Lo Chih-ming

Lo attended National Kaohsiung Normal University in Taiwan before earning a master's degree from St. Cloud State University.[1] He then earned a doctorate in technology in 1991 at the University of Iowa.[2][3]

Lo served four terms in the Kaohsiung City Council as a member of the Kuomintang.[1][4][5] He joined the Taiwan Solidarity Union upon its founding in 2001 to run for a legislative seat in Kaohsiung.[6] In 2003, TSU legislator Su Yin-kuei was expelled from the party after charging Lo with illegal lobbying.[7] Despite the accusations, Lo won reelection in 2004 by partnering with Democratic Progressive Party candidates during the campaign,[8] and was named one of the TSU's four caucus whips at the start of his second term.[9] In January 2005, Lo dropped out of a TSU chairmanship election,[10] and Shu Chin-chiang was appointed to the position.[11] After participating in an April 2005 protest, Lo was charged with violating the Assembly and Parade Law, and stepped down as whip until he was cleared.[12] In February 2006, Lo declared his candidacy for the Kaohsiung mayoralty.[13] As mayor, Lo said he would increase childcare subsidies, and expand the city's tourism industry. He also proposed an educational program that would offer elementary school textbooks for free.[14] Chen Chu won the office, and Lo returned to the legislature. In his second reelection campaign, Lo originally stood as a Kaohsiung district incumbent,[15] but was named one of the TSU's proportional representation candidates.[16] Listed eighth on a closed party list, Lo was defeated.[17] Shortly after the loss, he rejoined the Kuomintang.[18]

After politics, Lo worked at the Xiamen subsidiary of a biotech company and led a property developer.[19]

In January 2023, Lo was arrested and questioned by prosecutors who alleged that he recruited retired admiral Hsia Fu-hsiang (夏復翔) and others into a mainland Chinese spy ring. A court in Kaohsiung released him on cash bail despite the investigators' request that he remain in custody.[19]