For supporting his campaign, Wu was expelled from the Kuomintang.[3] Wu herself served on the Kaohsiung City Council between 1981 and 1985.[4] In 1983, Wu won her first election to the Legislative Yuan, and retained her seat in 1986, 1989, and 1993.[5]

Throughout their political careers, Wu and Chu invested in several businesses.[5] In May 2000, the couple were charged with accounting fraud.[6] By December 2002, when Chu was elected city council speaker, the case had not yet been heard in court.[3] Later that month, both Wu and Chu were arrested and a court hearing was scheduled for January 2003.[7] [8] Shortly after questioning by prosecutors, Wu was released on bail while Chu remained in custody.[9] Chu did not report to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office to begin serving his sentence in October 2003.[10] The next month, Wu claimed that Chu's political rival Chen Tien-miao had bought votes to win the 1994 speakership election and called for the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office to investigate him.[11] The allegations were made on the same day the Kaohsiung District Court had sentenced Wu to six months imprisonment.[12] Her sentence was eventually extended to six years and eight months, which she began serving in 2009. Wu was released on medical parole in 2013 and underwent dialysis treatments.[13] [14] The Kaohsiung District Court ruled in a separate case heard in February 2010, that Wu was guilty of vote buying on her daughter's behalf in a 2006 municipal election.[15] Wu died aged 68 on 6 December 2015, of kidney failure caused by diabetes.[14] [16] Chu, who had left for China, did not return for Wu's funeral held on 21 December 2015.[17]

Notes and References

  1. News: 吳德美. 8 March 2018. huaxia.com. 18 July 2003. zh.
  2. News: 第二屆立法委員選舉選舉公報. 8 March 2018. Central Election Commission. zh.
  3. News: Prosecutors set sights on three movers and shakers. 8 March 2018. Taipei Times. 29 December 2002.
  4. News: 吳德美. Kaohsiung City Council. 9 March 2018. zh.
  5. News: Scandal brings Chu down to earth. 8 March 2018. Taipei Times. 4 January 2003.
  6. News: Jou. Ying-cheng. Kaohsiung name in NT$350m tax scam. 8 March 2018. Taipei Times. 10 May 2000.
  7. News: Chuang. Jimmy. Chu An-hsiung to face hearing in early January. 8 March 2018. Taipei Times. 28 December 2002.
  8. News: Chuang. Jimmy. Kaohsiung speaker arrested for bribery. 8 March 2018. Taipei Times. 30 December 2002.
  9. News: Chuang. Jimmy. Speaker Chu admits to paying bribes. 8 March 2018. Taipei Times. 19 January 2003.
  10. News: Chuang. Jimmy. Chu persecuted by his enemies, family charges. 8 March 2018. Taipei Times. 22 October 2003.
  11. News: Chuang. Jimmy. Prosecutors to investigate Chen Tien-mao. 8 March 2018. Taipei Times. 29 November 2003.
  12. News: Chuang. Jimmy. Fugitive Chu gets sentenced to more time in prison. 8 March 2018. Taipei Times. 28 November 2003.
  13. News: 【獨家】吳德美病逝 兒用八字評亡母. 9 March 2018. Next. 7 December 2015. zh.
  14. News: 葛祐豪. 吳德美病逝 女兒PO文:什麼都是假的 只有健康是真的. 9 March 2018. Liberty Times. 6 December 2015.
  15. News: Chang. Rich. Ex-KMT legislator gets three years in jail for vote-buying. 8 March 2018. Taipei Times. 25 February 2010.
  16. News: 林宏聰. 王錦河. 前立委吳德美猝逝 前陣子稱「可能活不久」. 9 March 2018. China Times. 6 December 2015. zh.
  17. News: 張忠義. 吳德美告別式 政商好友弔唁 未見夫婿朱安雄. 9 March 2018. Liberty Times. 21 December 2015. zh.