Born in Dadaocheng, Taipei, in 1946, Hsieh was a gymnast in high school and worked as a food vendor before college. He received a Bachelor of Laws degree from National … See more

Prior to the 1986 establishment of the Democratic Progressive Party, Hsieh, Chen Shui-bian and Lin Cheng-chieh were known as the "three musketeers" of the tangwai … See more

In 1997, Hsieh successfully negotiated the surrender of the gunman in the Alexander family hostage crisis, raising his national profile. See more

In January 2005, Hsieh was appointed premier, forcing him to leave his post as mayor of Kaohsiung. Chen Chi-mai succeeded him as acting mayor.
Kuomintang politicians asked Hsieh to step down from the premiership shortly after the See more

Hsieh was frequently considered to be a leading contender for the DPP nomination in the 2008 presidential election, and formally announced his intention to run in the election on … See more

2012 mainland visit
In October 2012, Hsieh went to mainland China for five days as the highest-ranking DPP official ever to visit. However, the trip was made in no … See more

In March 2016, local media began reporting that Hsieh had accepted a position as Taiwan's representative to Japan in Tsai Ing-wen's administration. He announced the … See more