Yao Ching-ling (original) (raw)
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Taiwanese political scientist and politician (born 1969)
| Yao Ching-ling | |
|---|---|
| 饒慶鈴 | |
 Official portrait, 2022 |
|
| 13th Magistrate of Taitung | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 25 December 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Justin Huang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1969-11-23) 23 November 1969 (age 56)Taitung County, Taiwan |
| Party | Kuomintang |
| Parent | Yao Eng-chi (father) |
| Education | Fu Jen Catholic University (BA)San Jose State University (MA)National Taiwan Normal University (PhD) |
Yao Ching-ling (Chinese: 饒慶鈴; pinyin: Ráo Qìnglíng; born 23 November 1969), also known by the English name April Yao,[1] is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician who has served as the magistrate of Taitung since 2018. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT), she was previously elected as a member of Taitung County Council in 2005 and became speaker in 2010.
Yao graduated from Fu Jen Catholic University with a bachelor's degree in Chinese literature and earned a master's degree in media literacy from San Jose State University. She then earned her Ph.D. in political science from National Taiwan Normal University in 2005.[2] Her doctoral dissertation was titled, "A comparative study of policies on overseas Chinese affairs in mainland China and Taiwan: Overseas Chinese education" (海峽兩岸推展僑務政策之比較研究：兼論僑教之比較).[3]
Yao was elected to the Taitung County Council after winning the local election on 3 December 2005, making her the youngest councilor to be elected at the age of 36. In 2010, she was elected as the speaker of the county council.[2]
While serving on the county council, Yao explored bids for higher office, contesting Kuang Li-chen for the Taitung magistracy in 2009,[4] and a seat on the Legislative Yuan in 2012.[5] In 2016, Yao was appointed a deputy secretary-general of the Kuomintang, under chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu.[6][7]
2018 Taitung County magistrate election
[edit]
Yao defeated Liao Kuo-tung in a Kuomintang primary and subsequently received her party's nomination to contest the Taitung magistracy in 2018.[8][9]
| 2018 Kuomintang Taitung County magistrate primary results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Place | Results |
| April Yao | Nominated | Results not released |
| Liao Kuo-tung | 2nd | Results not released |
She faced Democratic Progressive Party challenger Liu Chao-hao [zh] and three independent candidates, including former county commissioner Kuang Li-chen.[10][11] Yao won the magisterial election held on 24 November 2018.[2][12]
| 2018 Taitung County mayoral results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Candidate | Party | Votes | Percentage | |
| 1 | Kuang Li-chen |  Independent |
3,049 | 2.55% | |
| 2 | Liu Chao-hao [zh] | Democratic Progressive Party | 44,264 | 37.04% | |
| 3 | Huang Yu-pin (黃裕斌) | Independent |
640 | 0.54% | |
| 4 | Peng Chuan-kuo (彭權國) | Independent |
988 | 0.83% | |
| 5 | April Yao |  Kuomintang |
70,577 | 59.05% |  |
| Total voters | 179,706 | ||||
| Valid votes | 119,518 | ||||
| Invalid votes | |||||
| Voter turnout | 66.51% |
In January, Yao led a delegation to China and met with Taiwan Affairs Office head Song Tao, drawing criticism.[13]
- ^ Tsai, Johann (8 August 2024). "How Taitung's Slow Economy Doubled Tourism Revenues". CommonWealth Magazine. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
- ^ a b c Cheng, Sabine; Lin, Ko (24 November 2018). "KMT's Yao Ching-ling wins Taitung County magistrate race". Central News Agency. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ "A Comparative Study of Policies on Overseas Chinese Affairs in Mainland China and Taiwan" (PhD Thesis) (in Chinese (Taiwan)). National Central Library. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
- ^ Hsu, Jenny W.; Mo, Yan-chih (3 April 2009). "DPP rift over Tainan poll grows". Taipei Times. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Wang, Yu-chung (9 January 2012). "PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: KMT candidates keep distance". Taipei Times. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Hsu, Stacy (6 April 2016). "Hung lists likely candidates for important posts". Taipei Times. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Hsu, Stacy (7 April 2016). "Minister shrugs off KMT posting rumor". Taipei Times. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Chung, Jake (21 December 2017). "KMT names candidates in local elections". Taipei Times. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Hsu, Stacy (22 February 2018). "Chang Hsien-yao announces Taipei bid". Taipei Times. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Lin, Chia-nan (21 November 2018). "2018 ELECTIONS: Two Taitung candidates sign petition on wetlands". Taipei Times. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Huang, Ming-tang (2 September 2018). "Taitung candidate says surprise opponent DPP 'ploy'". Taipei Times. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Hsu, Stacy; Lin, Sean; Lee, I-chia (25 November 2018). "2018 ELECTIONS: Lai offers to resign as DPP routed". Taipei Times. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Chu, Lan-hui (5 January 2025). "饒慶鈴率團訪中會宋濤 八炯：說要反共怎麼不敢當面喊？".
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