David Wu

David Wu (born April 8, 1955) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for OR's 1st congressional district from 1999 to 2011.

He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Born in Taiwan and immigrated to the United States as a child, Wu was the first Taiwanese American to serve in the House of Representatives.

The family moved to the United States in 1961.

Wu spent his first two years in the U.S. in Latham, New York, where his family were the only Asian Americans in town.

Wu received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Stanford University in 1977 and attended Harvard Medical School for a time, sharing an apartment with future-United States Senator Bill Frist.

Wu did not complete his medical studies.

Instead, he attended Yale Law School where he was awarded a Juris Doctor degree in 1982.

Wu served as a clerk for a federal judge.

In 1984, he joined the Miller Nash law firm.

In 1988, he co-founded the law firm of Cohen & Wu.

The firm focused on representing clients in Oregon's high-tech development sector, centered on "Silicon Forest."

Wu was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998, succeeding Democrat Elizabeth Furse.

He narrowly defeated Republican Molly Bordonaro by a little over 7,100 votes.

He won re-election in 2000, defeating state senator Charles Starr in the November election with 58% of the vote to 39% for Starr.

Redistricting after the 2000 census made the 1st considerably more Democratic, notably by adding a small portion of Multnomah County.

He was also a member of the executive board for the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and served as chair from January 2001 to January 2004.

Wu funded virus research at the Oregon Health and Science University that may be the first effective treatment and vaccine for AIDS.

He authored legislation to promote research and product development by small businesses using a portion of federal research grants.

Wu was a staunch supporter of science and research at both the basic and applied levels.

In the House, Wu was known for taking a strong stand on human rights and the rule of law, sometimes at the risk of his own seat.

He opposed granting Most Favored Nation (MFN) trading status to China (renamed later as "Normal Trade Relations"), citing human rights violations and predicting that the trade deficit with China would balloon under the legislation.

The two largest employers in his Congressional District, Nike and Intel, strongly supported granting MFN status to China.

He favored closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, citing rule of law concerns.

Wu was a strong advocate for NASA and the space program.

He served on the House Science Committee, which has jurisdiction over NASA, and on its Space Subcommittee, then chaired by Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

Wu won re-election in 2004 over Republican Goli Ameri; in 2006 over Oregon state representative Derrick Kitts and two minor party candidates; and in 2008 with no Republican candidate running, he captured 72% of the vote to win a sixth term over four minor party candidates.

In 2009, he received a 100 percent rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America.

He faced his most difficult reelection test in 2010, defeating Republican challenger Rob Cornilles with 54% of the vote.

Wu was a member of the New Democrat Coalition (NDC), a group of moderate Democrats in the House.

Wu announced that he would resign from office following resolution of the 2011 debt ceiling crisis, days after an 18-year-old woman left a voicemail at Wu's campaign office accusing him of an unwanted sexual encounter.

Wu acknowledged the encounter and said it was consensual.

Wu submitted his resignation on August 3, 2011.

A special election was held on January 31, 2012, to fill the vacancy in advance of the regular 2012 election.

Democrat Suzanne Bonamici defeated Republican challenger Rob Cornilles to win this special election.

Since his resignation, Wu has remained in the Washington, D.C. area.

He has been raising money for local Democratic parties, and organizing student exchange programs between the Chinese and American space programs.

According to a 2014 report, he still frequents the House offices, where he visits with friends, sometimes sits in on hearings and even goes onto the House floor.

Wu was born in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

His parents were from Suzhou in Jiangsu province and settled in Taiwan due to the Chinese Civil War.