Hsu Jung-shu

Hsu graduated from National Taiwan Normal University.^[1] When her husband Chang Chun-hung was imprisoned in the aftermath of the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident, Hsu left her job as a teacher to run for the Legislative Yuan.^[2] Because Hsu was active in the Tangwai movement as a distributor of opposition publications, the Kuomintang raided her house for copies of Senh Kin and Taiwan Weekly in January 1984 and September 1985, respectively.^[3][4]

In her 1980 election to the legislature, Hsu won 190,000 votes, a district record, and was the only tangwai-affiliated woman to be seated.^[2] During her first term, Hsu continued active participation in opposition causes, visiting jailed activist Lin Hung-hsuan in January 1985 and making a May 1986 trip to the United States to address the first meeting of the US Congressional Committee for Democracy on Taiwan alongside Chou Ching-yu.^[5][6] That September, she and seventeen others founded the Democratic Progressive Party.^[7] Within the DPP, Hsu was linked to the New Dynamics and Formosa factions.^[8][9] She was entrusted with the responsibilities of high ranking party posts, becoming the first woman to serve as party whip.^[10] Hsu was also chair of the Central Review Committee and has served on the Central Standing Committee.^[11][12] Though she stepped down at the end of her term in 2005, Hsu was reappointed to the Legislative Yuan when Tsai Huang-liang chose to run for the Nantou County magistracy.^[13] Hsu was sworn in on 23 June.^[14] The next year, Kuomintang legislator Chiu Yi accused Hsu and others of embezzlement.^[15][16]

In 2007, Hsu visited China to discuss Cross-Strait crime.^[17] Later that year, she was invited to attend the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Summer Games.^[18] In 2009, Hsu began attending the Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum, despite senior DPP officials having advised her against it.^[19][20] Hsu's party membership was suspended on 23 July 2009, and she was officially expelled four days later.^[21][22] Shortly after her expulsion, Hsu founded the People United Party. She attended the 2010 forum,^[23][24] and the following year declared her candidacy for the 2012 presidential election.^[25] Hsu eventually dropped out of the campaign. In 2013, she was again in attendance at the Cross-Strait forum.^[26] Hsu sought the presidency again in 2016, and received support from the Taiwan Progressive Party, National Health Service Alliance [zh], and Zhongshan Party.^[27][28] Her candidacy was nullified in November, as the People United Party had not submitted its petition of signatures to the Central Election Commission by the deadline.^[29]