Puma Shen[1] (born June 7, 1982 in Taipei, Taiwan), also named Shen Pao-yang[2] (Chinese: 沈伯洋; pinyin: Shěn Bóyáng), is a Taiwanese scholar, lawyer, and educator, affiliated with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as a political figure. He assumed the position of Legislator on 1 February 2024. His areas of focus include human rights, criminal policy, youth issues, and information warfare.
Puma Shen Shen Pao-yang | |
|---|---|
沈伯洋 | |
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of the Legislative Yuan | |
| Assumed office 1 February 2024 | |
| Constituency | National At-Large |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 7, 1982 Taipei, Taiwan |
| Political party | Democratic Progressive Party |
| Other names | Shen Pao-yang |
| Occupation(s) | university professor, scholar, lawyer, and politician |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | UC Irvine |
| Thesis | Local Ideologies and Punishment for White-Collar Crime: A Comparison Between the US and China (2017) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Criminologist, sociologist of law, penalist, information warfare scholar, influence operation scholar |
| Institutions | National Taipei University |
| Website | www |
Early life and career
editPuma Shen was born on June 7, 1982 in Taipei, Taiwan,[3] named Shen Pao-yang (沈伯洋). He graduated from Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School and obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from National Taiwan University (NTU).[4]
After completing his undergraduate studies, Shen entered the Graduate Institute of Law at NTU. During this time, he was greatly influenced by his thesis advisor, Professor Mau-Sheng Lee (李茂生).[5] Lee frequently took his students to visit juvenile prisons and correctional institutions, providing post-guidance counseling for troubled youth.[6] Concurrently, Shen began working part-time at a cram school, where he taught criminal law to students preparing for the civil service exams, using the alias "Puma" (transliterated as 撲馬, Pūmǎ in Chinese).[7][8]
After several years of teaching at the cram school, Shen suspended his studies in Taiwan and pursued higher education in the United States, earning a Master of Laws degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Subsequently, he enrolled at the University of California, Irvine, focusing on social ecology, including urban design, social psychology, and criminology. His doctoral dissertation concentrated on the comparative analysis of white-collar crime in the United States and China, earning him a PhD in "Crime, Law, and Society."[4][9]
After returning to Taiwan, Shen served as a faculty member at the Institute of Criminology, National Taipei University (NTPU). He initiated research on China's information warfare and cognitive operations towards Taiwan.[10][7] He held various positions, including a member of the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee (2018–2020),[11][12][13][14] director of Taiwan's official media Central News Agency,[15] vice chairman of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, co-founder of the civil defense education institution Kuma Academy,[16] and the DoublethinkLab (台灣民主實驗室).
To facilitate Taiwan's collaboration with countries worldwide to defend against unfavorable actions from China, Shen developed the China Index, a metric illustrating the depth of influence exerted by the Beijing government on a particular country or region.[10] In 2023, he was elected as a member of the World Movement for Democracy Committee.[1]
Legislative career
editIn November 2023, Shen was nominated by the Democratic Progressive Party as a candidate on the list of legislators for nationwide and overseas, ranking second.[17] He successfully won the election on January 13, 2024. He has expressed the necessity of legislative responses to various aspects of China's influence on Taiwan, including international law, propaganda warfare, and the need to address threats from Chinese agents and gray zone activities through legislation and national defense reforms.[18] In May 2024, Shen was hospitalized after crawling into the crowd in a brawl with Kuomintang legislators inside the Legislative Yuan.[19]
Personal life and trivia
edit
Shen's wife, Tseng Hsin-hui (Chinese: 曾心慧; pinyin: Zēng Xīnhuì), is a lawyer who also teaches civil law at a cram school, using the pseudonym Chihiro (千尋).[20] The couple has not had biological children but adopted a girl nicknamed "Mochi" (麻糬, Môa-chî).[6]
In media literacy materials published by Taiwanese government agencies, the lecturer specifically mentioned Shen's preference for wearing shorts.[21]
After Shen was elected as a legislator in 2024, unaware of where the Legislative Yuan would use the photos they requested, he submitted a low-quality and awkwardly posed photo taken casually near a Carrefour supermarket. This less-than-ideal photo stood out amidst a group of professional portraits of parliament members, becoming a subject of meme in Taiwan.[22]
References
edit- ^ a b 林惠華 (2023-10-20). "Congratulations to Professor Puma Shen for being named as one of the nine leading democracy advocates to the World Movement for Democracy's Steering Committee!". 國立臺北大學. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
- ^ "Shen, Pao-Yang". Graduate Student Services. UC Irvine School of Social Ecology. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ 新北市選舉委員會. "第11屆全國不分區及僑居國外國民立委選舉公報" [The 11th Nationalwide and Overseas Compatriot Legislator Election Announcement] (PDF) (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 中央選舉委員會. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
- ^ a b 簡竹書 (2019-04-30). "這裡的犯罪不流血 犯罪學者沈伯洋" [Here's Crime Without Bloodshed: Criminologist Shen Pao-yang]. 鏡週刊 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- ^ 張若瑤 (2021-10-01). "收養一歲娃 沈伯洋：接住他們未來不一樣" [Adoption of a one-year-old child Shen Pao-yang: catch them the future is different] (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 中央通訊社. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
- ^ a b 余玫鈴 (2023-11-10). "從接觸「非行少年」萌生收養念頭：教授沈伯洋：想要成為父母，不一定要自己生，沒有血緣也可以很相愛！". 未來Family未來親子學習平台 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-11-19.
