# Jaw Shaw-kong

Jaw Shaw-kong (Chinese: 趙少康; pinyin: Zhào Shǎokāng; born 6 May 1950) is a Taiwanese politician, media personality and entrepreneur.
Jaw served a single term on the Taipei City Council before being elected to the Legislative Yuan from 1987 to 1991 and 1993 to 1994. In 1993, he co-founded the pro-unification New Party, which he briefly led until 1994. Between Legislative Yuan stints, Jaw led the Environmental Protection Administration. He was the vice presidential candidate of the Kuomintang (KMT) in the 2024 Taiwanese presidential election.

## Early life and education

Jaw was born on 6 May 1950 in Keelung and grew up in Luodong, Yilan County. His ancestral home is in Hebei, China where his father, Jaw Yan-min, was born in 1922, and served in the Kuomintang's National Revolutionary Army and recruited in the Whampoa Military Academy when he was 16. He fought for the NRA in the Chinese Civil War and the Second Sino-Japanese War before the KMT retreated to Taiwan in 1949.
Jaw earned a degree in agricultural engineering from National Taiwan University in 1972, then attended Clemson University in the United States, where he obtained a master's degree in mechanical engineering.

## Political career

Jaw was elected to the Taipei City Council in 1981 and served until 1986, when he was elected to the Legislative Yuan. In June 1991, he began serving as head of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA). In 1992, against the wishes of his party, the Kuomintang, Jaw resigned from the EPA to seek reelection to the legislature. Despite the party's refusal to support him, Jaw won a record number of votes. He later became a member of the New Kuomintang Alliance and the Breakfast Club, set up in opposition to party chairman Lee Teng-hui. In August 1993, he and other members of the New Kuomintang Alliance split from the Kuomintang and co-founded the pro-unification New Party.
In 1994, Jaw resigned his legislative seat to contest to the Taipei City mayoralty on behalf of the New Party, but lost to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Chen Shui-bian. Although the pan-Blue forces gained the majority of the votes overall, the vote was split between Jaw and Kuomintang candidate Huang Ta-chou, granting Chen victory in the election.
1994 Taipei City mayoral election result :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Independent | 1 | Ji Rong-zhi (紀榮治) | 3,941 | 0.28% | |
| | New Party | 2 | Jaw Shaw-kong | 424,905 | 30.17% | |
| | Democratic Progressive Party | 3 | Chen Shui-bian | 615,090 | 43.67% | |
| | Kuomintang | 4 | Huang Ta-chou | 364,618 | 25.89% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 1,408,554 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | | | |

## Media career

Jaw announced his intention to retire from politics in July 1996. Soon after announcing his withdrawal from politics in 1996, Jaw founded UFO Radio. He also owned News98 [zh] and served as its president. In 2006, Jaw acquired the Broadcasting Corporation of China. He has also hosted his own radio and television programs.
In 2004, Jaw was invited to debate the referendum on cross-strait relations. He was named an adviser to Kuomintang candidates during the 2010 election cycle. In 2017, Jaw reiterated that he was an independent.

## Return to politics

Jaw announced his interest about returning to politics in February 2021, disclosing that he had met with Han Kuo-yu in September 2020, who told Jaw that he should return to the Kuomintang and run for the party leadership. The restoration of Jaw's party membership was announced on 3 February 2021, and he subsequently expressed interest in contesting the 2021 party leadership election, as well as the primary for the 2024 presidential election cycle. Jaw stated on 28 April 2021 that he was no longer considering a run for the Kuomintang chairmanship.
On 24 November 2023, the Kuomintang named Jaw its vice presidential candidate for the 2024 presidential election.

## Political positions

Jaw is a staunch supporter of unification with China, albeit not under the People's Republic of China, and believes unification is not possible under the current circumstances. He opposes Taiwanese independence, saying there would be no war across the Taiwan Strait as long as Taiwan did not formally declare independence. He believes the current focus of cross-strait relations should be peaceful development, and that it was for the next generation in both sides to see which political system "would bring the greatest happiness to the people."

## Personal life

Jaw is fluent in Taiwanese Hokkien. He is married to Liang Lei. Jaw's younger brother Chao Shao-wei has served as president of the Taipei Artist Agency Association. Jaw and I-Mei Foods CEO Louis Ko were classmates in university and have remained friends despite disagreements on issues such as importing pork from the United States.