Hung Hsiu-chu

Hung Hsiu-chu (Chinese: 洪秀柱; pinyin: Hóng Xiùzhù; born 7 April 1948) is a Taiwanese politician. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT), she served as the 8th chair of the Kuomintang from 2016 to 2017, the first woman to serve in the office. Hung was first elected to the legislature in 1990, and was the Vice President of the Legislative Yuan from 2012 to 2016, her eighth term. She became the first female deputy speaker of the Legislative Yuan. She became the Kuomintang's first elected chairwoman later that year, serving until June 2017. She became known as "xiao la jiao" or "little hot pepper" for her straight-talking style. The Kuomintang nominated Hung as the party's presidential candidate for the 2016 elections on 19 July 2015, a month after she had won the party's primary election. Her public support remained low, and she was replaced as candidate by KMT Chairman Eric Chu. Hung succeeded Chu as the Kuomintang's first elected female leader in March 2016 after the defeat of the KMT in the 2016 elections.