- ^ a b 沈伯洋; 賓靜蓀. "台北大學犯研所助理教授沈伯洋：假訊息最可怕的是長期洗腦" [Assistant Professor Shen Pao-yang, Institute of Criminology, National Taipei University: The worst thing about fake messages is the long-term brainwashing.]. opinion.cw.com.tw. Archived from the original on 2020-05-31. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
- ^ "台灣已進入準戰爭狀態？ 專家揭秘中共對台資訊戰背後秘密" [Taiwan in a state of war? Experts Reveal Secrets Behind CCP's Information War on Taiwan]. businesstoday.com.tw. Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
- ^ 陳柏惟. "3Q雅起來/ EP17 他們就是要你亂 ft. 沈伯洋" [3Q Getting Crazy/ EP17 They Just Want You to Mess Up, with Shen Pao-yang]. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ a b 陳昱婷 (2023-11-15). "沈伯洋列民進黨不分區第2 盼快速建立台灣認知防衛" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 台北[市]. 中央通訊社. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
- ^ "不當黨產委員". Archived from the original on 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
- ^ 王寓中 (2018-10-15). "黨產會人事：沈伯洋接替楊偉中遺缺". 聯合報. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- ^ 林縉明 (2020-08-28). "黨產會新人事 林峯正續任主委". 中國時報. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- ^ 李欣芳 (2020-08-28). "政院挺黨產會 林峯正續任主委". 自由時報. Archived from the original on 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- ^ 李明宗, ed. (2023-11-28). "沈伯洋獲民進黨不分區立委提名 辭中央社董事" [Puma Shen nominated by DPP as Legislator, resigned CNA director] (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Taipei, Taiwan. 中央通訊社. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
- ^ 陳鈺馥 (2022-09-01). "曹興誠資助6億元強化民防教育 沈伯洋：期待家家戶戶有「黑熊勇士」" [Robert Tsao funded NT$600 million to strengthen civil defense education. Puma Shen: Expecting a "Black Bear Warrior" in Every Household]. 自由時報電子報. Archived from the original on 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
- ^ 楊子瑩; 洪詩宸; 黃瑀喬 (2023-11-15). "民進黨不分區立委名單出爐 林月琴、沈伯洋入列". 公視新聞網 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
- ^ 歐祥義 (2023-11-15). "列民進黨不分區立委 沈伯洋：中國認知作戰須從立法面防堵". 自由時報 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
- ^ "DPP lawmaker taken to hospital after day-long scuffle at Legislature". Focus Taiwan. 17 May 2024.
- ^ "黑熊學院「藍鵲行動」 培養民眾「迎戰」能力". 民視新聞網 (in Traditional Chinese). 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
- ^ 簡竹書. "識讀人物報導的虛與實". 國家通訊傳播委員會108年度補助辦理媒體識讀活動教材 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 台灣新聞記者協會. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
- ^ 游, 濤; 鄭, 翔仁 (2024-01-17). "新科立委「大頭照」鬧笑話！沈伯洋「拍貼機版本」引熱議". Setn 三立新聞網. Retrieved 21 January 2024.