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George Hsieh

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George Hsieh
Hsieh Kuo-liang
謝國樑
Official portrait, 2022
11th Mayor of Keelung
Assumed office
25 December 2022
DeputyChiu Pei-lin
Preceded byLin Yu-chang
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
1 February 2005 – 1 February 2016
Succeeded byTsai Shih-ying
ConstituencyKeelung
Personal details
Born (1975-10-05) 5 October 1975 (age 49)
Keelung, Taiwan
Political partyKuomintang (since 2006)
People First Party (until 2006)
SpouseVeronica Kuo
EducationUniversity of Southern California (BA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS)

George Hsieh Kuo-liang (Chinese: 謝國樑; pinyin: Xiè Guóliáng; Wade–Giles: Hsieh4 Kuo2-liang2; 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

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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

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Hsieh renounced US citizenship to contest the 2004 legislative election 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choice to run for the mayoralty of Keelung City in 2014, after original candidate Huang Ching-tai's nomination had been withdrawn.[7] He repeatedly refused the mayoral nomination and campaigned for Hsieh Li-kung instead.[8][9] In February 2015, George Hsieh announced that he would not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

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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 Tsai Shih-ying [zh].[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] The Keelung City Election Commission later announced that 283 polling stations would be set up for the election.[18][19] With all polling stations reporting, 86,014 voted for Hsieh to remain in office, and 69,934 for his recall. In all seven districts of Keelung, a majority of voters rejected the recall of Hsieh.[20][21]

References

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  1. ^ "Who's Who in the ROC" (PDF). Executive Yuan. p. 183. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  2. ^ Yang, Sophia (26 November 2022). "Media mogul, KMT nominee, Hsieh Kuo-liang elected Keelung City mayor". Taiwan News. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  3. ^ Gerber, Abraham (22 February 2015). "Keelung legislator will not run again". Taipei Times. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  4. ^ Huang, Shelley (10 March 2009). "'Big Brother' bill stirs up DPP anger". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  5. ^ Wang, Flora (4 March 2010). "Pan-blues to head all 16 committees at Legislative Yuan". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  6. ^ Shih, Hsiu-chuan; Chang, Rich (24 October 2013). "Wiretapped lawmakers want answers". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Hsieh Li-kung says likely to stand for KMT in Keelung". Taipei Times. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  8. ^ Hsiao, Alison (12 July 2014). "Legislator evades Keelung draft". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  9. ^ Gerber, Abraham (22 February 2015). "Keelung legislator will not run again". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  10. ^ Shih, Hsiu-chuan (11 July 2015). "KMT's Hau Lung-bin to run in Keelung". Taipei Times. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  11. ^ Teng, Pei-ju (25 May 2022). "KMT selects Legislator Chiang Wan-an as candidate for Taipei mayor". Central News Agency. Retrieved 26 May 2022. Republished as "Chiang Wan-an named as KMT pick for Taipei mayor". Taipei Times. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  12. ^ Lin, Sean (26 November 2022). "ELECTIONS 2022/KMT's Hsieh Kuo-liang claims win in Keelung mayoral election". Central News Agency. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  13. ^ Wang, Chao-yu (19 September 2023). "謝國樑民調滿意度倒數第2 基市府:虛心接受指導". CNA (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  14. ^ Weng, Yu-huang (30 June 2024). "Keelung mayor recall hits threshold". Taipei Times. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  15. ^ Chiu, Rui-chieh (5 July 2024). "基隆罷免謝國樑連署書 今送市選委會". United Daily News (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  16. ^ Lin, Ching-yin; Lo, James (16 August 2024). "Recall vote of Keelung mayor set for Oct. 13". Central News Agency. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  17. ^ Chung, Jake (17 August 2024). "Keelung Mayor Hsieh recall vote is approved". Taipei Times. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  18. ^ Shen, Worthy; Lai, Sunny (12 October 2024). "Threshold of 77,700 set for Oct. 13 Keelung mayoral recall vote". Central News Agency. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  19. ^ Wang, Chao-yu; Huang, Sunrise; Liu, Kay (October 12, 2024). "Keelung mayor supporters, recall campaigners rally before Sunday vote". Central News Agency. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  20. ^ Thompson, James (13 October 2024). "Keelung mayor Hsieh remains in office after defeating recall vote". Central News Agency. Retrieved 13 October 2024. Republished as: "Keelung mayor to keep office after surviving recall". Taipei Times. 14 October 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  21. ^ Thompson, James; Wang, Cheng-chung; Chen, Jun-hua; Wang, Chao-yu; Wang, Hung-kuo; Ye, Su-ping (13 October 2024). "Politicians react to Keelung mayor Hsieh defeating recall vote". Central News Agency. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
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