You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Chinese. (May 2023) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Chinese Wikipedia article at [[:zh:韓國瑜]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|zh|韓國瑜}} to the talk page.
He was first elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1992 and remained in office until 2002, serving for a time as Kuomintang (KMT) caucus leader.[16] As a legislator, he became known for his combative personality,[17] most famously assaulting, and landing in hospital in the 1990s, the opposition legislator and future president Chen Shui-bian in the Legislative Yuan on one occasion.[18] For their support of the construction of the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant, Han, Hung Hsiu-chu, Chan Yu-jen [zh], and Lin Chih-chia were targeted with an unsuccessful recall referendum.[19] Subsequently, Han lost reelection to the legislature in 2001.[20] He then served as deputy mayor of Zhonghe under mayor Chiu Chui-yi [zh].[21][22]
In January 2013, with Chang's support, Han became the general manager of Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation (TAPMC), a corporation jointly owned by Taipei City and the Council of Agriculture. The TAPMC manages the produce demands of the greater Taipei area.[26][27]
2017 KMT chairmanship election
In January 2017, Han resigned from his position as president of TAPMC to enter that year's Kuomintang chairmanship election.[28][29] He finished fourth in a field of six candidates. Following his loss to Wu Den-yih, Han served as the Kuomintang's Kaohsiung chapter director.[30]
In May 2018, Han won the Kuomintang's Kaohsiung mayoral primary, defeating rival Chen Yi-min, and was subsequently nominated as the party's mayoral candidate.[30]
During the initial campaign stage, he received almost no support from the party as he was seen as unlikely to win the election due to the traditionally deep-rooted Democratic Progressive Party presence in Kaohsiung. However, his popularity soared within months during the campaign period,[31][10][32] a phenomenon which has been termed "Hánliú" (韓流). The main focus of his campaign was on the air pollution and economic growth of Kaohsiung.[33][34]
Despite his claims of having minimal support for his Kaohsiung election, accordingly to paperwork filed with the Central Election Commission, Han received and spent the most compared to the other mayoral races in Taiwan. Campaign contributions totaled NT$129,149,779 (US$4,304,992) and expenses totaled NT$140,873,536 (US$4,695,784). The amounts exceeded the NT$88,841,000 cap placed by election rules.[35]
Han defeated Chen Chi-mai in local elections held on 24 November 2018, and became the first mayor of Kaohsiung affiliated with the Kuomintang since Wu Den-yih left office in 1998.[36] The success of the KMT during the elections has been attributed to Han's popularity.[37]
Vote share by district in the 2018 Kaohsiung mayoral election.
The day after he won the mayoral election, Han invited Foxconn to invest in Kaohsiung.[38] In addition, he sought fluent English speakers to fill vacancies in his administration pertaining to promotion and public relations.[39] Han expressed support for the 1992 consensus and stated that he would form committees dedicated to Cross-Strait relations.[40] On 3 December 2018, it was announced that former Transportation and Communications minister Yeh Kuang-shih would be Han's deputy mayor. Lee Shu-chuan was appointed as a second deputy mayor on 15 December 2018.[41]
Han was inaugurated on 25 December 2018. During the ceremony, he promised to promote Kaohsiung products, facilitate the inflow of money to the city, pay off the city's debt and invest in future generations via bilingual education.[42]
On 24 February 2019, Han began a five-day trip to Malaysia and Singapore to discuss business and tourism opportunities for Kaohsiung, his first official overseas visit as mayor.[43]
Han returned to Kaohsiung and resumed mayoral duties on 13 January 2020.[55] On 17 January 2020, a petition to recall Han cleared the first threshold with 28,560 signatures, exceeding the required 1% of the electorate (22,814 signatures).[56] On 7 April, the city's electoral commission verified that 377,662 of approximately 406,000 signatures collected in the second phase of the recall petition were valid, clearing the threshold of 10% of the electorate, setting the stage for a recall vote in June.[57][58] Though he urged his supporters to boycott the vote, he was recalled with 40% of voters turning out, and 97% voting in favor of the recall.[59][60][61]
2020 presidential campaign
