The meteoric rise of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) ahead of Saturday’s elections is likely to guarantee him a place in national politics, regardless of whether he wins.
Without much support from the KMT, Han has single-handedly turned the mayoral election in a city that has been governed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for the past two decades into one of the most closely watched races.
His rapid ascent to stardom, dubbed the “Han Wave” (韓流), energized pan-blue camp voters, raising their hopes that Kaohsiung might flip from “green” to “blue.”
Presidential Office Secretary-General and former Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) last month admitted in an interview that the DPP was “caught off-guard” by the KMT’s successful use of the Internet, which helped build momentum for Han’s campaign, while DPP Secretary-General Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) last week said: “If we can hold on to Kaohsiung, then the DPP will not have lost.”
The second-generation Mainlander has a bachelor’s degree in English from Soochow University and a master’s degree in East Asian studies from National Chengchi University. The 61-year-old served as a lawmaker from 1993 to 2002, representing a constituency in then-Taipei County.
Since his tenure ended in 2002, Han mostly stayed out of public life, except for briefly serving as the deputy mayor of what is now New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和) and being listed as the cofounder of his wife’s school in Yunlin County.
An attempt to return to politics was thwarted in 2007, when he was disqualified in a primary for legislators after being accused by his opponent of producing negative campaign materials.
In 2013, Han was retained by former Yunlin County Council speaker Chang Rong-wei (張榮味), whose family had extensive influence in farmers’ and fishers’ associations nationwide, to serve as general manager of Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Co.
The company was profitable under his leadership, due to soaring prices of fruits and vegetables.
Han’s political career was revived in September last year, when KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) tapped him to lead the party’s branch office in Kaohsiung, and in May he was officially named the party’s mayoral candidate.
Political commentators have attributed Han’s quick rise to fame to him being an atypical KMT candidate, saying that his catchy campaign slogans and promises appealing to “common sense” have helped him attract the support of farmers and businesspeople.
Han managed to turn his baldness into a political asset, saying that he “welcomes attacks from his opponents, because a bald guy is not afraid about his hair being plucked.”
A 57-year-old diamond dealer and Kaohsiung voter surnamed Chuang (莊) said that he has not voted in a mayoral election in 20 years, but added that he was touched by Han’s campaign message about “north drifters” — a term Han has used to refer to young people in Kaohsiung having to find jobs in northern Taiwan due to a lack of job opportunities in their hometown.
“The city might look beautiful on the outside, with the Love River (愛河), city-wide bike lanes and neat sidewalks, but many young people have to leave the city and find jobs elsewhere, because Taiwanese and foreign companies have withdrawn from the city. One does not see a large of number of workers leaving the export processing zones in Cianjheng (前鎮) and Nanzih (楠梓) districts during rush hour anymore,” Chuang said.
What Kaohsiung residents really want is change, he said.
Ten years ago, he moved his business from Kaohsiung to Taipei due to shrinking sales in the south, Chuang said, adding that he would return to Kaohsiung if Han is elected.
Kaohsiung resident Su Wei-hsuan (蘇偉璇) said that the DPP’s governance over the past 20 years has helped it build a solid base, although not everyone is satisfied with the “status quo.”
However, while Han’s appearance serves as an emotional outlet for some people, Su said that she found his promises empty and without substance.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RSS