From rank outsider to mayor of Kaohsiung: meet the man who wooed Taiwan’s electorate
- Han Kuo-yu was considered to have no chance when he was named as the Kuomintang’s candidate, but his bold promises and clever use of social media saw him home
After breaking two decades of control by Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), all eyes are now on the new mayor of Kaohsiung Han Kuo-yu.
The 61-year-old, whose parents came from central China’s Henan province, won a crushing victory for the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) over the independence-leaning DPP in the polls, which proved to be a difficult midterm test for embattled President Tsai Ing-wen.
Four years on from its own humiliating election defeat, the elections saw the KMT more than double its political control in the self-ruled island to 15 cities and counties, including three special municipalities.
Such a result would have been thought fantastical a few months back, but now it raises the stakes in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.
Tsai resigned as chairwoman of the DPP after her party lost seven counties and cities, including two special municipalities – the central city of Taichung and Kaohsiung in the south.
Born in Taiwan, Han studied English literature at Soochow University after graduating from the military academy. He then went on to gain a master’s degree in law at National Chengchi University.