Hsu Kun-yuan

Hsu Kun-yuan (Chinese: 許崑源; pinyin: Xǔ Kūnyuán; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khó͘ Khun-goân; 1 May 1957 – 6 June 2020) was a Taiwanese politician. He was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He was a member of the Kuomintang (KMT). He was a member of the Kaohsiung City Council from 1994 until his death. From 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 until his death, he was Speaker of the City Council.

Hsu Kun-yuan
許崑源
Speaker of the Kaohsiung City Council
In office 25 December 2018 – 6 June 2020
Preceded by	Kang Yu-cheng
Succeeded by	Lu Shu-mei (acting) Zeng Li-yan [zh]
Constituency	District 8
In office 25 December 2010 – 24 December 2014
Succeeded by	Kang Yu-cheng
Constituency	District 8
Member of the Kaohsiung City Council
In office 25 December 2010 – 6 June 2020
Constituency	District 8
In office 25 December 1994 – 25 December 2010
Constituency	District 4
Personal details
Born	(1957-05-01)1 May 1957 Lingya District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Died	6 June 2020(2020-06-06) (aged 63) Lingya District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Cause of death	Suicide
Political party	Democratic Progressive Party (1986–1994) Independent (1994–2008) Kuomintang (since 2008)

Biography

A Kaohsiung native, he and his elder brother Hsu Kun-lung (許昆龍) participated in tangwai movements in the 1980s, and they joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 1986. However, Hsu Kun-lung's reputation was tarnished after being involved in a criminal case where two policeman were killed. As a result, Hsu Kun-yuan decided to continue his brother's deeds, and further his political career.^[1]

In 1994, Hsu was elected a Kaohsiung city councilor as an independent, having left the DPP.^[2] In 2004, in order to gain the position of speaker, Hsu wanted to form an alliance with the Kuomintang. However, Ma Ying-jeou opposed it, and Hsu was forced to be relegated to compete for the position of vice-speaker.^[3]

In 2008, after the election of Ma Ying-jeou as President of Taiwan, Hsu officially joined the KMT. He stated that the reason for joining was that his beliefs were closer to the Kuomintang. In 2010, Hsu was elected Speaker of the Kaohsiung City Council.^[1]

In 2018, he was re-elected as Speaker of the Kaohsiung City Council.^[4]

Hsu jumped to his death from his apartment in Kaohsiung on 6 June 2020, hours after the Han Kuo-yu mayoral recall vote.^[5][6] Hsu was known for being an ardent supporter of Han.^[7]