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Ann Kao

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Ann Kao
Kao Hung-an
MLY
高虹安
Official portrait, 2022
8th Mayor of Hsinchu
In office
25 December 2022 – 26 July 2024
DeputyTsai Li-tsing
Andy Chiu
Preceded byChen Chang-hsien [zh] (acting)
Lin Chih-chien
Succeeded byAndy Chiu (acting)
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office
1 February 2020 – 25 December 2022
Succeeded byChen Wan-hui
ConstituencyParty-list (Taiwan People's Party)
Personal details
Born (1984-01-25) 25 January 1984 (age 41)
Neihu, Taipei, Taiwan
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Taiwan People's Party (2019–2024)
EducationNational Taiwan Normal University (BS)
National Taiwan University (MS)
University of Cincinnati (PhD)

Ann Kao Hung-an (Chinese: 高虹安; pinyin: Gāo Hóng'ān; born 25 January 1984) is a Taiwanese business executive, engineer, and politician. She worked for Foxconn until 2020, when she was elected to the Legislative Yuan as a member of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP). Partway through her legislative term, Kao was elected Mayor of Hsinchu during the 2022 local election cycle. On 26 July 2024, Kao was removed from office and withdrew from the TPP due to corruption allegations.

Early life, education, and career

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Kao was born on 25 January 1984 in Taipei.[1] She completed a bachelor's degree in information and computer education at National Taiwan Normal University before earning a master's degree from the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering at National Taiwan University. Kao then pursued graduate studies in the United States and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati.[1][2] Her doctoral studies were partially funded by the Institute for Information Industry (III).[3]

While working as a researcher for the III, Kao was also a cofounder and part-time employee of Servtech.[4][5] Immediately prior to running for political office, Kao worked closely with Terry Gou as vice president of Foxconn's Industrial Big Data Office.[6][7][8]

Legislative Yuan

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During the 2020 legislative election cycle, Kao ranked third on the Taiwan People's Party list and was elected to the 10th Legislative Yuan via proportional representation.[6][9] During the campaign period, the Central Election Commission reported that Kao held NT$8.77 million in foreign currency deposits.[10] In February 2020, Kao was appointed head of party affairs in the city of Taichung, and the counties of Changhua and Nantou.[11]

Hsinchu mayoralty

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In July 2022, the Taiwan People's Party nominated Kao as its candidate for the Hsinchu mayoralty.[12][13] Six candidates contested the office,[14] including major party candidates Lin Geng-ren [zh] of the Kuomintang and the Democratic Progressive Party's Shen Hui-hung [zh].[15][16] During her mayoral campaign, Mirror Media reported that Kao's doctoral dissertation, authored at the University of Cincinnati, was plagiarized from two studies she had taken part in as a researcher. Both the research and Kao's doctoral study were subsidized by the Institute for Information Industry.[3] She filed a defamation lawsuit against Mirror Media for the publication of the allegations.[17] Institute president Cho Cheng-hung later told the Legislative Yuan that Kao's doctoral thesis had plagiarized 70–80% of the report she had written for the III.[18] On 25 October 2022, the III began legal action against Kao, claiming that she had used copyrighted information in her doctoral thesis.[19]

Separately, Lin Geng-ren accused Kao of violating the Anti-Corruption Act.[20] Lin also claimed that Kao hired her partner Lee Chung-ting and the couple were suspected of payroll deduction fraud.[21][22] The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau duly investigated Kao on these and other charges, including the acceptance of illegal political donations.[23] The day before the 2022 mayoral election, a whistleblower brought attention to an instance of alleged intimidation by a member of Kao's legislative staff toward a former member of the staff.[24] Despite the allegations against Kao, she won the Hsinchu mayoral election, winning 98,121 votes (45%), finishing ahead of Shen (77,764; 35.7%) and Lin (18%).[25] Prior to taking office as mayor, Kao's legislative offices were searched and she was questioned in regards to the allegations against her.[26][27]

Upon taking office on 25 December 2022, Kao became the first female elected mayor of Hsinchu, and the youngest female county magistrate or mayor in Taiwanese history.[28] She was replaced as a legislator by Chen Wan-hui.[29] Although the Taipei District Prosecutors Office declined to charge her with breach of trust violations due to insufficient evidence in the case, ending the Institute for Information Industry's legal actions against Kao, she was indicted on charges of corruption in August 2023.[30]

In June 2024, following Kao's indictment, an anonymous person launched a campaign to recall her as mayor, citing issues such as an apartment complex fire and allegations of allowing her boyfriend to "exert undue influence in city affairs."[31] As of August, the campaign failed to gain enough signatures in a first-round petition. Organizers said the campaign had reached 53% of the required threshold of signatures in mid-December.[32]

