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Han Kuo-yu (Chinese:韓國瑜; pinyin:Hán Guóyú; born 17 June 1957), also known by his English name Daniel Han, is a Taiwanese politician and retired army officer who has served as the president of the Legislative Yuan since 2024. He is a member of the Kuomintang (KMT).
Han was the fifth of six children, with two elder sisters, two elder brothers, and a younger brother, Han Kuo-yao (韓國瑤). His parents had relocated to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War during the Great Retreat. He was raised in a military dependents' village. His family initially settled in Qingshui District, Taichung, before moving to Zhongli District, Taoyuan, and subsequently to Zhongzheng New Village (中正新村) in Banqiao District. After losing their home during Typhoon Gloria in 1963, the family moved to Shou-de New Village (壽德新村) in Zhonghe District. One of Han's childhood neighbors was the future legislator Lin Cheng-chieh, whose family also resided in Shou-de New Village.
In 1975, Han enlisted in the army at age 18 and, after sitting the entrance examination, was admitted to the Republic of China Military Academy, where he became a member of the 40th class of its advanced training program. While attending the academy, Han defrayed his student expenses by working as a guard during the day and a telephone operator at night.
Han served six years in the Republic of China Army, during which period he was stationed in the Matsu Islands, commanded a motor transport unit, and spent his last service year in Hualien. He was discharged as a captain in April 1981. He then took the Joint College Entrance Examination[zh] for college admission and enrolled at Soochow University to study English. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature in 1985. As an undergraduate, Han worked part-time as a security guard for an American club.
In 1988, Han earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in East Asian studies from National Chengchi University. He wrote a 99-page master's thesis titled, "A study of negotiations during the 'Two Airlines Uprising' from the perspective of the CCP's United Front strategy" (Chinese: 從中共「對臺統戰」策略看兩航談判), which analyzed Chinese united front strategies and the efficacy of one country, two systems. His thesis advisor was the political scientist Su Chi.
Prior to running for public office, Han worked as a school principal. When he was 33 years old, he taught English and civics as a part-time teacher at Shih Hsin University, and lectured at Hualien Teachers' College and a journalism school. From 2001 to 2009, Han studied for a doctorate in political science and public administration at Peking University, where he was a Ph.D. student. As a doctoral student at Peking, he published an academic article in a Chinese journal, The Journal of Election Review (中華選舉研究學會刊), on recall elections in Taiwan in 2009. The university lists him as a 2009 Ph.D. graduate of the Guanghua School of Management, although Han stated in 2018 that he ultimately did not receive a degree.
Taipei County Councilor (1990–1993)
While pursuing his graduate studies at National Chengchi University, Han attended classes during the day and worked as a mainland affairs researcher at the China Times during evenings; he initially began his graduate studies in international relations but switched to East Asian studies. His interest in politics led him to borrow NT$900,000 from close friends in order to launch an election campaign for a seat on the Taipei County Council. In the 1990 county council election, Han ran as an independent with the support of Apollo Chen, who had been elected to the council the previous year. He ultimately won the seat representing Zhonghe District on the Taipei County Council and took office on March 1, 1990.
Han was associated with the New Kuomintang Alliance, a political faction within the KMT, during the early 1990s. As a councilor, he helped to establish the Wenzheng Gongdao Hui (問政公道會), an informal council group whose members frequently conducted joint questioning of You Ching, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) county magistrate. On 16 November 1990, during an attempt to obstruct You's presentation of a county government report, Han threw a thermos toward the magistrate following a heated exchange. He subsequently climbed onto You's desk and grabbed his necktie before councilor Wu Tsang-fu intervened to separate them. Han fell during the confrontation, sustained an injury to the back of his head and was hospitalized. Following his discharge from hospital, he shaved his head and publicly apologized to You in the council cafeteria.
