Ko Chih-en

Ko's father Ko Wen-fu served as magistrate of Pingtung County between 1973 and 1981.[1] Ko Chih-en was born in 1962, and attended National Chengchi University, earning a bachelor's degree in education. She then obtained a master of education degree from Michigan State University and a doctorate in educational psychology at University of Southern California, both in the United States. Subsequently, Ko joined the faculty of Tamkang University.[2] In 2008, she was named dean of student affairs at Tamkang.[3]

In November 2015, Ko was placed second on the Kuomintang party list, immediately following longtime legislator Wang Jin-pyng,[4] regarded as part of the safe list, ensuring electoral victory.[5][6] She arrived at the Legislative Yuan to take office on 1 February 2016, with a group of Tamkang students.[7] Shortly after Ko was seated, the Kuomintang asked her to open an office in Pingtung County.[8] She served as convener of the legislative education committee between February 2017 and March 2018,[9][10] later leading the KMT's women's department.[11] In May 2017, Ko joined the Renewable Power Promotion Alliance founded by Mary Chen.[12]

As a legislator, Ko took an interest in education,[13] LGBT rights,[14][15] women's rights, pension reform, and energy.[16][17] She was supportive of many cultural exchanges between Taiwan and other countries,[18] namely China.[19][20][21] Soon after taking office, she co-signed a bill proposed by Karen Yu to allow young children into the legislative chamber.[22] In March 2018, Ko remarked that customs deemed discriminatory toward women should be phased out.[23] She approached pension reform from a schoolteacher's perspective,[24][25] proposing that the monthly pension be capped at NT$32,160,[26] and suggested that pensions be withheld from retired public servants that took positions at government funded agencies willing to pay half of their former salary.[27]

Ko drew attention to corruption on private school boards,[28] the labor rights of graduate students,[29] funding for internships,[30] and policies affecting foreign students.[31][32] She took an interest in student safety,[33][34] and to this end, helped pass stricter restrictions on cram school instructors.[35][36] In November 2017, Ko advised James C. Liao and others affiliated with Academia Sinica to resign from National Taiwan University's presidential selection committee to avoid a conflict of interest, as two candidates under consideration were Academia Sinica's then- and former vice president.[37] When Kuan Chung-ming was named NTU president, Ko pushed the Ministry of Education to confirm his election,[38][39] though Kuan was also suspected of a conflict of interest.[40]

Upon completing her term in the Legislative Yuan, Ko returned to her professorship within Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of Educational Psychology and Counseling and concurrently headed the National Policy Foundation, a Kuomintang think tank. She was nominated as the KMT candidate for the Kaohsiung mayoralty in June 2022.[1]