You Ching

Born in Kaohsiung, You earned a bachelor's degree in law from the National Chengchi University (1965), a Master of Laws (LL.B.) from Chinese Culture University, and a doctorate in law from the University of Heidelberg (1978) under German jurist Adolf Laufs.^[1][2] He became a practicing lawyer in 1978.

A Tangwai activist and Kaohsiung Incident lawyer, You Ching founded the Taiwan Panorama magazine (博觀; not to be confused with present-day Taiwan Panorama 台灣光華) in 1982.^[3] The magazine called for the establishment of an opposition party, at a time when the Kuomintang-imposed martial law disallowed any opposition parties. He was instrumental in drafting the founding documents of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).^[1]

You was elected as the first non-Kuomintang member of the Control Yuan in 1980.^[4] After the establishment of the DPP in 1986, he first served as a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1987 to 1989, and then served two terms as the magistrate of Taipei County from 1989 to 1997. He was again elected to the legislature in 2001 and reelected in 2004.

In 2006, You went on a three-day trip with a legislator group to the United States to discuss a bilateral free trade agreement between the two countries with Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and other U.S. officials.^[5]

You became the Taiwanese representative to Germany in 2007 and served until 2008.^[6]

You Ching's younger brother You Hung was a member of the Legislative Yuan between 1993 and 1999.