Hsiao Bi-khim (; born August 7, 1971) is a
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
ese politician and diplomat who served as 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 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...
from 2002 to 2008 and again between 2012 and 2020. Since July 2020, Hsiao has been serving as the
representative of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the United States.
Born in
Kōbe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, which ...
,
Hyōgo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Hsiao grew up in
Tainan
Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, before moving to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. She graduated from
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
in 1993 and
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
with a master's degree in political science in 1995.
She is a member of the
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
(DPP)
and an important figure in DPP foreign policy circles.
She formerly served as a vice president of
Liberal International
Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism around ...
.
Early life and education
Hsiao was born in
Kōbe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, which ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, to a Taiwanese father (Hsiao Tsing-fen) and an American mother (Peggy Cooley). Raised in
Tainan
Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, she grew up speaking
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
,
Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
, and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, and was raised in a
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
family. After moving to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
as a teenager and graduating from
Montclair High School in
Montclair, New Jersey
Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...
, Hsiao completed her undergraduate studies at
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
, receiving a bachelor's degree in East Asian studies. She continued on to graduate school at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, where she received her master's degree in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
.
Political career
In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Hsiao became active with the
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
(DPP) representative office in the US, serving as an activity coordinator. On returning to Taiwan, Hsiao became the party's international affairs director, and represented the party at various international conferences for over a decade.
After
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...
took office as the
President of the Republic of China
The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had aut ...
in 2000, Hsiao served as his interpreter and advisor for nearly two years.
Her dual US and
Republic of China (Taiwan) citizenship while she was holding a government position became a political issue, and she
renounced her US citizenship, as required by the Civil Servants Employment Law passed in 2000.
Legislative career
In January 2001, Hsiao announced her intention to run for 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 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...
on the DPP ticket as a
supplementary member
Parallel voting is a type of mixed electoral system in which representatives are voted into a single chamber using two or more different systems, most often first-past-the-post voting (FPTP) with party-list proportional representation (PR). It i ...
representing overseas constituencies, citing her experience in international relations.
She was subsequently elected in December the same year.
In the
legislative elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
of December 2004, Hsiao was reelected to the Legislative Yuan representing
Taipei's first constituency, covering the northern districts of
Xinyi,
Songshan,
Nangang,
Neihu
Neihu District is a district of Taipei City, Taiwan. Neihu means "inner lake." The older name originates from the Ketagalan word ''Tayour'' (transliterated by the Dutch as ''Cattajo''), meaning woman's head ornament.
Many mountainous roads and ...
,
Shilin, and
Beitou
Beitou District is the northernmost of the twelve districts of Taipei City, Taiwan. The historical spelling of the district is Peitou. The name originates from the Ketagalan word ''Kipatauw'', meaning witch. Beitou is the most mountainous and ...
. As a legislator, she served on the Foreign and Overseas Affairs Committee (外交及僑務委員會), the Procedure Committee (程序委員會), and the Discipline Committee (紀律委員會).
Hsiao worked on a number of issues in the legislature, notably
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
, the rights of foreigners in Taiwan, and other
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
. Hsiao supported amending the Nationality Law to allow individuals born to at least one parent of ROC nationality to also claim ROC nationality irrespective of age,
and has also proposed and cosponsored anti-discrimination and anti-domestic violence amendments to the Immigration Act.
She has also been a proponent of
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
, proposing amendments to the Animal Protection Act,
and also pushed for the passage of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act in January 2005.
In May 2005, Hsiao represented the DPP at the annual congress of
Liberal International
Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism around ...
in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, during which she was elected a vice-president of the organization. Hsiao alleged that she and other DPP representatives were followed throughout their visit to Bulgaria by two unidentified persons sent by the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
embassy in Sofia.
The same month, Hsiao also started a campaign to encourage Taiwanese baseball fans to write e-mails to the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
to ask them to keep Taiwanese pitcher
Chien-Ming Wang
Chien-Ming Wang (; born March 31, 1980) is a Taiwanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. He also played for ...
at the
major league level.
Hsiao was one of the DPP lawmakers targeted by some party supporters as being insufficiently loyal, with a pro-independence radio show dubbing her "Chinese Khim" (中國琴) in March 2007, charging that she was close to the DPP's former
New Tide faction.
Defended by some other DPP members, Hsiao was still not nominated to stand for re-election by the DPP in the January 2008
legislative elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
,
a move some attributed to being the result of that controversy.
Hsiao left the Legislative Yuan after her term expired on January 31, 2008. She served as spokesperson for
Frank Hsieh
Frank Hsieh Chang-ting (; born May 18, 1946) is a Taiwanese politician and former defense attorney. A cofounder of the Democratic Progressive Party, he has served on the Taipei City Council, the Legislative Yuan, as the mayor of Kaohsiung City ...
's unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign.
She is also vice chairman of the Taiwan Tibet Exchange Foundation,
a member of the board of trustees of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy,
a member of the executive committee of the
Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats
The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) is a regional organization of liberal democratic political parties in Asia.
Background
The Council was created on 15 October 1993, in a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan. There are nine member partie ...
,
and a founding member of the Taiwan Association for Women in Sport (台灣女子體育運動協會).
From 2010, Hsiao spent a decade representing the DPP in
Hualien County
Hualien County (Mandarin Wade–Giles: Hua¹-lien² Hsien⁴; Pīnyīn: ''Huālián Xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Hoa-lian-koān'' or ''Hoa-liân-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Fâ-lièn-yen''; Amis: ''Kalingko'') is a county on the east coast of Taiwan. It ...
