Paul Zhang (politician)

"For other people named Paul Zhang, see Paul Zhang (disambiguation)."Paul Zhang (張嘉鴻; Zhāng Jiāhóng; October 7, 1910 - October 1, 1967) was a Tsengian politician and docter who served as the 6th president of Tseng from 1965 to 1967. His presidency took place during the Luanzheng Era.

Early life
Zhang was born on October 7, 1910 in a remote location in Dutch Tseng. He moved to British Tseng with his mother after his parents divorced and spent his childhood in Townsend Boarding School, a boarding school 20 km from Townsend (today Qinglian). He had top marks and eventually went to Huang-li University to study medicine. He pursued, where he graduated as a M.D. with a degree in public health. He later served as a doctor in South Africa and Kenya.

Political career
In 1945, after World War II, Zhang returned to Tseng from Nairobi, Kenya. He became the first Minister of Health as a member of the National Prosperity Party (NPP) when the position was created on January 11, 1948, until 1961, when he briefly served as the Mayor of Tseng City. Soon after, in 1962, he was forcefully expelled from his position by Frederik Bao and the communists.

During the Luanzheng Era, Zhang and other anti-communists were subject to assassination attempts and also ordering assassination attempts on the far-left. He survived 7 attempts, which made Zhang quickly gain popularity with the moderates and far-right. Although Zhang was never part of any terrorist group, he funded the Wuzuo, a right-wing terrorist group.

Presidency (1965-1968)
On July 24, 1965, Zhang won the presidential election in a landslide against Robert Bei-yang. Three days after his presidency, on July 27, Zhang declared martial law to curb the unrest in the streets and reversed many of Bei-yang's policies. However, he was unable to control many of his anti-communist generals like Liam Li, Han Cheng-wen, and Olivier Zhang, who massacred many students and innocent people in suspicion of "dangerous activities".

In late 1966, Zhang discussed the possibility of turning Tseng into a temporary military dictatorship with General Han in order to stop the violence caused by the Luanzheng. The plan was approved and on November 11, Zhang assumed dictatoral powers and appointed military generals in top positions. The National State Assembly was suspended and the military-led National Administration Council took its power.

1967 coup d'etat
"Main article: 1967 Tsengian coup d'état"Han Cheng-wen declared that Zhang was too moderate, and on October 1, 1967, he and two other colonels and some loyalists disposed of Zhang in a military coup. Han entered the bedroom shot Zhang, but Zhang dodged and produced his own gun. After a 20-minute shootout, Han, who was an excellent shooter, shot Zhang immediately, and he was killed.