Fu Kun-chi

Fu was born in Taichung, Taiwan, on May 8, 1962. He was descended from a prominent business family in Meinong, Kaohsiung. His mother, Liu Man-lan (劉滿蘭), was a housewife. After graduating from Hualian High School, Fu earned a bachelor's degree in transportation engineering from Tamkang University. Later, while serving as a legislator, Fu earned a master's degree in sinology from the university in 2007. His master's thesis was titled, "A comparison of the defense strength of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait" (Chinese: 兩岸國防軍力實力對比-投射武器軍力之比較研究). In 2008, Fu earned his Ph.D. in international relations from Jinan University. He also received a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degree from the NDHU College of Humanities and Social Sciences of National Dong Hwa University. ==Political career==

Fu served in the Legislative Yuan 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. In a 2015 rally reportedly attended in tens of thousands, Fu declared he was against registering same-sex marriages in Hualien county. n accordance with Article 56, Subparagraph 3 of the Local Government Act (地方制度法), Deputy Commissioner Tsai Yun-huang (蔡運煌) and all county government employees appointed by Fu are to be dismissed as well, In 2016, after Fu was convicted of insider trading, his magistrate appointment was removed and deputy commissioner Tsai Yun-huang and other appointed county government employees by Fu were also removed from office, and the interior ministry selected Tsai Pi-chung as acting magistrate. 2016 Mainland China visit In September 2016, Fu visited Beijing with another seven magistrates and mayors from Taiwan, which were Hsu Yao-chang (Magistrate of Miaoli County), Chiu Ching-chun (Magistrate of Hsinchu County), Liu Cheng-ying (Magistrate of Lienchiang County), Yeh Hui-ching (Deputy Mayor of New Taipei City), Chen Chin-hu (Deputy Magistrate of Taitung County), Lin Ming-chen (Magistrate of Nantou County) and Wu Cherng-dean (Deputy Magistrate of Kinmen County). Their visit was aimed to reset and restart cross-strait relations after President Tsai Ing-wen took office on 20 May 2016. The eight local leaders reiterated their support of One-China policy under the 1992 consensus. They met with Taiwan Affairs Office Head Zhang Zhijun and Chairperson of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Yu Zhengsheng. 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. In July 2025, Fu faced a recall vote, alongside 23 other members of the Legislative Yuan, as a result of the massive petition known as the "Great Recall". The vote was framed by recall advocates as a push against the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China. Fu's recall passed the legal threshold but failed to reach the number of votes needed to unseat him. ==Corruption convictions==

Appointing former wife as deputy On 18 December 2009, Fu divorced his wife Hsu Chen-wei and on 20 December, appointed her as the deputy county magistrate when he took office as Magistrate of Hualien County. Two days later, Hsu's appointment was withdrawn by the Ministry of the Interior on 22 December 2009 as the ministry deemed the divorce as a political fake marriage and the appointment was a conflict of interest with appointing a close relation to a government office. In March 2010, Fu was fined NT$1 million by the Control Yuan for conflict of interest. Illegal speculation of stocks In 1997, Taipei District Prosecutors Office began investigation of illegal speculation of Taiwan Pineapple Group's stocks and in 2000, Taipei District Prosecutors Office charged 21 investors, inclusive of Fu, for illegal speculation of Taiwan Pineapple Group's stocks. Fu was found guilty and charged but repeatedly appealed and filed for retrials. Insider trading 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 removed Fu from the Hualien County magistracy. 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. Tax evasion 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. == Personal life ==

Fu and Hsu divorced in 2009. ==References==