Fu Kun-chi (; born 8 May 1962) is a Taiwanese politician and diplomat who serves 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 four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

. He was a member 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 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 ...

issued its final ruling on charges of insider trading against him, outstanding since 2005. Fu was re-elected to the Legislative Yuan in 2020. On 14 May 2020, he was convicted of illegal stock

speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable in a brief amount of time. It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hope ...

and sentenced to two years and ten months in prison. His wife is the Hualien County Magistrate since 2018, Hsu Chen-wei.

Education

Fu graduated from

Tamkang University Tamkang University (TKU; ) is a private university in Tamsui District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. It was founded in 1950 as a junior college of English. Today it is a comprehensive university with 11 colleges that serves nearly 25,000 students ...

with a bachelor's degree in transportation management and a master's degree in

sinology Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilization p ...

. In 2008, he earned his Ph.D. in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

from

Jinan University Jinan University ( ; JNU, zh, 暨南大学) is a national public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is managed by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The university is part of the Double First-Class ...

. He also received a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

(M.P.A.) degree from the NDHU College of Humanities and Social Sciences of

National Dong Hwa University National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) is a national university, national research university located in Hualien County, Hualien, Taiwan. Established in 1994, NDHU offers sixth widest range of disciplines in Taiwan, including the sciences, engine ...

Political career

Fu served in the

from 2002 to 2009. Fu assumed the position of Magistrate of Hualien County starting 20 December 2009 after winning the 2009 Hualien County magistrate election on 5 December 2009 as an independent candidate. He was reelected for the second term as magistrate after winning the 2014 Hualien County magistrate election on 29 November 2014 as an independent candidate.

2016 Mainland China visit

In September 2016, Fu visited

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

with another seven magistrates and mayors from Taiwan, which were

Hsu Yao-chang Hsu Yao-chang (; born 30 June 1955) is a Taiwanese politician. He represented Miaoli County in the Legislative Yuan from 2002 to 2014, when he was elected Magistrate of Miaoli County. Education Hsu graduated from the Chin-Min Institute of Tec ...

(Magistrate of

Miaoli County Miaoli is a county (Taiwan), county in western Taiwan. Miaoli is bordered by Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City to the north, Taichung to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the west. Miaoli is Regions of Taiwan, classified as "central Taiwan" by t ...

), Chiu Ching-chun (Magistrate of

Hsinchu County Hsinchu is a County (Taiwan), county in Regions of Taiwan, north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka people, Hakka; with a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the county seat ...

), Liu Cheng-ying (Magistrate of

Lienchiang County The Matsu Islands; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū liĕk-dō̤ ( or ), officially Lienchiang County; Foochow Romanized: Lièng-gŏng-gâing (), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of China (T ...

), Yeh Hui-ching (Deputy Mayor of

New Taipei City New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...

), Chen Chin-hu (Deputy Magistrate of

Taitung County Taitung () is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island's southeastern coast and also including Green Island, Orchid Island and Lesser Orchid Island. The seat is located in Taitung City. Name While its name means "East ...

Lin Ming-chen Lin Ming-chen () is a Taiwanese politician who served as a member of the Legislative Yuan from 2005 to 2014 and as magistrate of Nantou County from 2014 to 2022. In both offices, Lin was succeeded by Hsu Shu-hua. Education Lin earned his bache ...

(Magistrate of

Nantou County Nantou is the second largest County (Taiwan), county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya people, Hoanya Taiwanese aborigines, Taiwanese ...

) and

Wu Cherng-dean Wu Cherng-dean (; born 10 May 1957) is a Taiwanese politician and chemist who is currently the chairman of the New Party. Education Wu graduated from Fu Jen Catholic University with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, then completed doctoral stu ...

(Deputy Magistrate of

Kinmen County Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), only east from the city of Xiamen in Fujian, located at the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China, from which ...

