Frank Hsieh was born in 1946, and like many of Taiwan's top politicians he is a graduate of National Taiwan University's law department. After the DPP lost the 1996 presidential election, during which he was running-mate to the pro-independence candidate Peng Ming-min, Hsieh returned to Kaohsiung as the city's mayor.
挾地方光環轉戰中央 1946 年生，和多位政壇要角同為台大法律系畢業的謝長廷，1996 年與獨派大老彭明敏搭檔參加總統大選失利後，南下高雄耕耘，連任港都市長。