| Clara Chou | |
| Native Name: | 周玉蔻 |
| Native Name Lang: | zh |
| Birth Date: | 1953 9, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Keelung, Taiwan |
| Alma Mater: | National Chengchi University Harvard University (MPA) Peking University (EMBA) |
| Party: | Kuomintang Taiwan Solidarity Union |
Clara Chou or Chou Yuh-kow (; born 9 September 1953) is a Taiwanese journalist, television and radio personality.
Chou was born in Keelung. After graduating from Keelung Girl's Senior High School, she attended the National Chengchi University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in journalism. She then entered Harvard University, where she graduated with a degree in Master of Public Administration, followed by a degree in Executive Master of Science in Business Administration at the Peking University's Guanghua School of Management.[1]
From 2012 until 2021, she anchored Chou Chou Breakfast from 7:00 to 9:00 every weekday on Hit FM.
In 2014, Chou accused President Ma Ying-jeou of accepting donations from the Ting Hsin International Group.[2] At the time, the company was investigated as part of the 2014 Taiwan food scandal. Chou believed Ma had a hand in covering up Ting Hsin's role in the incident.[3] In December, Ma filed two lawsuits against Chou for the comments she made.[4] She countered with a lawsuit against the Kuomintang, targeting acting party chairperson Wu Den-yih.[5] Chou was stripped of her KMT membership later that month,[6] [7] days after she had presented evidence of the party's alleged misdeeds.[8] In December 2015, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chou on charges of defamation in connection to her comments about Ting Hsin.[9] The first ruling in Ma's court case against Chou was handed down later that month. The Taipei District Court found her not guilty of defamation.[10] [11] Ma appealed the verdict to the Taiwan High Court.[12]
Chou made further accusations of the KMT in June 2015, this time against then-unconfirmed presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu, claiming that Hung's master's degree from Northeast Missouri State University was falsified.[13] [14] Hung sued Chou and the Next Magazine employees who first published the accusations.[15] Chou further stated in August that Hung was thinking of ending her presidential run early in return for a legislative position or money. In response, Hung charged Chou with defamation again.[16] That same month, Terry Gou was awarded NT$2 million in his defamation suit against Chou, who had accused Gou of violating the Political Donations Act in January.[17] [18]
Chou supported the Kuomintang, before the party lost power in the 2000 election. After the loss, she publicly supported the Democratic Progressive Party's policies, and ran as a candidate for the Pan-Green Taiwan Solidarity Union in the 2006 Taipei City municipal election.[1] She was expelled from the TSU during her mayoral campaign for suggesting that President Chen Shui-bian resign in the wake of First Lady Wu Shu-chen's indictment for graft,[19] [20] though her name still appeared on the ballot as the TSU candidate.[21] The expulsion was later reduced to a suspension.[22] By 2008, Chou had rejoined the KMT.[1] After Ma Ying-jeou resigned as KMT chair in December 2014, Chou tried to run for the position, but was rejected.[23]
| 2006 Taipei City Mayoral Election Result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
| 1 | Li Ao | Independent | 7,795 | 0.61% | |
| 2 | Clara Chou | Taiwan Solidarity Union | 3,372 | 0.26% | |
| 3 | Frank Hsieh | Democratic Progressive Party | 525,869 | 40.89% | |
| 4 | James Soong | Independent | 53,281 | 4.14% | |
| 5 | Hau Lung-pin | Kuomintang | 692,085 | 53.81% | |
| 6 | Ke Tsi-hai (柯賜海) | Independent | 3,687 | 0.29% |
In 1998, Chou claimed that she and Daniel Huang had an affair.[24] She married Lee Hyun-Reng in 2001.[25]