According to KMT legislator Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華), Han Guo-yu (韓國瑜), who lost the 2020 presidential race to Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and was subsequently recalled as the mayor of Kaohsiung, may be leaving politics.
Han recently released a book, though the books doesn’t seem to have an English title it translates roughly to Mr. Han Knocks at the Door (韓先生來敲門). The announcement of this book was his first foray back into the public spotlight, aside from his travel photos admiring various US landmarks on his Facebook page, since his defeat in the 2020 presidential election and the ensuing campaign to oust him as the mayor of Kaohsiung. Many have wondered if or when Mr. Han would get back into politics, however according to a fellow KMT politician, his fans may have to wait a while.
Hsu Shu-hua in a recent interview expressed that she believes Han won’t be involved with the local elections in 2022 or the presidential election 2024. Though she did remark that he won’t be out of politics completely saying he still cares about political issues like referendums.
Han’s retreat from politics is unsurprising with how viciously he was beaten in the 2020 election. The former Kaohsiung mayor lost to the current Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen by over 18 percentage points. This seems to have left him dejected and perhaps keenly aware of just how unpopular he and his specific brand of politics are.
While a politician’s retirement from seeking elected office is never certain, as they seem to be disproportionally narcissistic and have an outsized desire to seek attention, it does seem that Daniel Han will be taking a break from electoral politics for some time.