, a strongly pro-Kuomintang conservative region. In the same year, she lost with a slim minority in a by-election, but was still regarded as having broken the "
iron vote" of the Kuomintang.
She then set up a Hualien service office, and continued making weekly journeys between Taipei and Hualien.
Hsiao returned to the Legislative Yuan in February 2012, elected via party list proportional representation. In 2016, Hsiao succeeded
Wang Ting-son as legislator for
Hualien County
Hualien County (Mandarin Wade–Giles: Hua¹-lien² Hsien⁴; Pīnyīn: ''Huālián Xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Hoa-lian-koān'' or ''Hoa-liân-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Fâ-lièn-yen''; Amis: ''Kalingko'') is a county on the east coast of Taiwan. It ...
. In 2018, an unsuccessful recall campaign was organized against Hsiao because of her strong support for
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
legalization. Hsiao did not yield to pressure, and continued to speak out for Hualien Pride.
In August 2019, she received the Democratic Progressive Party nomination to run for another term in Hualien County. She lost her seat to
Fu Kun-chi
Fu Kun-chi (; born 8 May 1962) is a Taiwanese politician. He was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 2002 to 2009, when he assumed the Hualien County magistracy. In September 2018, Fu was removed from the latter office, as the Supreme Court is ...
in the 2020 legislative elections.
Diplomatic career
Hsiao stepped down from the Legislative Yuan upon the end of her term in 2020, and was subsequently named an adviser to the
National Security Council
A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...
in March 2020. That June, Hsiao was appointed Taiwan's representative to the United States. She succeeded
Stanley Kao, and was the first woman to assume the role. Hsiao was sworn in to the office on 20 July 2020.
On 20 January 2021, Hsiao was officially invited to and attended the
inauguration of US President Joe Biden, the first time Taiwan's US representative had officially attended a US presidential inauguration since the US broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979. Standing in front of the US Capitol at the inauguration, she said "Democracy is our common language and freedom is our common objective."
On
Taiwan National Day 2021, Hsiao threw the ceremonial first pitch before a
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
game, celebrating the 16th annual Mets Taiwan Day.
Personal life
Her father, Hsiao Tsing-fen, was a former president of the
Tainan Theological College and Seminary
Tainan Theological College and Seminary (TTCS; ) is a private Presbyterian educational institution in Tainan, Taiwan. It is one of three Presbyterian Church in Taiwan theological schools that trains students for ministry in the PCT, along with Tai ...
.
In November 2000, ''The Journalist'', a local tabloid magazine, wrongly claimed to have been told by Vice President
Annette Lu
Annette Lu Hsiu-lien (; born 7 June 1944) is a Taiwanese politician. A feminist active in the tangwai movement, she joined the Democratic Progressive Party in 1990, and was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1992. Subsequently, she served as Ta ...
that Hsiao was having an affair with President Chen. No evidence supported the false claim,
and Lu sued the magazine for libel in civil court. The magazine was eventually ordered to apologize and issue corrections admitting it had fabricated the story.
During her political career, Hsiao and fellow legislators
Cheng Li-chun
Cheng Li-chun (; born 19 June 1969) is a Taiwanese politician.
Early life
Cheng is Hoklo Taiwanese, her ancestors came directly from southeastern Fujian. Cheng obtained her bachelor's degree in philosophy from National Taiwan University in 1992 ...
and
Chiu Yi-ying
Chiu Yi-ying (; born 1 June 1971) is a Taiwanese politician. She has served four terms in the Legislative Yuan, one term in the National Assembly, and, from 2005 to 2008, was the deputy minister of the Hakka Affairs Council.
Education
Chiu earned ...
gained the nickname "the
S.H.E
S.H.E is a Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Jen, Hebe Tien, and Ella Chen. They formed in 2001 and are managed by HIM International Music but decided not to renew their contract in 2019 due to having their own management company.
...
of the DPP." Hsiao has been a long-time supporter of gender equality and
LGBT rights in Taiwan
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in Taiwan are regarded as the most progressive of those in Asia. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal, and same-sex marriage was legalized on 24 May 2019, following a Constitution ...
.
Hsiao is a cat lover, saying in July 2020 that she planned to take her four cats with her when she moved to the US as Taiwan's top representative to the country. As Taiwan's envoy, she said that she would combat China’s allegedly aggressive
“wolf warrior” diplomacy with her own brand of “cat warrior” diplomacy. In 2012, after
Typhoon Saola, Hsiao found a stray cat in a muddy field, which she gave to
Tsai Ing-wen
Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...
, now President, who named it
Think Think.
References
External links
Official Website of Bi-Khim Hsiao
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hsiao, Bi-Khim
1971 births
Taiwan independence activists
Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan
Party List Members of the Legislative Yuan
Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Oberlin College alumni
Living people
Montclair High School (New Jersey) alumni
People from Montclair, New Jersey
People from Kobe
Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent
Taiwanese Protestants
Former United States citizens
21st-century Taiwanese women politicians
Taiwanese people of American descent
Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan
Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan
Members of the 8th Legislative Yuan
Members of the 9th Legislative Yuan
Hualien County Members of the Legislative Yuan
Taipei Members of the Legislative Yuan
Representatives of Taiwan to the United States
Taiwanese women ambassadors
Taiwanese LGBT rights activists