Liu Chien-kuo (; born 9 March 1969) is a Taiwanese politician. A former member of the

Yunlin County Council The Yunlin County Council (YLCC; ) is the elected county council of Yunlin County, Republic of China. The council composes of 43 councilors lastly elected through the 2018 Republic of China local election on 24 November 2018. History The curre ...

, he has represented Yunlin County in the Legislative Yuan since 2009.

Education

Liu has earned two bachelor's degrees, one from National Open University in public administration and the other from

Meiho University Meiho University (MU; ) is an accredited, private university in Neipu Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan. It has nearly 8,000 students. MU is known for its nursing program. History The university began in 1966 as Taiwan's first private nursing co ...

in social work.

Political career

Liu served on the

before running for a legislative seat in 2008. In January 2008, he filed a lawsuit against

Chang Sho-wen Chang Sho-wen (; born 7 May 1971) is a Taiwanese politician. He first won election to the Legislative Yuan in 2004 and was reelected in 2008. Partway through his second term, Chang was removed from office on charges of electoral fraud. He left th ...

, accusing Chang of bribery. He had lost to the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

candidate in the legislative elections held that month and in June 2009, Chang's election was annulled. Liu faced

Lee Ying-yuan Lee Ying-yuan (; 16 March 1953 – 11 November 2021) was a Taiwanese politician. He was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1995 and stepped down in 2000. In 2005, Lee was appointed the Minister of Council of Labor Affairs, which he led until 20 ...

in a primary, and received the official backing of the Democratic Progressive Party. A by-election for Chang's vacated seat was held in September, and Liu won handily. In 2011, he joined the DPP-affiliated Our Generation Alliance led by

Koo Kwang-ming Koo Kwang-ming (; born on 15 October 1926) is a Taiwanese statesman, businessman and independence activist. Family background Koo was born into a life of privilege. He was the eighth son of Koo Hsien-jung, a prominent Lukang businessman who h ...

. Liu's successful 2012 reelection campaign featured a hunger strike. Liu was a DPP candidate for the Yunlin County Magistracy in 2014, but ended his campaign after losing the party primary to Lee Chin-yung. He returned to the legislature in 2016. The Democratic Progressive Party nominated Liu as its candidate for the Yunlin County magistracy in April 2022.

Political positions

Many farmers in Liu's home district raise pigs. To help them, he has spoken out against "free economic pilot zones" that he believe hurts Taiwan's agricultural sector. Liu has repeatedly attempted to amend environmental laws in Taiwan. His proposed changes include developing a system to track pollutant emissions, and asking the Environmental Protection Administration to specifically track air quality in high-risk areas, such as in temples in which incense is burned. Liu has specifically focused on passing legislation related to harmful

particulates Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The t ...

in the air. He has also participated in environmental protests, and have provided a platform for environmental groups to criticize industrial companies such as Formosa Petrochemical Corporation. On the subject of United States beef imports in Taiwan, Liu repeatedly stated throughout his first term in office that he is against the use of

ractopamine Ractopamine () is an animal feed additive used to promote leanness and increase food conversion efficiency in farmed animals in several countries, but banned in others. Pharmacologically, it is a phenol-based TAAR1 agonist and Beta-adrenergic ag ...

in animal feed and does not wish for the government to lift the ban on ractopamine by executive order, but only by legislative consent. In 2012, he suggested that military personnel switch to eating pork instead of beef due to the ractopamine issue, a stance that was ridiculed online and which the military described as excessive.

Personal life

Liu and Chang Sho-wen, who have faced each other in two elections, fought while attending a banquet in 2015. Liu announced in June 2016 that his personal relationship with Adrean Lee, whom he and Chang had both dated, had ended.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Chien-kuo 1969 births Living people Yunlin County Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 7th Legislative Yuan Members of the 8th Legislative Yuan Members of the 9th Legislative Yuan Democratic Progressive Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Taiwanese environmentalists Members of the 10th Legislative Yuan