Hsieh Kuo-liang ( zh, t=謝國樑, p=Xiè Guóliáng, w=Hsieh4 Kuo2-liang2; born 5 October 1975), also known by his English name George Hsieh, is a Taiwanese politician and

media proprietor A media proprietor, also called a media executive, media mogul, media tycoon, or press baron is an entrepreneur who controls any means of public or commercial mass media, through the personal ownership or holding of a dominant position within a ...

. He was a member of 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 ...

from 2005 to 2016, and has served as Mayor of Keelung since 25 December 2022.

Education and early career

Hsieh was educated in the United States. After graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(B.A.) in

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 2001, he studied

technology management Technology management refers to the integrated planning, design, optimization, operation and control of technological products, processes and services, in order to manage of the use of technology for human advantage. It contains a number of manag ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT) and earned a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(M.S.) from the

MIT Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (branded as MIT Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree progra ...

in 2003. His

master's thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

was titled, "VC's Decision Factor in Semiconductor Investment." After receiving his master's degree, Hsieh worked for ''

The China Post ''The China Post'' () was an English-language newspaper published in Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies betw ...

'' and founded Hualien Media International.

Entry into politics

Hsieh renounced US citizenship to contest the 2004 legislative election as a member of the People First Party. He joined the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

in 2006, and represented Keelung in the

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. The next year, Hsieh was named the co-chair of the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee. In 2013, '' Next Magazine'' reported that he and a small group of legislators had been subject to wiretapping by the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

since 2011. 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. He repeatedly refused the mayoral nomination and campaigned for Hsieh Li-kung instead. 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.

Keelung mayoralty

In May 2022, the Kuomintang nominated Hsieh as its candidate for the Keelung mayoralty in the

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

. Hsieh defeated Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate and legislator . 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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

related subsidies. In June 2024, a campaign to recall Hsieh garnered 36,000 signatures and exceeded the threshold needed to initiate a recall vote. The campaign organizers submitted the petition with 40,000 signatures on 5 July. The

Central Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

certified 36,909 of 43,137 submitted signatures in August, and scheduled the recall election for 13 October. The Keelung City Election Commission later announced that 283 polling stations would be set up for the election. 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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hsieh, George Living people Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan Members of the 7th Legislative Yuan Members of the 8th Legislative Yuan Keelung Members of the Legislative Yuan 1975 births Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni University of Southern California alumni People First Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Former United States citizens