During his council tenure, Han became involved in efforts to preserve the Hakka language and Hakka culture, working with Lai Yuan-lin and other organizers in 1990 to establish Hakka folk-song classes. On 18 April 1992, Han became the founding chairman of the Taipei County Hakka Hometown Association, established to preserve the Hakka language, promote traditional folk songs and encourage cultural exchange. He remained chairman of the association for its first two terms, from 1992 to 1998. His term on the Taipei County Council ended on 31 January 1993.
Legislative Yuan (1992–2001)
Election and first term
Han was elected to the Legislative Yuan as a Kuomintang (KMT) candidate in the 1992 legislative election, receiving 81,845 votes in Taipei County on 19 December 1992. He subsequently served in the second, third and fourth Legislative Yuans, remaining in office until 31 January 2002.
On 5 May 1993, Han physically assaulted fellow legislator Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) during a legislative confrontation. The dispute occurred during a meeting of the legislature's National Defense Committee concerning funding for services administered by the Veterans Affairs Council. Han overturned Chen's desk and slapped him after objecting to his remarks, and Chen was subsequently hospitalized for three days. Chen later explained that his criticism had concerned the government's treatment of military veterans rather than the veterans themselves.
In 1994, Han was among four KMT legislators representing Taipei County who became the targets of recall campaigns organized by anti-nuclear activists because of their support for the construction of the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant. Under the electoral legislation then in force, a recall required participation by at least half of the constituency's eligible voters, with a majority of votes favoring removal. The recall votes failed because turnout reached only 21.36 percent, below the required threshold.
Reelection and committee assignments
Han began his second term on 1 February 1996, representing Taipei County's third electoral district. During his second term, Han maintained constituency service offices in Zhonghe and the Xizhi–Ruifang area. He began his third term on 1 February 1999, continuing to represent Taipei County's third electoral district as a KMT legislator.
During the fourth Legislative Yuan, Han served on the Budget and Final Accounts Committee in the first legislative session. He subsequently served on the Procedure Committee and the Organic Laws and Statutes Committee during the second session, and on the Education and Culture Committee during the sixth session.
Kuomintang caucus leadership
By September 1999, Han was serving as leader of the KMT legislative caucus. Following the 1999 Jiji earthquake, the KMT, DPP and New Party caucuses reached an agreement to review an emergency decree for disaster relief and reconstruction, while abandoning a proposed two-week legislative recess. During the same period, Han called for the legislature to pass a military court-martial law bill before 1 October, warning that a delay would leave offenses committed by military personnel without an applicable legal framework.
In October 1999, Han participated in interparty negotiations to resolve a five-week legislative deadlock over the allocation of seats on the legislature's Finance Committee. The impasse had prevented the formation of other legislative committees and brought committee proceedings to a standstill. During negotiations, Han and New Party caucus leader Elmer Feng became involved in a physical confrontation. Following a compromise between the three major parties, Han attributed the agreement to external pressure on the legislature to resume its work.
In 2001, Han failed to secure his party's nomination through the KMT's internal legislative primary. The KMT subsequently placed him 33rd on its national party list for the 2001 Taiwanese legislative election, outside the range considered likely to secure election. He did not win another legislative term and subsequently withdrew from electoral politics for more than a decade.
In 2013, Han became general manager of the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation (TAPMC). He introduced performance-oriented management practices, encouraging competition between the corporation's two wholesale produce markets and requiring auctioneers to work alongside farmers to better understand agricultural production. The corporation's annual transaction value increased from NT$17.1 billion in 2011 to more than NT$22 billion in 2015, although the increase largely reflected rising produce prices rather than growth in trading volume.
In 2016, Han became the subject of a political dispute over the corporation's leadership involving the Taipei City Government and the Council of Agriculture. Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je said that officials affiliated with the Democratic Progressive Party had sought Han's removal, prompting negotiations over his resignation. Han requested that the corporation's board accept his resignation in January 2017, citing disagreements over the municipal government's handling of the dispute. The board approved his resignation on 29 March, effective 31 March, as Han pursued the 2017 Kuomintang chairmanship election. He was eventually succeeded by Wu Yin-ning in June 2017.
