National Taiwan University in the context of National Taiwan University College of Medicine

A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highest institutional level in education, differing in meaning from a "federally-chartered university." Globally, some national universities are associated with national cultural or political aspirations.For example, the National University of Ireland during the early days of Irish independence collected a large amount of information about the Irish language and Irish culture. In Argentina, the national universities are the result of the 1918 Argentine university reform and subsequent reforms, which were intended to provide a secular university system without direct clerical or government influence by bestowing self-government on the institutions.

Tsai Ing-wen (Chinese: 蔡英文; pinyin: Cài Yīngwén; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), she intermittently served as chair of the DPP from 2008 to 2012, 2014 to 2018, and 2020 to 2022. She was the first woman to hold the presidency in Taiwan's history.

Tsai was born in Taipei and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in law from National Taiwan University and Cornell University, respectively. She went to England to study law at the London School of Economics, where she received a PhD in 1984, and became a law professor. In 1993, she was appointed to a series of governmental positions by the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party and was one of the chief drafters of the special state-to-state relations doctrine under President Lee Teng-hui.

Lai Ching-te (Chinese: 賴清德; pinyin: Lài Qīngdé; born 6 October 1959), also known as William Lai, is a Taiwanese politician, physician, and nephrologist who has served as the eighth president of the Republic of China since 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), he has been the party's chairman since 2023.

Lai was born in Taipei County to a working-class family. He studied medicine at National Taiwan University, National Cheng Kung University, and, in 2003, earned his master's degree from Harvard University in public health. After practicing medicine as a spinal cord injury expert, Lai ran in the 1996 Legislative Yuan election, winning a seat representing Tainan City. After being re-elected to the Legislative Yuan four consecutive times, he successfully ran for Mayor of Tainan in 2010 and served as mayor for seven years, winning reelection in 2014. In September 2017, President Tsai Ing-wen announced Lai would replace outgoing premier Lin Chuan.

Ma Ying-jeou (Chinese: 馬英九; pinyin: Mǎ Yīngjiǔ; // Ma-ING-gee-oh; born 13 July 1950) is a Taiwanese politician, lawyer, and legal scholar who served as the sixth president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT), he was previously the mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006 and the chairman of the Kuomintang for two terms (2005–2007; 2009–2014).

Ma was born in British Hong Kong to a prominent waishengren family. After graduating from National Taiwan University in 1972, he served in the Republic of China Marine Corps and attained the rank of lieutenant. He then studied law in the United States, earning a master's degree from New York University in 1976 and his doctorate from Harvard University in 1981, both in international law.