Kao Su-po

Kao Su-po (Chinese: 高思博; pinyin: Gāo Sībó; born 31 October 1968) is a Taiwanese politician, professor, and public servant. He was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 2005 to 2008, and led the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission between 2008 and 2011. He contested the Tainan mayoralty in 2018, losing the office to Huang Wei-cher.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Kao.
Kao Su-po
高思博
Minister of Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission of the Republic of China
In office
20 May 2008 – 8 February 2011
Preceded byHsu Chih-hsiung
Succeeded byLuo Ying-shay
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
1 February 2005 – 31 January 2008
ConstituencyTainan
Personal details
Born (1968-10-31) 31 October 1968
Tainan, Taiwan
NationalityRepublic of China
Political partyKuomintang (since 2006)
Other political
affiliations		People First Party (until 2006)
Parent
Alma materGeorge Washington University

Personal life

Kao Su-po (also known as Gao Sipo or Apo) was born in the Zhongxi District of Tainan City on October 31, 1968, and Jiali is his ancestral home.[1] Kao is married to Chou Yun-tsai, deputy director and R&D Advisor in Chief at the 21st Century Foundation, and they have one son. Kao's inspiration for becoming a lawyer is his father, Kao Yu-jen, who owned a law firm in his hometown, was the former Taiwan Provincial Assembly speaker and Tainan County commissioner from 1973 to 1976.[2] It was through his father's work and commitment to the people of Tainan as an elected representative for the county that Kao found his love for law and public service. As Kao states: "The legal profession can be a business, a resource, and a social shaper the crosses national borders".[3]

Academic career

Kao obtained his LL.B in 1990 at the National Taiwan University Law school, and later received his J.D in law in 1998 from George Washington University in the United States.[4] During his studies at George Washington, Kao interned at Capitol Hill where he witnessed the collaborative nature of U.S. democracy, specifically how lawmakers, diplomats, entrepreneurs, think tank scholars, and politicians all worked together to "influence the future of the world".[4] Returning to Tainan after his studies, he strove to improve its political system. After obtaining his degree, he became an associate professor and the director in the Law Departments at Central Police University and Shih Hsin University respectively.[4]

Political career

Kao contested the 2004 legislative elections as a People First Party candidate.[5] He took office in February 2005 and joined the Kuomintang one year later.[6] He was named minister without portfolio and head of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission in May 2008.[7][8] He resigned from both posts in January 2011.[9][10]

Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission

In February 2010, Kao said that the MTAC was making a policy change from increasing Taiwan's relations with Mongolia and Central Tibetan Administration to promote cross-strait relations.[11] Additionally, he saw a possible merger of MTAC into the Mainland Affairs Council as a way to help MTAC “find a proper place when dealing with Mongolian and Tibetan affairs.”[12]

2018 Tainan mayoral elections

Kao ran and won against Huang Hsiu-shuang, former president of the National University of Tainan during the KMT primary elections in May 2018.[13] As the KMT mayoral candidate for Tainan, Kao's campaign addressed three main policy areas: 1) reversing and reimbursing Tainan residents for the increase in housing taxes; 2) making health insurance free for the elderly ages 65 and above and improving public daycare centers; and 3) preserving Tainan's heritage by preventing the demolition of old buildings for the railway expansion.[14] Additionally, Kao sought to revive and expand industries in Tainan, such as reopening China's contract with milk fish farmers in Syuejia District of Tainan and giving local factories access to global markets.

Taking TVBS News on a tour of his childhood home on August 21, 2018, Kao explained the importance of family and maintaining the history of the ancient city. When asked by anchor Amber Chien if he agreed with critiques that KMT was outdated and full of old representatives, Kao explained that although there needs to be more youth involvement in the party, the party should not give up the integrity of KMT history and heritage because there is value in it.

The Democratic Progressive Party has been the ruling party for Tainan for over 25 years,[2] garnering a lot of attention for the contending KMT campaign in the municipality. In the Taipei Times, Kao states: "The people of Tainan have grown so accustomed to a DPP mayor that they cannot even imagine what the city could become under a leader from a different party".[2] Therefore, Kao hopes to not only usurp DPP's quarter of a century rule over Tainan, but also provide much needed change to its struggling economy.[2] The DPP candidate for the mayoral election is Huang Wei-cher, a lawmaker who beat five other contenders during DPP's primaries in March 2018.[15]

2018 Kuomintang Tainan City mayoral primary results
Candidates Place Result
Kao Su-po Nominated Results not released
Huang Hsiu-shuang 2nd Results not released
2018 Tainan City mayoral results[16]
No. Candidate Party Votes Percentage
1Huang Wei-cher Democratic Progressive Party367,518 38.02%
2Kao Su-po Kuomintang312,874 32.37%
3Lin Yi-feng (林義豐) Independent84,153 8.71%
4Hsu Chun-hsin (許忠信) Independent45,168 4.67%
5Chen Yong-he (陳永和) Independent117,179 12.12%
6Su Huan-chih Independent39,778 4.11%
Total voters　1,546,862
Valid votes　966,670
Invalid votes　
Voter turnout　62.49%

References
  1. "About Apo". Apo Official Site. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  2. Hsu, Stacey (23 May 2018). "NINE-IN-ONE ELECTIONS: Kao wins KMT primary to run for Tainan office". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  3. "The story of the blog". Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  4. "About Apo". Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  5. Hong, Caroline (15 November 2004). "Legislative Elections: Legislative hopeful departs from family's KMT roots". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  6. "Wave of defections poses crucial test to PFP". Taipei Times. 2 February 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  7. "Last Cabinet posts named". Taipei Times. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  8. Chao, Vincent Y. (22 November 2010). "2010 ELECTIONS: PROFILE: KMT's Eric Chu tries to step beyond ideology". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  9. Shih, Hsiu-chuan (27 January 2011). "By-election row claims minister". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  10. Chao, Vincent Y. (29 January 2011). "Five ministers could be replaced". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  11. Loa, Iok-sin (8 February 2010). "MTAC shifts on Mongolia, Tibet policy". Taipei Times. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  12. Loa, Iok-sin (8 February 2010). "MTAC shifts on Mongolia, Tibet policy". Taipei Times. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  13. "Former legislator Kao Su-po wins KMT primary for Tainan mayor". Central News Agency. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  14. "思博新政 | 高思博::A PO Official Site". Sbow New Deal. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  15. "Lawmaker Huang Wei-che wins DPP primary for Tainan mayoral race". Central News Agency. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  16. "2018 Local Elections". Archived from the original on 2018-11-24. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
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