Soon after Han took office as mayor, support for Han as a candidate for the 2020 Taiwan presidential election began to build.[62][63] Han initially refused calls for him to contest the election,[64] and later stated that he would not participate in the 2019 Kuomintang presidential primary.[65][66] A week after that statement, Han said that he would abide by Kuomintang's primary process, opening the door for his potential nomination as a presidential candidate.[67] On 5 June 2019, Han announced that he would stand in the Kuomintang presidential primary.[68][69] Han registered for the primary three days after his announcement.[70] Han scheduled five rallies for the primary, with the last one held on 8 July in Hsinchu City.[71] On 15 July, he won the Kuomintang presidential primary[72][73] and was formally nominated as the Kuomintang presidential candidate on 28 July 2019.[74][75]
Han held a presidential election rally on 8 September 2019 at Xingfu Shuiyang Park (Chinese:幸福水漾公園) in Sanchong District, New Taipei,[71] with former president Ma Ying-jeou and KMT chairperson Wu Den-yih in attendance. Han conveyed four main points of his campaign platform, which were to defend the Republic of China, to love Chinese culture, to uphold freedom and democracy and to never forget the struggling people.[76] He began a three-month leave of absence despite having serving only six months of his term to focus on his presidential campaign, delegating mayoral duties to Yeh Kuang-shih from 15 October 2019.[77] Some media outlet dubbed Han the "Taiwanese Trump" for his outspoken attitude and similar conservativepolitical positions to American president Donald Trump.[78] On 11 November 2019, Han officially picked former premierChang San-cheng as his running mate for the election.[79] The Kuomintang ticket completed registration for the election on 18 November 2019.[80][81] Han and Chang finished second in the presidential election to incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen and her running mate William Lai.[82][83]
In November 2023, Han was ranked first on the Kuomintang's proportional representation party list for the 2024 legislative election.[84] Weeks before taking office in the 11th Legislative Yuan, Han declared interest in contesting the speakership.[85][86] Han won the Yuan President election with 54 votes.[87]
Han is an active participant in philanthropy. After his unsuccessful presidential bid in 2020, Han donated NT$6 million of campaign funds to charity organizations, including NT$1 million to his running mate’s foundation.[88] Following his recall as Kaohsiung mayor, he appeared at a meet-and-greet announce his appointment as president of the Dianliang Foundation and to promote his new book, which aims to improve bilingual education in elementary schools and provide support to elderly citizens.[89][90] The foundation was commended by the ROC Veteran Affairs Council for its services provided to ROCAF veterans.[91][89]
Violent incidents and alleged ties to organized crime
Han committed several violent acts in his tenure as Taipei County councillor and then Legislative Yuan member. On 16 November 1990, during then-Taipei County magistrate You Ching's presentation, Han threw a thermos at You then ran toward the podium and attempted to choke him.[92] In 1993, Han assaulted Democratic Progressive Party legislator and future president Chen Shui-bian, leaving Chen hospitalized for three days. Han later apologized for the violent act.[93]
In 1993, following a shooting at a gang leader’s funeral, Han accompanied a gang member who claimed to turn himself in to a police station. Investigators found that the gang member was taking the blame for someone else and obstructing justice. Han denied he had any culpability in the case.[94]
Days leading up to the 2020 election to recall Han as Kaohsiung mayor, National Police Agency director-general Chen Chia-chin stated that there were rumors that gang members were expected to be at voting stations to intimidate and suppress voters. The Kaohsiung Police confirmed there was information about the alleged voter suppression. However, Chen, in a separate press conference, noted that the alleged involvement with organized crime was not substantiated by evidence and was a rumor.[95] In response, Han suggested that the National Police Agency form an investigative task force.[96] No evidence suggesting Han's involvement were reported following the recall; some sources criticized DPP's abuse of executive powers in its attempt to obstruct the voting process.[97]
Personal life
Han is married to Lee Chia-fen, with whom he raised three children.[5] In January 2022, Han published a collection of short stories and established the Light Up Foundation, a charity.[98]
References
^立法院 (23 July 2013). "立法院". 立法院 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 1 February 2024.
^他發起「祝韓國瑜生日」 網友引用金句祝福有夠酸！. Liberty Times (in Chinese). 17 June 2019. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
^一句話祝韓生日…網友吉祥話超級酸！ (in Chinese). Yahoo! News Taiwan/Sanlih E-Television. 17 June 2019. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
^"Han Kuo-yu (3)". Legislative Yuan. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
^"Han Kuu-yu (4)". Legislative Yuan. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
^Yiu, Kai-hsiang; Kao, Evelyn (12 January 2017). "New KMT chairmanship bid announced". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
