Lo Chih-ming (; born 13 November 1957) is a Taiwanese engineer and politician who served in 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 2002 to 2008.

Education

After graduating from

Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Senior High School Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Senior High School (KSHS; ) is a high school in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Formerly a Single-sex education, boys' school, the school has offered music, gymnastics and science classes since it became Mixed-sex education, co ...

, Lo studied at

National Kaohsiung Normal University The National Kaohsiung Normal University (NKNU; Kaohsiung Normal University), was founded in 1967. It is a public university located in Lingya District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The university has two campuses namely Ho-Ping and Yan-Chao. The Universit ...

and received a bachelor's degree in

industrial education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

. He then completed graduate studies in the United States, where he 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

St. Cloud State University St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. In the fall of 2023, it ...

and his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in industrial education and

industrial technology Industrial technology is the use of engineering and manufacturing technology to make production faster, simpler, and more efficient. The industrial technology field employs creative and technically proficient individuals who can help a company ac ...

from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 1991. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "A systematic model for developing technology education as the primary discipline for advancing technological literacy in general education in Taiwan, Republic of China".

Political career

Lo served four terms in the

Kaohsiung City Council The Kaohsiung City Council () is the city council of Kaohsiung City, Republic of China. It is currently composed of 65 councilors, each serving a four-year term, elected using the single non-transferable vote system. The speaker and deputy sp ...

as a member of 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 ...

. He joined the

Taiwan Solidarity Union The Taiwan Solidarity Party (TSP) is a political party in Taiwan which advocates Taiwan independence, and is affiliated with the Taiwanese localization movement. It was officially founded on 12 August 2001 as the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU ...

upon its founding in 2001 to run for a legislative seat in

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

. In 2003, TSU legislator Su Ying-kuei was expelled from the party after charging Lo with illegal lobbying. Despite the accusations, Lo won reelection in 2004 by partnering with

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 ...

candidates during the campaign, and was named one of the TSU's four caucus whips at the start of his second term. In January 2005, Lo dropped out of a TSU chairmanship election, and

Shu Chin-chiang Shu Chin-chiang (; born 5 April 1953) is a Taiwanese novelist and politician. His pen name is "Lu Jiang" (履彊). He joined the Taiwan Solidarity Union in 2001 and served as party chairman from 2005 to 2006 before he was expelled in 2014 for re ...

was appointed to the position. After participating in an April 2005 protest, Lo was charged with violating the Assembly and Parade Law, and stepped down as whip until he was cleared. In February 2006, Lo declared his candidacy for the Kaohsiung mayoralty. As mayor, Lo said he would increase childcare subsidies, and expand the city's tourism industry. He also proposed an educational program that would offer elementary school textbooks for free.

Chen Chu Chen Chu (; born 10 June 1950) is a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese politician serving as List of presidents of the Control Yuan, president of the Control Yuan and Chairperson, chairwoman of the National Human Rights Commission (Taiwan), National ...

won the office, and Lo returned to the legislature. In his second reelection campaign, Lo originally stood as a Kaohsiung district incumbent, but was named one of the TSU's proportional representation candidates. Listed eighth on a closed party list, Lo was defeated. Shortly after the loss, he rejoined the Kuomintang. After politics, Lo worked at the

Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

subsidiary of a biotech company and led a property developer.

Espionage allegation

In January 2023, Lo was arrested and questioned by prosecutors who alleged that he recruited retired admiral Hsia Fu-hsiang (夏復翔) and others into a mainland Chinese spy ring. A court in Kaohsiung released him on cash bail despite the investigators' request that he remain in custody. The

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

acquitted Lo in October 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lo, Chih-ming 1957 births Living people Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Pingtung County Kaohsiung Members of the Legislative Yuan Taiwan Solidarity Union Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan University of Iowa alumni St. Cloud State University alumni Kuomintang politicians in Taiwan