Mon, Oct 07, 2002 page3

• Newsmakers: KMT legislator finds a voice in revamped career

  A NEWFOUND ENERGY KMT Legislator-at-Large Kao Yu-jen chairs several boards as well as the 21st Century Foundation in a late-career comeback that has given him a fresh start

  • By Crystal Hsu / STAFF REPORTER
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  Four-term KMT lawmaker Kao Yu-jen (高育仁) whose political career hit a bottleneck in the early 1990s has found exits for his seemingly inexhaustible energy in the business community.

  According to a recent survey by the Taipei Society, he concurrently serves as chairman of the board or director of the board for 11 companies including Twinhead Corp, Minyu Machinery Corp, Shang Mao Electronics Corp, and Paoyi Technology Corp.

  

  Kao Yu-jen, KMT legislator-at-large, has found new life in his work in the business sector.

  TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO

  The enterprises, in which the 68-year-old has heavy stakes, span across computer, electronics, venture capital, high-tech, oil, warehouse, and construction industries. Meanwhile, he chairs the 21st Century Foundation, a think tank, and he hopes to exert some influence on the nation's policy from that seat.

  Taking a low-key approach

  The once-aggressive politician has apparently learned a more low-key approach after a series of attempts to reverse his political stardom failed.

  With a bachelor's degree in law, Kao first entered politics in 1968 when he won a seat in the now-defunct Provincial Assembly. Later, he worked as a diplomat, Tainan County commissioner, vice interior minister, and head of the Taiwan Provincial Government's civil affairs department.

  In 1980, he was enlisted by his party to run as a provincial assembly member and won the speakership at age 47, the youngest in its entire history.

  "The Provincial Assembly became more democratic under Kao's leadership as he showed great respect for minority opinions," former DPP provincial assemblyman Tsai Chieh-hsiung (蔡介雄) recalled.

  Huang Ming-kung (黃敏恭), a former assembly administrator, painted Kao as a workaholic who did not leave a single case unheeded when he retired from the job in 1989.

  Early ambitions

  After serving as provincial speaker for two terms, Kao decided it was time for him to move further up the political ladder, and he was not hesitant in making his intention known.

  "The speaker's position could no longer satisfy my sense of achievement," he said during an interview at that time.

  "To stay above partisan rows, I could not even freely air views on various policy issues."

  Kao was then eying the governor's seat and had made efforts to cultivate friendly ties with assembly members from across party lines.

  Time and again, he openly remarked that a good governor should be able to get along with assemblymen of all stripes and enjoy popular support.

  Kao's distinguished back-ground, however, failed to impress president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), who appointed former foreign minister Lien Chan (連戰) to the governiship to groom him for ensuing premiership and vice presidency.

  Ambitious and uncompromising, Kao turned down an appointment as a minister without portfolio, saying the post did not fit his aspiration.

  In the end, he settled for the chairmanship at KMT-owned China Television Company in addition to being a national policy advisor, a berth normally reserved for retired ministers.

  Arrogance?

  Some attributed his estrangement to his assertivness that some would say bordered on arrogance.

  "As provincial speaker, Kao refused to lend a helping hand when opposition assemblymen grilled then-governor Lee Teng-hui," said a retired journalist who requested not to be named. "Also, he would not tolerate any negative coverage of the assembly."

  Others linked Kao's political dormancy to his close ties with shoddy local factions.

  In 1992, he decided to make a comeback by entering the legislative race and won a seat rep-resenting his home county of Tainan.

  Soon after taking office, he organized the Public Mandate club to build his own sphere of influence and actively sought the legislative speakership.

  He joined forces with the party's non-mainstream faction -- revolved around such staunch unificationists as John Kuan (關中) and Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) who are known for their vocal criticism of former president Lee.

  Alienation from the party's core

  The maneuvering earned Kao further alienation from the KMT's power core. Unsurprisingly, he lost the nomination to Liu Sung-pan (劉松藩), the party's favored candidate.

  Kao grew more defiant later as he sided with the DPP in pushing for a direct reading of a referendum bill.

  This maverick conduct caused his fellow colleague Yao Eng-chi (饒穎奇) to condemn Kao as "dangerous both to the party and the country."

  Persistently demanding a forum for his ideas, he suggested the party recruit elite lawmakers, alluding to himself among others, to its executive positions.

  "Armed with popular support, they stay better in tune with mainstream public will," Kao argued.

  In early 1996, he made a second bid for the legislative speakership and challenged fellow aspirants to sever their political affiliations.

  "Neutrality will never be tenable for the legislature unless its speaker is freed from partisan concerns," he said in a 1995 statement under the banner of legislative reform.

  Many doubted his commitment to reform, as then speaker Liu, who won his seat through appointment, would lose his office if relieved from his political affiliation.

  Aware that most colleagues had rallied behind Liu, Kao took the advice and bowed out.

  The legislator has since stepped out of the spotlight and shifted his attention to his businesses.

  He seldom shows up in the lawmaking body where he has been a legislator-at-large for the past four years.

  Last year, Kao briefly returned to the limelight to help his son-in-law Chu Li-luan (朱立倫) run for Taoyuan County commissioner. After winning the election, Chu appointed a close aide to his father-in-law as deputy commissioner.

  "The arrangement may help extend Kao's influence, whose strength is never as formidable as before the 90s," a senior reporter said on condition of anonymity.
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