). Their visit was aimed to reset and restart cross-strait relations after President

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; pinyin: ''Cài Yīngwén''; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party ...

took office on 20 May 2016. The eight local leaders reiterated their support of

One-China policy ''One China'' is a phrase describing the relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) based on mainland China, and the Republic of China (ROC) based on the Taiwan Area. "One China" asserts that there is only one ''de jure'' C ...

under the

1992 consensus The 1992 Consensus is a political term referring to the alleged outcome of a meeting in 1992 between the semi-official representatives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-led People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China and the Kuomintang ...

. They met with

Taiwan Affairs Office The Taiwan Affairs Office is an administrative agency under the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is responsible for cross-strait relations and sets and implements guidelines and policies related to Taiwan, which is cl ...

Head

Zhang Zhijun Zhang Zhijun (; born 1 February 1953) is a Chinese diplomat and politician. From 17 March 2013 to 21 March 2018, he has served as the Minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. He is currently the president of the Association f ...

and

Chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

Yu Zhengsheng Yu Zhengsheng (; ; born 5 April 1945) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from March 2013 to 2018. Between 2012 and 2017, Yu was the fourth-ranking member ...

Return to the legislature

Fu ran as an independent in the Hualien County Constituency he represented from 2002 to 2009, and defeated sitting legislator Hsiao Bi-khim in the 2020 legislative election. Fu was reelected to the Legislative Yuan in 2024, and considered a run for the speakership. Instead, Fu was named the Kuomintang's legislative caucus convener.

Controversy

In 2000, legal action began against investors of Taiwan Pineapple Group, regarding insider trading dating back to 1997. Subsequent investigations found that Fu was not involved in speculation of Taiwan Pineapple stocks, but did profit from

stock manipulation In economics and finance, market manipulation occurs when someone intentionally alters the supply or demand of a security to influence its price. This can involve spreading misleading information, executing misleading trades, or manipulating ...

of other companies. A 2013 Taiwan High Court ruling found Fu guilty, and he was to serve three years' imprisonment. An appeal was heard by the same court in February 2019, and Fu's sentence was reduced to 34 months. Upon hearing the appeal in May 2020, the

decided to uphold the High Court's 2019 ruling, without suspending Fu's civil rights, which permitted Fu to retain his seat in the Legislative Yuan. In 2005, Fu was charged with insider trading dating back to 2003. The Taichung District Court ruled in 2008 that he was to pay a NT$50 million fine and he was sentenced to a prison term of 54 months. The case was appealed to the High Court, and Supreme Court, which returned the case to the High Court. A 2016 High Court decision held that Fu was guilty and reduced his sentence to eight months' imprisonment. The Supreme Court refused another appeal in September 2018, and ruled that Fu must serve his eight-month sentence. Immediately after the court decision, the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

removed Fu from the Hualien County magistracy. Fu's deputy Tsai Yun-huang was also removed from office, and the interior ministry selected Tsai Pi-chung to succeed Fu. Fu began serving his sentence on 25 September 2018. In March 2019, it was reported that Fu's sentence had been reduced by one month on good behavior, which granted him early release on 24 April 2019. The Hualien District Prosecutors’ Office charged Fu with tax evasion in October 2017, regarding real estate sales. On 24 June 2020, the Taiwan High Court extended Fu's prison sentence to a total of 46 months, in decisions regarding the stock manipulation cases against him, as well as his divorce from Hsu Chen-wei. In a 2015 rally reportedly attended in tens of thousands, Fu, then a county magistrate, declared he was against registering same-sex marriages in Hualien county.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fu, Kun-chi 1962 births Living people Magistrates of Hualien County Tamkang University alumni Jinan University alumni National Dong Hwa University alumni Kuomintang Members of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan Expelled members of the Kuomintang People First Party Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 5th Legislative Yuan Members of the 6th Legislative Yuan Members of the 7th Legislative Yuan Taiwanese politicians convicted of insider trading Hualien County Members of the Legislative Yuan Members of the 10th Legislative Yuan Spouses of Taiwanese politicians Taiwanese anti-same-sex-marriage activists Members of the 11th Legislative Yuan