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On 14 August 2023, prosecutors charged Kao with corruption dating back to her tenure as a legislator.[33] Kao denied the allegations, and said that the indictment was politically motivated.[33] The following month, the Taiwan People's Party temporarily suspended Kao's party membership rights pending a verdict on the case.[34]

On 26 July 2024, the Taipei District Court found Kao guilty of violating the Anti-Corruption Act and the Criminal Code [zh].[35] Specifically, the court found her guilty of embezzling NT$116,514 and sentenced her to seven years and four months in prison.[35][36] The court also said that she would lose her civil rights for four years.[35] In accordance with the law, Kao was suspended from office.[35][37] Subsequently, she announced her withdrawal as a member of the Taiwan People's Party.[35] Kao said that the ruling was unprecedented when compared to similar cases in the past decade.[35] The TPP said that the sentence was disproportionate.[38]

Kao appealed the case to the Taiwan High Court. In January 2025, the court paused their review of the case to seek guidance from the Constitutional Court, because the first paragraph of Article 32 of the Organic Law of the Legislative Yuan was found to contravene Article 18 of the Constitution.[39][40] The Constitutional Court declined to hear the case.[41]

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In September 2023, the Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office began investigating allegations made by Democratic Progressive Party city councilors.[42] They alleged that Kao had improper ties to a property developer.[42] Kao denied the allegations.[42]

Dissertation controversy

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In August 2024, the Taipei District Court sentenced Kao to ten months in prison after ruling that she had falsely accused Chen Shih-fen of defamation.[43] Chen had accused Kao of plagiarism in her doctoral thesis.[43] Kao said that she would appeal.[44]