2017 KMT chairmanship election
Results of the 2017 Kuomintang chairmanship election by county and city. Wu Den-yih won most jurisdictions, while Hung Hsiu-chu won the remainder
On 11 January 2017, Han announced his resignation as general manager of the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation (TAPMC), amid speculation that he intended to seek the chairmanship of the KMT. The following day, he formally announced his candidacy at a press conference in Taipei, becoming the fourth candidate to enter the race after incumbent chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu, former vice president Wu Den-yih, and former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-pin.
Han campaigned on reforming the KMT's organizational structure and increasing transparency in its management of party assets. He proposed placing the party's assets into a trust, resolving outstanding disputes through legal procedures, and making its financial affairs transparent. Han also advocated streamlining the party's administration into four departments responsible for the chairmanship, party organization, public opinion and policymaking, and overseas liaison. At the announcement, he additionally expressed his willingness to contest the 2018 mayoral elections in either Tainan or Kaohsiung if the party could not identify suitable candidates.
On 21 April, Han was confirmed as one of six official candidates after meeting the requirement to submit valid endorsements from at least 3 percent of eligible party members. During the first televised policy presentation on 29 April, Han argued that voters had supported the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the 2016 elections because of dissatisfaction with the KMT and hopes for improved living standards. He also questioned whether President Tsai Ing-wen had delivered the economic improvements that voters expected after the DPP assumed office. In the final week of campaigning, Han received endorsements from more than 20 pan-blue members of the Yunlin County Council.
The election was held on 20 May 2017, with Han finishing fourth among six candidates, receiving 16,141 votes, or 5.84 percent of the valid ballots. Wu Den-yih won the chairmanship in the first round with 144,408 votes (52.24 percent), defeating incumbent Hung Hsiu-chu, who received 53,063 votes (19.20 percent). In August 2017, Wu appointed Han chairman of the KMT's Kaohsiung chapter ahead of the following year's local elections.
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.
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, 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.
Despite his claims of having minimal support for his Kaohsiung election, Han received and spent the most compared to the other mayoral races in Taiwan, according to paperwork filed with the Central Election Commission. 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.
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. The success of the KMT during the elections has been attributed to Han's popularity.
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. In addition, he sought fluent English speakers to fill vacancies in his administration pertaining to promotion and public relations. Han expressed support for the 1992 consensus and stated that he would form committees dedicated to Cross-Strait relations. 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.
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.
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.
Han returned to Kaohsiung and resumed mayoral duties on 13 January 2020. 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). 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. 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.
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. Han initially refused calls for him to contest the election, and later stated that he would not participate in the 2019 Kuomintang presidential primary. 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. On 5 June 2019, Han announced that he would stand in the Kuomintang presidential primary. Han registered for the primary three days after his announcement. Han scheduled five rallies for the primary, with the last one held on 8 July in Hsinchu City. On 15 July, he won the Kuomintang presidential primary and was formally nominated as the Kuomintang presidential candidate on 28 July 2019.
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, 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. 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. Some media outlet dubbed Han the "Taiwanese Trump" for his outspoken attitude and similar conservativepolitical positions to American president Donald Trump. On 11 November 2019, Han officially picked former premierChang San-cheng as his running mate for the election. The Kuomintang ticket completed registration for the election on 18 November 2019. Han and Chang finished second in the presidential election to incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen and her running mate William Lai.
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. 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. The foundation was commended by the ROC Veteran Affairs Council for its services provided to ROCAF veterans.
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. 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.
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.
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. In response, Han suggested that the National Police Agency form an investigative task force. No evidence suggesting Han's involvement were reported following the recall.
Personal life
Han married his wife, Lee Chia-fen, in 1989. They have three children. In January 2022, Han published a collection of short stories and established the Light Up Foundation, a charity.
Republic of China Army
Captain
