Tsai Pi-ru
Tsai Pi-ru (Chinese: 蔡壁如; pinyin: Cài Bìrú; born 11 March 1964) is a Taiwanese politician. She was a nurse and colleague of Ko Wen-je at National Taiwan University Hospital. After Ko was elected Mayor of Taipei in 2014, Tsai began her political career as Ko's chief of staff. In 2019, she became a founding member of the Taiwan People's Party led by Ko, and was elected to the 10th Legislative Yuan via party list proportional representation in 2020. Tsai resigned her legislative seat in 2022, and was replaced by Cynthia Wu.
Tsai Pi-ru | |
---|---|
蔡壁如 | |
Member of the Legislative Yuan | |
In office 1 February 2020 – 17 October 2022 | |
Succeeded by | Cynthia Wu |
Constituency | Republic of China |
Personal details | |
Born | Pingtung County, Taiwan | 11 March 1964
Political party | Taiwan People's Party |
Alma mater | Meiho University Tamkang University (rescinded) |
Early life, education, and career
Tsai was born on 11 March 1964 in Pingtung County.[1] She graduated from Meiho University with a degree in midwifery.[1] Tsai also attended Tamkang University's Management Information System Department on a part-time basis, completing a master's degree in 2019.[2] Tamkang revoked Tsai's degree in 2022.[2] Before pursuing politics, Tsai worked as a nurse at National Taiwan University Hospital,[3] including over twenty years alongside surgeon Ko Wen-je.[4]
Political career
After Ko Wen-je was elected mayor of Taipei, Tsai joined his administration as chief of staff.[5] She became an adviser to the Taipei City Government in 2018.[4] Tsai is a founding member of the Taiwan People's Party, established in August 2019.[6] During the 2020 Taiwanese legislative election cycle, Tsai commented on the TPP party list, but did not confirm her own placement on it.[7][8] Eventually, Tsai ranked fifth on the party list and was seated to the 10th Legislative Yuan.[9][10] In August 2022, Wang Hao-yu accused Tsai of plagiarizing her master's thesis.[11] Tamkang University concluded an investigation into the allegations in October and revoked her degree.[2] She posted a resignation letter to Facebook on 14 October 2022, and vacated her legislative seat on 17 October.[12]
References
- "5號 蔡壁如". Liberty Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- Chen, Chih-chung; Kuo, Chien-sheng; Kao, Evelyn. "TPP lawmaker's master's degree revoked for academic ethics violation". Central News Agency. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- "Tsai Pi-ru (10)". Legislative Yuan. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- Lee, I-chia (4 January 2018). "Spokesman denies Ko sacked chief of staff to please DPP". Taipei Times. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- Gerber, Abraham (30 January 2015). "Mayor's office confirms death threat". Taipei Times. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- Lee, I-chia (7 August 2019). "Ko elected chairman at TPP founding". Taipei Times. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- Shen, Pei-yao (24 October 2019). "TPP shortlists 43 applicants for at-large nominees". Taipei Times. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- Lee, I-chia (23 September 2019). "TPP names nominees for legislative elections". Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- "2020 Elections: Taipei labor chief tops TPP legislator-at-large list". Central News Agency. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- Lee, I-chia (20 November 2019). "JAN. 11 ELECTIONS: TPP unveils legislator-at-large list with 29 names". Taipei Times. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- Lee, I-chia (17 August 2022). "TPP lawmaker denies plagiarism accusation". Taipei Times. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- Kuo, Chien-shen; Ko, Lin (14 October 2022). "Tsai Pi-ru of Taiwan People's Party resigns as lawmaker". Central News Agency. Retrieved 15 October 2022. Republished as: Wang, Chien-hao; Hetherington, William (15 October 2022). "TPP's Tsai Pi-ru resigns despite denying plagiarism". Taipei Times. Retrieved 15 October 2022.