References

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  1. ^ a b "3號 高虹安". Liberty Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Kao Hung-an (10)". Legislative Yuan. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b Lee, I-chia (21 September 2022). "Ann Kao of the TPP rejects accusations of thesis plagiarism". Taipei Times. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  4. ^ Pan, Jason (4 November 2022). "Prosecutors, III investigating Kao controversies". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  5. ^ Pan, Jason (20 October 2022). "Former employer mulls lawsuit against Ann Kao". Taipei Times. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b Lee, I-chia (20 November 2019). "JAN. 11 ELECTIONS: TPP unveils legislator-at-large list with 29 names". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  7. ^ Shan, Shelley (7 January 2020). "2020 Elections: Gou not asking people to ditch TPP: Amanda Liu". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  8. ^ Lee, I-chia (2 December 2019). "Ko describes his ideal legislature". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  9. ^ Lee, I-chia (12 January 2020). "2020 Elections: Taiwan People's Party tops among 'third force' parties". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  10. ^ Hetherington, William (1 December 2019). "CEC releases election candidates' asset declarations". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  11. ^ Shen, Pei-yao; Chung, Jake (2 February 2020). "TPP plans online headquarters ahead of local elections". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  12. ^ Kuo, Chien-shen; Kao, Evelyn (11 July 2022). "ELECTIONS 2022/TPP selects Legislator Kao Hung-an for Hsinchu mayoral race". Central News Agency. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  13. ^ Lee, I-chia (12 July 2022). "Ann Kao selected by TPP to run for Hsinchu mayor". Taipei Times. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  14. ^ Pan, Jason (23 October 2022). "DPP figures weigh in on TPP scandals in Hsinchu". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  15. ^ Wang, Flor; Wang, Yang-yu; Lu, Chung-kang (5 September 2022). "ELECTIONS 2022/KMT's Hsinchu mayoral candidate denies plagiarism allegations". Central News Agency. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  16. ^ Yeh, Su-ping; Liu, Kuang-ting; Yeh, Joseph (22 June 2022). "ELECTIONS 2022/DPP, KMT name more candidates for Nov. 26 local elections". Central News Agency. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  17. ^ Pan, Jason (29 September 2022). "'Mirror Media' countersues TPP's Hsinchu candidate". Taipei Times. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  18. ^ Cheng, Hung-ta; Kao, Evelyn; Lin, Sean (5 October 2022). "ELECTIONS 2022/Institute may sue TPP lawmaker on copyright issues". Central News Agency. Retrieved 7 October 2022. Pan, Jason (7 October 2022). "DPP, TPP trade barbs over Kao's thesis". Taipei Times. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  19. ^ Su, Ssu-yun; Wang, Cheng-chung; Lin, Sean (26 October 2022). "ELECTIONS 2022/Institute sues TPP lawmaker for copyright infringements". Central News Agency. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  20. ^ Tsai, Chang-sheng; Liu, Tzu-hsuan (8 November 2022). "Hsinchu mayoral candidate accuses rival of corruption". Taipei Times. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  21. ^ Pan, Jason (18 November 2022). "Ann Kao, boyfriend suspects in payroll deduction fraud". Taipei Times. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  22. ^ Hung, Mei-hsiu; Liu, Tzu-hsuan (2 November 2022). "No laws broken in hiring staff, Ann Kao says". Taipei Times. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  23. ^ Pan, Jason (10 November 2022). "Separate probes launched into the TPP's Ann Kao". Taipei Times. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  24. ^ Pan, Jason (25 November 2022). "Alleged intimidation takes place in Kao's office in recordings". Taipei Times. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  25. ^ Teng, Pei-ju (26 November 2022). "ELECTIONS 2022/TPP wins key Hsinchu mayor race, as Kao Hung-an declares victory". Central News Agency. Retrieved 26 November 2022. Kao finished with 98,121 votes, or 45 percent of the total, with her primary opponent, former Hsinchu Deputy Mayor Shen Hui-hung (沈慧虹) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), receiving 77,764 votes, or 35.7 percent, according to figures from the Central Election Commission (CEC). Hsinchu City Councilor Lin Ken-jeng (林耕仁) of the Kuomintang (KMT), meanwhile, sat a distant third with 18 percent. ... Despite being under investigation by prosecutors in Taipei over the matter, Kao has rejected all the charges, denouncing them as part of a smear campaign against her.
  26. ^ Pan, Jason (16 December 2022). "Ann Kao questioned as investigators search her offices". Taipei Times. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  27. ^ Pan, Jason (17 December 2022). "Ann Kao granted bail in fraud, embezzlement case". Taipei Times. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  28. ^ Hung, Mei-hsiu; Liu, Tzu-hsuan (27 November 2022). "2022 ELECTIONS: Ann Kao wins Hsinchu mayor's seat for TPP". Taipei Times. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  29. ^ Chen, Chun-hua; Kao, Evelyn (26 December 2022). "By-election for Nantou legislative seat scheduled for March 4". Central News Agency. Retrieved 26 December 2022. Republished as: "By-election for Hsu's Nantou seat set for March 4". Taipei Times. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  30. ^ Lin, Chang-shun; Hsu, Elizabeth; Huang, Frances (14 August 2023). "Mayor of Taiwan's Hsinchu City indicted for corruption". Central News Agency. Retrieved 15 August 2023. and Lin, Chang-shun; Hsu, Elizabeth; Huang, Frances (14 August 2023). "Mayor of Taiwan's Hsinchu City indicted for corruption (update)". Central News Agency. Retrieved 15 August 2023. Republished as: "Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao charged with corruption". Taipei Times. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  31. ^ Hung, Mei-hsiu (11 June 2024). "Petition launched to recall Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao". Taipei Times.
  32. ^ "Recall campaign against Hsinchu mayor gains traction". TVBS News. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  33. ^ a b "Mayor of Taiwan's Hsinchu City indicted for corruption (update) - Focus Taiwan". web.archive.org. 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  34. ^ Lin, Sean (19 September 2023). "Hsinchu Mayor Kao's TPP membership rights suspended over alleged graft". Central News Agency (Taiwan). Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  35. ^ a b c d e f Hsieh, Hsin-en; Lin, Chang-shun; Lu, Kang-chun; Ko, Lin (26 July 2024). "Hsinchu mayor receives over 7-year jail sentence for corruption". Central News Agency (Taiwan). Archived from the original on 2024-07-26. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  36. ^ Wen, Yu-te; Chung, Jake (27 July 2024). "Mayor Anne Kao sentenced on corruption charges". Taipei Times. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  37. ^ Thomson, Jono (26 July 2024). "Kao Hung-an exits TPP and stripped of mayoralty". Taiwan News.
  38. ^ Lee, Wen-hsin; Chung, Jake (2024-07-27). "TPP says ruling against Kao not proportionate". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  39. ^ Liu, Shih-yi; Kao, Hua-chien; Liu, Kay (2 January 2025). "Hsinchu mayor corruption case appeal halted over constitutional concerns". Central News Agency. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  40. ^ Yang, Kuo-wen; Chung, Jake (3 January 2025). "High court suspends Ann Kao's corruption case pending constitutional interpretation". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  41. ^ Hsieh, Hsing-en; Lin, Chang-shun; Wu, Kuan-hsien (2025-02-08). "High Court to resume trial of Hsinchu mayor in corruption case". Central News Agency (Taiwan). Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  42. ^ a b c Kuo, Hsuan-wen; Kao, Evelyn (13 September 2023). "Hsinchu mayor denies corruption allegations as prosecutors launch probe". Central News Agency (Taiwan). Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  43. ^ a b Thomson, Jono. "Former Hsinchu Taiwan People's Party mayor sentenced to 10 months prison". Taiwan News.
  44. ^ Thompson, James; Lin, Chang-shun; Lu, Kang-chun (2024-08-21). "Suspended Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao sentenced for 'malicious accusation'". Central News Agency (Taiwan). Archived from the original on 2024-08-21.
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