George Hsieh Explained

George Hsieh
Native Name Lang:zh-tw
Order1:11th
Office1:Mayor of Keelung
Term Start1:25 December 2022
Deputy1:Chiu Pei-lin
Predecessor1:Lin Yu-chang
Office2:Member of the Legislative Yuan
Term Start2:1 February 2005
Term End2:1 February 2016
Constituency2:Keelung
Successor2:Tsai Shih-ying
Alma Mater:University of Southern California
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Birth Date:1975 10, df=y
Birth Place:Keelung, Taiwan
Nationality:Taiwan
Spouse:Veronica Kuo

George Hsieh Kuo-liang (; born 5 October 1975) is a Taiwanese politician. He was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 2005 to 2016, and has served as Mayor of Keelung since 25 December 2022.

Education and early career

After earning a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Southern California, Hsieh attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1] He previously worked for The China Post and founded Hualien Media International.[2]

Entry into politics

Hsieh renounced US citizenship to join the 2004 legislative elections as a member of the People First Party.[3] He joined the Kuomintang in 2006, and represented Keelung in the Legislative Yuan until 2016. In 2009, he proposed an amendment to the Computer-Processed Personal Data Protection Act that would make it legal for elected officials to examine personal records without informing the individual subject to investigation.[4] The next year, Hsieh was named the co-chair of the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.[5] In 2013, Next Magazine reported that he and a small group of legislators had been subject to wiretapping by the Ministry of Justice since 2011.[6] Hsieh was the party's top choice to run for the mayoralty of Keelung City in 2014, after original candidate Huang Ching-tai's nomination had been withdrawn.[7] He repeatedly refused the mayoral nomination and campaigned for Hsieh Li-kung instead.[8] [9] In February 2015, George Hsieh announced that he would not seek reelection, because his party had been soundly defeated in the November 2014 local elections.[10]

Keelung mayoralty

In May 2022, the Kuomintang nominated Hsieh as its candidate for the Keelung mayoralty in the local elections.[11] Hsieh defeated Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate and legislator .[12]

A CommonWealth Magazine published survey results in September 2023 ranking Hsieh at No. 21 of 22 of major mayors and magistrates in terms of approval ratings. A DPP city councillor attributed Hsieh’s low approval ratings to his breaking of campaign promises, including COVID-19 pandemic related subsidies.[13]

In June 2024, a campaign to recall Hsieh garnered 36,000 signatures and exceeded the threshold needed to initiate a recall vote.[14] The campaign organizers submitted the petition with 40,000 signatures on 5 July.[15] The Central Election Commission certified 36,909 of 43,137 submitted signatures in August, and scheduled the recall election for 13 October.[16] [17]

Notes and References

  1. News: Who's Who in the ROC. 5 May 2016. Executive Yuan. 183. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20161020105104/http://www.ey.gov.tw/en/Upload/WebArchive/4695/Who%27s%20Who%20in%20the%20ROC.pdf. 20 October 2016.
  2. News: Yang . Sophia . Media mogul, KMT nominee, Hsieh Kuo-liang elected Keelung City mayor . 27 November 2022 . Taiwan News . 26 November 2022.
  3. News: Gerber. Abraham. Keelung legislator will not run again. 29 July 2017. Taipei Times. 22 February 2015.
  4. News: Huang. Shelley. 'Big Brother' bill stirs up DPP anger. 5 May 2016. Taipei Times. 10 March 2009.
  5. News: Wang. Flora. Pan-blues to head all 16 committees at Legislative Yuan. 5 May 2016. Taipei Times. 4 March 2010.
  6. News: Shih. Hsiu-chuan. Chang. Rich. Wiretapped lawmakers want answers. 5 May 2016. Taipei Times. 24 October 2013.
  7. News: Hsieh Li-kung says likely to stand for KMT in Keelung. 5 May 2016. Taipei Times. 23 July 2014.
  8. News: Hsiao. Alison. Legislator evades Keelung draft. 5 May 2016. Taipei Times. 12 July 2014.
  9. News: Gerber. Abraham. Keelung legislator will not run again. 5 May 2016. Taipei Times. 22 February 2015.
  10. News: Shih. Hsiu-chuan. KMT's Hau Lung-bin to run in Keelung. 18 January 2016. Taipei Times. 11 July 2015.
  11. News: Teng . Pei-ju . KMT selects Legislator Chiang Wan-an as candidate for Taipei mayor . 26 May 2022 . Central News Agency . 25 May 2022. Republished as News: Chiang Wan-an named as KMT pick for Taipei mayor . 26 May 2022 . Taipei Times . 26 May 2022.
  12. News: Lin . Sean . ELECTIONS 2022/KMT's Hsieh Kuo-liang claims win in Keelung mayoral election . 27 November 2022 . Central News Agency . 26 November 2022.
  13. News: Wang. Chao-yu. 謝國樑民調滿意度倒數第2 基市府:虛心接受指導. CNA. 19 September 2023. 30 June 2024. zh-tw.
  14. News: Weng. Yu-huang. Keelung mayor recall hits threshold . Taipei Times. 30 June 2024. 30 June 2024.
  15. News: Chiu. Rui-chieh. 基隆罷免謝國樑連署書 今送市選委會. United Daily News. 5 July 2024. zh-tw.
  16. News: Lin . Ching-yin . Lo . James . Recall vote of Keelung mayor set for Oct. 13 . 16 August 2024 . Central News Agency . 16 August 2024.
  17. News: Chung . Jake . Keelung Mayor Hsieh recall vote is approved . 17 August 2024 . Taipei Times . 17 August 2024.