As Taiwan was then a one-party state led by the Kuomintang, Liu was slapped upon refusing to retract his comments about the politician in a written statement.
[15] After stepping down from the National Assembly, Liu was named director of the DPP's organizational development department.
[20][21] He was named president of the Independence Evening Post in July 2001, shortly before the publication released its last issue in October.
[30] Liu again challenged the Democratic Progressive Party in 2007, contesting the legislative seat won by Yu Tian.
[31] From this position, Liu helped the party deliver petitions to the Control Yuan and the judicial branch.
[34][35] Liu defeated Chen Chien-ming in an April 2016 leadership election, and succeeded Lin Chih-chia, who was serving as acting chairman of the Taiwan Solidarity Union at the time.