Kao Chia-yu (; born 17 October 1980) is a Taiwanese politician and a member of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

(DPP). She was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

in 2005. Upon assuming office, she became the youngest person to ever be seated in that legislative body. Between 2010 and 2020, Kao was a

Taipei City Council Taipei City Council () is the city council of Taipei, Taiwan. One of the largest Administrative divisions of Taiwan, local councils in Taiwan, the city council is currently composed of 61 councillors, all elected most recently in the 2022 Taiw ...

lor. She was elected to the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

in 2020.

Early life and education

Born in

Keelung Keelung ( ; zh, p=Jīlóng, c=基隆, poj=Ke-lâng), Chilung or Jilong ( ; ), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city in northeastern Taiwan. The city is part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area with neighboring New Ta ...

on 17 October 1980, Kao is the eldest in the family, with a sister and a brother. Her parents own a provision store. Kao studied at the prestigious Taipei First Girls' High School, and then attended

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

(NTU), where she graduated with a

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree. She also earned a master's degree in cross-strait relations research from the NTU Graduate Institute of National Development. During her study in NTU, she became the 14th President of the NTU Student Association.

Political career

Kao became an assistant of

member

Luo Wen-jia Luo Wen-jia (; Hakka: Lò Vùn-kâ; born 1 January 1966) is a Taiwanese politician who is the current vice chairman and secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation. He is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party. Luo worked clos ...

. She later won the 2005 National Assembly election and became the youngest member of the

in Republic of China history. In the 2010 local elections, Kao was elected councillor of Taipei City, and was re-elected twice in 2014 and 2018. She was initially nominated by the DPP to run for the 2008 legislative election, representing Taipei City District 6, but was replaced by Luo Wen-jia, after President

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...

returned to lead the Democratic Progressive Party as chairman. In 2015, she protested DPP's decision not to nominate any candidate for the Neihu and Nangang district for the 2016 election. Kao defeated

Lee Yen-hsiu Lee Yen-hsiu ( ''Chinese'': 李彥秀; born 18 December 1971), is a Taiwanese politician from the Kuomintang. She was elected to represent Taipei City Constituency IV on the Legislative Yuan in 2016 and 2024. Education Lee received her college ...

in the 2020 legislative election, but lost to Lee in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. She would occasionally sing in the public, but some netizens found her singing voice being terrible. During the 2024 Taiwan general elections, she was even requested by

William Lai Lai Ching-te (; pinyin: ''Lài Qīngdé''; born 6 October 1959), also known as William Lai, is a Taiwanese politician and former physician who is currently serving as the eighth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since May 2024. He is ...

(The presidential candidate of DPP) not to sing during the election campaign.

Personal life

Kao dated her boyfriend, Ma Wen-yu, for more than a decade. Ma was her assistant and was her junior when they were both studying in NTU. In November 2021, Kao reported that her partner, , physically assaulted her during an argument. Lin was formally arrested in December 2021, and indicted on eight criminal charges in January 2022. Charges against Lin included violations of privacy and personal freedom, bodily harm, coercion, intimidation, and slander targeting Kao, dissemination of malicious texts while using her computer, as well as the falsification of his own financial documents. In September 2022, the New Taipei District Court sentenced Lin to two years and ten months in prison.

References

External links

Profile of Taipei City Councillor Kao Chia-yu
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kao, Chia-yu 1980 births Living people Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Keelung Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan National Taiwan University alumni 21st-century Taiwanese women politicians Members of the 10th Legislative Yuan Taipei City Councilors Taipei Members of the Legislative Yuan

Early life and education

Political career

Personal life

See also

References

External links