Kao Chin Su-mei (born September 21, 1965), also known as Chin Su-mei, May Chin and Ciwas Ali, is a

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

politician and retired actress and singer. She is of

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

and

Atayal Atayal may refer to: * Atayal people * Atayal language The Atayal language is spoken by the Atayal people of Taiwan. Squliq and C’uli’ (Ts’ole’) are two major dialects. Mayrinax and Pa’kuali’, two subdialects of C’uli’, are uniqu ...

descent, Ciwas Ali being her Atayal name. In the 1980s and 1990s, she starred in many popular TV series and films including Ang Lee's '' The Wedding Banquet'' (1993). She also released several Mandopop albums. She retired from showbiz in 1999 following her diagnosis of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

which she recovered from. Chin was elected into 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 ...

of the

Republic of China 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 northeast ...

(Taiwan) in December

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, and re-elected in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, all in the Highland Aborigines electoral district. Representing the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, she is currently the only party member in the Legislative Yuan, and a strong advocate of

aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

rights. She is also associated with the

Pan-Blue Coalition The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...

Early life

Chin Su-mei was born in Heping Township, Taichung County (present day part of Taichung City), Taiwan. Her father was an ethnic

from mainland China. In the mid-1980s, she stood for election to be a representative of Taiwanese Aborigines within the

of the

(Taiwan), during which she took on the Chinese surname of her Taiwanese Aborigine mother, hence becoming Kao Chin Su-mei. Her Ayatal name is Ciwas Ali and May Chin remains her stage name. Chin also published at least 8 Mandopop albums and showed up in various local commercials. Besides acting, in mid-1990s May Chin ran a wedding photography service shop in Taipei. However this shop burned down in 1996 and the fire claimed six lives.

Political career

Since entering the

after elected in the

2001 Republic of China legislative election The 2001 Taiwanese legislative election was held on 1 December 2001. All 225 seats of the Legislative Yuan were up for election: 168 elected by popular vote, 41 elected on the basis of the proportional representation based of the nationwide vot ...

, Chin has been noted for her outspoken views, traditional Atayal costume and face paint in the shape of traditional Atayal tattoo work reserved for married women. On 19 August 2009, Chin met with the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party,

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...

. At the meeting, General Secretary Hu expressed his deep sorrow and condolences for the typhoon victims in Taiwan to an actor-turned-politician Kao who led a delegation of her fellow ethnic minorities in Taiwan to visit the mainland. Hu added that "People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are of one family and Chinese people have a long tradition of lending a hand to those in danger and difficulties."

Personal life

Chin was never married. She was once in a relationship with Hong Kong actor Kenny Ho whom she first met on the set of the Taiwanese drama ''Endless Love'' in 1989. They later separated in 1993, and still remain good friends. Chin and Ho agreed that if they are still single by the age of 60, they would spend the rest of their lives together. In 2006, it was reported by the Taiwanese media Next Magazine that she had a long and lasting extramarital affair with the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Lee Hong-yuan between mid-2000s and early 2010s. In 2011 she entered into a relationship with a renowned Taiwanese journalist and writer Xu Zhiyuan. They later broke up in 2013 but still remain good friends.

Filmography

Films

Television

Electoral history

References

External links

*
Personal Blog (in Traditional Chinese)Washing away vanity
Taiwan's Aborigines {{DEFAULTSORT:Kao Chin, Su-mei 1965 births Living people Aisin Gioro Aboriginal Members of the Legislative Yuan Anti-Japanese sentiment in Taiwan Atayal people Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan Members of the 7th Legislative Yuan Members of the 8th Legislative Yuan Members of the 9th Legislative Yuan Minzu University of China alumni Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Members of the Legislative Yuan Politicians of the Republic of China on Taiwan from Taichung Taiwanese actor-politicians Taiwanese women singers Taiwanese film actresses Taiwanese people of Manchu descent 21st-century Taiwanese women politicians Actresses from Taichung Musicians from Taichung Members of the 10th Legislative Yuan Manchu actresses Manchu singers