Han Kuo-yu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honorable Han Kuo-yu MLY
韓國瑜
Official portrait, 2024
13th President of the Legislative Yuan
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 February 2024
Vice President	Johnny Chiang
Preceded by	You Si-kun
Member of the Legislative Yuan
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 February 2024
Constituency	Party-list (KMT)
In office 1 February 1993 – 31 January 2002
Constituency	See list Taipei County (1993–1999) Taipei County 3 (1999–2002)
2nd Mayor of Kaohsiung
In office 25 December 2018 – 12 June 2020*
Deputy	See list Lee Shu-chuan Yeh Kuang-shih Hung Tung-wei [zh] (2018–2019) Chen Hsiung-wen (2019)
Preceded by	Hsu Li-ming (acting)
Succeeded by	Yang Ming-jou (acting)
Other offices 4th Head of Kaohsiung Chapter of the Kuomintang In office 7 September 2017 – 19 January 2019 Chairman Wu Den-yih Preceded by Huang Po-lin Succeeded by Chuang Chi-wang 4th General Manager of the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation In office 1 January 2013 – 31 March 2017 Mayor Hau Lung-pin Ko Wen-je Preceded by Chang Ching-liang Succeeded by Wu Ying-ning
Taipei County Councilor
In office 1 March 1990 – 31 January 1993
Constituency	Zhonghe District
Personal details
Born	(1957-06-17) 17 June 1957 (age 68) Taipei County, Taiwan
Political party	Kuomintang
Spouse	Lee Chia-fen
Children	3
Education	Republic of China Military Academy (BS) Soochow University (BA) National Chengchi University (MA) Peking University
Military service
Branch/service	Republic of China Army
Years of service	1975–1981
Rank	Major
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	韓國瑜
Simplified Chinese	韩国瑜
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hán Guóyú Bopomofo ㄏㄢˊ ㄍㄨㄛˊㄩˊ Wade–Giles Han² Kuo²-yü² Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Hon4 Gwok3 jyu4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Hân Kok-jû
*Yeh Kuang-shih was acting mayor from 16 October 2019 – 11 January 2020.

Han Kuo-yu (Chinese: 韓國瑜), also known as Daniel Han, is a politician from Taiwan. He used to be an officer in the Republic of China Army. Currently, he is the president of the Legislative Yuan, which is like the head of Taiwan's parliament.

Han studied at the Republic of China Military Academy, Soochow University, and National Chengchi University. He was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1993 to 2002. Later, he became the general manager of a company that handles agricultural products in Taipei. In 2017, Han tried to become the leader of the Kuomintang political party but did not win.

In November 2018, Han was elected Mayor of Kaohsiung. He was the first politician from the Kuomintang party to hold this job since 1998. He was also the Kuomintang's candidate for president in the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election, but he lost. On June 6, 2020, people voted to remove him from his job as mayor, and he officially left office on June 12. He returned to the Legislative Yuan after winning a seat in the 2024 Taiwanese legislative election. Han became a member and was elected the president of the Legislative Yuan on February 1, 2024.

Early Life and Education

Han Kuo-yu was born in Taiwan on June 17, 1957. His parents were from Henan, a place in China. He went to several schools, including Banqiao Primary School and different high schools.

After finishing the Republic of China Military Academy, Han studied English literature at Soochow University. In 1988, he earned a master's degree in East Asian studies from National Chengchi University. His master's paper looked at negotiations related to China's strategies. Before becoming a public official, Han worked as a school principal.

From 2001 to 2009, Han also studied political science and public administration at Peking University in Beijing.

Start of Political Career

In 1990, Han won a seat on the Taipei County Council for the Zhonghe District. He served there until 1993. He also helped start what is now the New Taipei City Hakka Association, leading it from 1992 to 1998.

Time in the Legislative Yuan

Han was first elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1992 and served until 2002. During this time, he was known for his strong and direct way of speaking. He was also a leader for the Kuomintang (KMT) party in the Legislative Yuan.

Some people tried to remove Han and other politicians from office because they supported building the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant. This attempt was not successful. However, Han lost his election for the legislature in 2001. After that, he worked as a deputy mayor for Zhonghe District.

Working with Agricultural Products

After leaving his job in politics for a while, Han lived in Yunlin County. In January 2013, he became the general manager of the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation (TAPMC). This company helps manage the supply of fruits and vegetables for the greater Taipei area.

Running for KMT Leader

In January 2017, Han left his job at TAPMC to run for the leader of the Kuomintang party. He finished fourth out of six candidates. After losing, Han became the director of the Kuomintang's office in Kaohsiung.

Mayor of Kaohsiung

Han's campaign in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung on November 17, 2018.

In May 2018, Han won the Kuomintang's election to become their candidate for mayor of Kaohsiung. At first, many people thought he would not win because the Democratic Progressive Party had been very strong in Kaohsiung for a long time.

However, Han's popularity grew very quickly during his campaign. This was called "Hánliú" (meaning "Han Wave"). His campaign focused on improving air quality and helping Kaohsiung's economy grow.

Han won the election on November 24, 2018. He became the first Kuomintang mayor of Kaohsiung since 1998. Many people believed his popularity helped the KMT party do well in other elections that year.

Vote share by district in the 2018 Kaohsiung mayoral election.

After winning, Han invited companies like Foxconn to invest in Kaohsiung. He also looked for people who spoke fluent English to help promote the city. Han supported the idea of the 1992 consensus and wanted to create groups to improve relations with mainland China. He officially became mayor on December 25, 2018. He promised to help Kaohsiung's products, bring more money to the city, pay off city debts, and invest in education for future generations.

In 2019, Han made several trips to other places to discuss business and tourism for Kaohsiung. He visited Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China. He also visited the United States, going to Boston, Los Angeles, and Silicon Valley to encourage American companies to invest in Kaohsiung.

Recall from Office

After returning to Kaohsiung in January 2020, a group of citizens started a petition to remove Han from his position as mayor. They collected enough signatures to hold a special vote.

Han asked his supporters not to vote in the recall election. However, on June 6, 2020, a large number of people voted, and 97% of them voted to remove him from office. He officially stepped down on June 12, 2020.

Presidential Campaign

Soon after Han became mayor, some people wanted him to run for president in the 2020 Taiwan presidential election. At first, he said he would not, but then he changed his mind and decided to join the Kuomintang's process to choose a presidential candidate.

On July 15, 2019, Han won the Kuomintang's primary election. This meant he became the party's official candidate for president. He held several large rallies to gain support. On October 15, 2019, he took a break from his mayoral duties to focus on his presidential campaign.

On November 11, 2019, Han chose Chang San-cheng, a former premier, as his running mate. In the presidential election, Han and Chang finished second to the current president, Tsai Ing-wen, and her running mate, William Lai.

President of the Legislative Yuan

Han presenting the Seal of Honour to Lai Ching-te during his presidential inauguration

In November 2023, Han was placed at the top of the Kuomintang's list for seats in the 2024 Taiwanese legislative election. Before he officially started his new term in the 11th Legislative Yuan, Han said he was interested in becoming the speaker. Han won the election for Yuan President with 54 votes on February 1, 2024.

Personal Life

Han is married to Lee Chia-fen. They have three children together. In January 2022, Han published a book of short stories and started a charity called the Light Up Foundation.

See also

In Spanish: Han Kuo-yu para niños