Ker Chien-ming

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.

Education

He obtained his bachelor's degree in dental science from Chung Shan Medical University and earned his master's degree in management science from Tamkang University.

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.

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 due to their alleged support for Taiwanese 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".

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